EI0K will activate the callsign EI9DD on St. Patrick’s Day. This is the callsign of the the Irish Army Apprentice School. The Army Apprentice School (Irish: Scoil Phrintisigh an Airm), was situated in Devoy Barracks, Naas, County Kildare. The school was opened in 1956 to train craftsmen for the Irish Army and Naval service. There were five trades: Electrician, Fitter/Armourer, Motor Technician, Carpenter and Radio/Radar Technician. It was within the radio section that the amateur radio club was formed. The Army Apprentice School (or AAS) closed in 1998. The Irish Defence Forces would later send enlisted personnel to train as apprentices and send them to civilian colleges to be taught. Devoy Barracks was sold to a private company, who would later demolish it and build Kildare County Council offices and “The Osprey Hotel & Spa” on the site. The arch, the mechanics workshops and clock tower are the only structures remaining from the original barracks.
Club Equipment
The club’s equipment consisted of a Heathkit HW-101 transceiver and a Heathkit SB-220 amplifier and various homemade antennas. The transceiver and amplifier were purchased in kit form from Heatkit as an assembly project to train apprentices in assembly methods. The assembly was supervised by Chris Galvin, a civilian electronics instructor who probably spent his evenings rebuilding them.
EI9DD will operate on all the usual bands on the day. Listen out and call in.