During the late 1850s and 60s, when the Fenian Brotherhood was being organised, a large number of Irishmen who were soldiers in the British Army all over Ireland, were 'sworn in' as members of the Fenian movement. This is what happened in Templemore in a big way. As a result of this in December 1885, the 11th Depot Battalion which had been stationed here for a long time, was broken up and transferred to Newry and Enniskillen. It was then replaced by the 59th Regiment from Glasgow. The reason was published at the time in "The Nenagh Guardian" which reported: