The Curragh The Curragh of Kildare | |
|---|---|
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  The Curragh | |
| Coordinates:53°09′27″N06°50′24″W / 53.15750°N 6.84000°W /53.15750; -6.84000 | |
| Part of | Central Plain |
| Area | |
| • Total | 19.71 square kilometres (7.61 sq mi; 4,870 acres) |
| Elevation | 30 m (98 ft) |
The Curragh (/ˈkʌrə/KURR-ə;Irish:An Currach[ənˠ ˈkʊɾˠəx]) is a flat openplain inCounty Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known forhorse breeding and training. TheIrish National Stud is on the edge ofKildare town, beside theJapanese Gardens. Pollardstown Fen, the largestfen in Ireland, is of particular interest to botanists and ecologists because of the numerous bird species that nest and visit there. There are also many rare plants that grow there.
It is composed of asandysoil, formed after anesker deposited a sand load, and as a result has excellentdrainage characteristics.
Used as a meeting site during Pre-Christian societies, the Curragh is shrouded in mythology. The hill to the north of the Curragh is called theHill of Allen (Almhain) and is the purported meeting place of the mythicalFianna. Legend has it that in about 480 AD, whenSt Brigid became intent on founding a monastery in Kildare, she asked theHigh King of Leinster for the land on which to build it. When he granted her as much land as her cloak would cover, she then placed her cloak on the ground to cover the entire Curragh plain.[1]
On 1 April 1234,The 3rd Earl of Pembroke losta battle at the Curragh against a group of men loyal toHenry III of England. Lord Pembroke was wounded in the battle and died at hiscastle at Kilkenny on 16 April.[2]
It was a common site for mustering the armies ofthe Pale (seeEssex in Ireland). During the1798 Rebellion there was a massacre in the Curragh atGibbet Rath. TheCurragh Camp is now located there, where theIrish Defence Forces undergo training.
At a natural bowl-shaped amphitheatre on the Curragh known locally as Donnelly's Hollow the Irish champion boxerDan Donnelly defeated the English champion George Cooper in 1815, before a large crowd. Donnelly had a famed reach and the remains of his arm were on show until recently in the Hideout Pub in the nearby town ofKilcullen.
In 1866, a commission was appointed by theBritish Treasury to report into the use made of the Curragh and make recommendations on legislation.[3] It reported in 1868,[3] and led to the Curragh of Kildare Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 60).[4]
On 2 January 1941 the Curragh wasbombed by the Luftwaffe, the air force of theThird Reich, causing slight damage. One SC250 bomb remains unaccounted for.[5]
| Curragh of Kildare Act 1868 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to make better Provision for the Management and Use of the Curragh of Kildare. |
| Citation | 31 & 32 Vict. c. 60 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 16 July 1868 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Curragh of Kildare Act 1961 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Curragh of Kildare Act 1870 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to confirm the Award under "The Curragh of Kildare Act, 1868." and for other purposes relating thereto. |
| Citation | 33 & 34 Vict. c. 74 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 9 August 1870 |
| Other legislation | |
| Relates to | Curragh of Kildare Act 1868 |
Status: Amended | |
The earliest mention of the Curragh in legal documents was1299, when an act was passed, to prevent swine from feeding on the Curragh plains to the detriment of the sward.
In 1865 Parliament set up a commission to examine the Curragh. The findings of this led to the enactment of theCurragh of Kildare Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 60). This created the honorary position of a Ranger tasked with the care, management and preservation of the Curragh for the purpose of horseracing and training of horses.
The 1868 act also provided for a second commission to report on the use of the Curragh for common pasture. This report is detailed in theCurragh of Kildare Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 74). This act specifies sheep grazing rights for the Curragh.[6]
On the establishment of theIrish Free State in 1922, the lands of the Curragh passed from the Crown to theMinister for Finance of the Irish State.
