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. Apprentices were trained as a soldier first and a tradesman second. The school closed in 1998 due to Irish government cutbacks at the time, of which the Irish Defence Forces would later regret. 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 a