Irish Army Apprentice School

The Army Apprentice School (AAS) - Scoil Phrintisigh an Airm (SPA), was situated in Devoy Barracks, Naas, County Kildare.

The School was established on 16 August 1956 when the Irish Defence Forces (Óglaigh na hÉireann) recognised the need for suitably trained craftsmen within the Army and Naval Service. The Motto of the school was "Ni Obair In Aisce Í" meaning "There is no work without gain". The school closed in 1998.

Enlistment
The Apprenticeships had age limits for application. These were initially Minimum Age - 15 Years Maximum Age - 17 Years

However, later on these age limits were increased to Minimum Age - 16 Years Maximum Age - 18 Years

Apprentices under the age of 18 also required their parents permission in signature to be able to enlist. The contract was signed for 9 years service which could be extended upon completion of the 9 years. If somebody wanted to terminate their contract they would have to 'buy themselves out'. The cost for this in the 1990's was IR£25 during initial training and peaked at £5000 for the fourth year with subsequent years of service seeing this decrease.

Apprentice Trades
The following are the listing of Apprenticeship Trades that were taught


 * Electrician
 * Fitter/Armourer
 * Motor Technician
 * Carpenter
 * Radio Mechanic

Apprenticeship Duration
The apprenticeship was broken in to three parts

During this time the recruits held the rank of Apprentice which is equivalent to the rank of Recruit. Upon completion of the 3 years the apprentices achieved the rank of 2 Star Private. This may be the longest known military course in the world.
 * 3 Years - Devoy Barracks

Apprentices were then relocated to a new barracks for 9 weeks to undergo standard 3 star training
 * 9 Weeks - 3 Star Training


 * 1 year - Completing Apprenticeship
 * Radio Technicians attended the School of Signals in the Curragh. Upon completing this year they were deployed to different barracks throughout Ireland.

Dress Code
Apprentices wore the normal army issue of the time. However they were unique in having a blue patch for their Beret rather than the standard red patch.