The Curragh of Kildare Act 1961 repealed the 1868 Act and sections of the 1870 Act. It also abolished the office of the Ranger and transferred its duties to theDepartment of Defence.[7]
There has been a permanent military presence in the Curragh since 1856.[8] TheCurragh Camp is now home to theDefence Forces Training Centre of theIrish Defence Forces.[9]Curragh Military Museum opened in 2010.[10]
Records of women, known asWrens of the Curragh, who were paid for prostitution and other services (such as clothes-washing, mending, alcohol) by soldiers at the camp, go back to the 1840s.[8] Up to 60 women lived in 'nests' half-hollowed out of banks and ditches, which were covered in furze bushes.[11] Whilst many women were sex workers, others hadcommon-law marriages to soldiers but were barred from living within the camp itself.[11] The women's presence is not reported after the 1880s.[11]
TheCurragh Racecourse on the plain is Ireland's Premier Flat Racecourse. Every year, it hosts allfive classic races in the racing calendar: theIrish Derby Stakes, theIrish Oaks, theIrish 1,000 Guineas, theIrish 2,000 Guineas and theIrish St. Leger.
On 2 July 1903, theGordon Bennett Cup ran through the Curragh. It was the first international motor race to be held in what was then theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. TheAutomobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland wanted the race to be hosted in the United Kingdom (as it existed then), and Ireland was suggested as the venue because racing was illegal on British public roads. Following a lobbying campaign, local laws were adjusted, and Kildare was chosen on the basis of the straightness of its roads. As a compliment to Ireland, the British team chose to race inShamrock green[a] which later became known asBritish racing green.[12][13][14][15] The route consisted of several loops of a circuit that passed-throughKilcullen, the Curragh,Kildare,Monasterevin,Stradbally,Castledermot,Carlow, and Athy. The 528 km (328 mi) race was won by the Belgian racerCamille Jenatzy, driving a Mercedes.[13][16]
AfterThe Emergency both motor cars and motorcycle racing took place on occasions drawing crowds up to 30,000. For eight years from 1947 until 1954 cars competed, while motorcycle racing continued until 1967.[17][18] The first race was run by theLeinster Motor Club on 12 July 1947 over a 2.69 km (1.67 mi) course known as the "Short circuit" but eight years later the death ofDon Beauman at a different Irish venue plus other fatal racing accidents in 1955 brought an end to motor car racing at the Curragh.[19] The 1951 Wakefield Trophy was won by the then 22-year-oldStirling Moss.[20]
The Curragh Camp has one primary school which is a mixed school called St Catherine of Sienna.[21] Also within the Curragh Camp is a secondary school known as Curragh Community College. This secondary school, founded in 1933 as Curragh Post Primary School,[22] is situated beside the parade ground. As of November 2024, it was proposed to move the school to a new building in Kildare town.[23]
Other primary schools in the Curragh area include Newbridge Educate Together (anational school under the patronage ofEducate Together)[24] andGaelscoil Chill Dara (anIrish medium school orgaelscoil).[25]Gaelscoil Chill Dara, which was founded in 1995,[26] was originally based in Herbert Lodge on the Curragh and later moved to a larger purpose-built premises at Curragh Grange. It is under the patronage ofAn Foras Pátrúnachta.[27] The school, which was oversubscribed for a number of years,[28] takes many of its pupils from the surrounding towns ofNewbridge,Kildare Town,Naas,Kilcullen andRathangan.[29]Gaelscoil Chill Dara had an enrollment of 312 as of August 2024.[30]
St Catherine of Siena is a vertical Primary School situated in the historic surrounds of the Curragh Camp [..] founded in 2021 when the Curragh Girls National School & Scoil Naomh Pádraig (formerly the Curragh Boys National School) amalgamated
Curragh Community College (CCC), previously known as Curragh Post Primary School, was established in 1933 [..] The school is currently located in the heart of the Curragh Army Camp [..] The School will be moving in the near future to a newly purchased site in the old Magee Barracks in Kildare town
Newbridge Educate Together National School, Green Road, The Curragh, Co Kildare
Gaelscoil Chill Dara: coeducational Irish language primary school situated on the Green Road in the Curragh, County Kildare
