The Curragh
{{short description|Flat, open plain in County Kildare, Ireland}}
{{for|the traditional Irish boat|Currach}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use Irish English|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox landform
| water =
| name = The Curragh
| other_name = The Curragh of Kildare
| type = Plain
| photo = IMG The Curragh.jpg
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| coordinates = {{coord|53|09|27|N|06|50|24|W|display=ti}}
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| part_of = Central Plain
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|elevation_m = 30
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| area = {{Convert|19.71|km2|sqmi acre}}
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The Curragh ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ʌr|ə|}} {{respell|KURR|ə}}; {{langx|ga|An Currach}} {{IPAc-ga|@|n|-|'|k|u|rr|@|ch}}) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Pollardstown Fen, the largest fen 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 a sandy soil, formed after an esker deposited a sand load, and as a result has excellent drainage characteristics.
History
{{see also|Curragh Camp#History}}
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 the Hill of Allen (Almhain) and is the purported meeting place of the mythical Fianna. Legend has it that in about 480 AD, when St Brigid became intent on founding a monastery in Kildare, she asked the High 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.{{cite news |title=The Curragh of Kildare |work=Te Dublin Builder |date=15 May 1866 |access-date=27 December 2014 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000895/18660515/014/0005| via = British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}
On 1 April 1234, The 3rd Earl of Pembroke lost a battle at the Curragh against a group of men loyal to Henry III of England. Lord Pembroke was wounded in the battle and died at his castle at Kilkenny on 16 April.{{cite book|last=Powicke|first=F. M.|author-link=F. M. Powicke|title=The Thirteenth Century: 1216-1307|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|year=1962|orig-year=1953|pages=57–9|edition=2nd}}
File:Kildare Curragh wSigns.jpg
It was a common site for mustering the armies of the Pale (see Essex in Ireland). During the 1798 Rebellion there was a massacre in the Curragh at Gibbet Rath. The Curragh Camp is now located there, where the Irish Defence Forces undergo training.
File:Footsteps at Donnelly's Hollow on the Curragh in County Kildare.JPG at Donnelly's Hollow]]
At a natural bowl-shaped amphitheatre on the Curragh known locally as Donnelly's Hollow the Irish champion boxer Dan 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 of Kilcullen.
In 1866, a commission was appointed by the British Treasury to report into the use made of the Curragh and make recommendations on legislation.{{cite book|title=Report of the Commission appointed by the Treasury to hold a local inquiry with a view to legislation on the subject of the Curragh of Kildare|url=http://eppi.dippam.ac.uk/documents/15097/eppi_pages/391845|series=Command papers|volume=C 329|date=12 June 1868}} It reported in 1868, and led to the Curragh of Kildare Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 60).{{cite book|title=The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|url=https://archive.org/details/statutesunitedk31britgoog|access-date=6 March 2012|year=1868|publisher=His Majesty's statute and law Printers|pages=[https://archive.org/details/statutesunitedk31britgoog/page/n297 248]–263|chapter=31 & 32 Victoria c.60}}
On 2 January 1941 the Curragh was bombed by the Luftwaffe, the air force of the Third Reich, causing slight damage. One SC250 bomb remains unaccounted for.{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/de-valera-ordered-top-secret-war-files-destroyed-1552754.html |title=De Valera ordered top secret war files destroyed |first=Andrew |last=Bushe |author2=Byrne, Ciaran |publisher=Irish Independent |date=2008-11-26 |access-date=2011-08-14 |archive-date=2012-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103031230/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/de-valera-ordered-top-secret-war-files-destroyed-1552754.html |url-status=live }}
Legal recognition
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Curragh of Kildare Act 1868
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to make better Provision for the Management and Use of the Curragh of Kildare.
| year = 1868
| citation = 31 & 32 Vict. c. 60
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| royal_assent = 16 July 1868
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| repealing_legislation = Curragh of Kildare Act 1961
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| status = repealed
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Curragh of Kildare Act 1870
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to confirm the Award under "The Curragh of Kildare Act, 1868." and for other purposes relating thereto.
| year = 1870
| citation = 33 & 34 Vict. c. 74
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| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 9 August 1870
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| related_legislation = Curragh of Kildare Act 1868
| status = amended
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The earliest mention of the Curragh in legal documents was 1299, 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 the {{visible anchor|Curragh 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 the {{visible anchor|Curragh of Kildare Act 1870}} (33 & 34 Vict. c. 74). This act specifies sheep grazing rights for the Curragh.{{Cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/acts/curragh-of-kildare-act-1868|title=Curragh of Kildare Act 1868 |website=Hansard|access-date=2019-07-29|archive-date=2019-08-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801111937/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/acts/curragh-of-kildare-act-1868|url-status=live}}
On the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the lands of the Curragh passed from the Crown to the Minister 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 the Department of Defence.{{Cite ISB|year=1961|num=35|date=11 August 1961|title=Curragh of Kildare Act 1961|access-date=22 October 2023|archive-date=2019-07-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729101930/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1961/act/35/enacted/en/html|url-status=live}}
Military
There has been a permanent military presence in the Curragh since 1856.{{Cite news|title=Songbirds on society's margins|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/songbirds-on-society-s-margins-1.332102|access-date=2020-06-12|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|archive-date=2020-03-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323153651/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/songbirds-on-society-s-margins-1.332102|url-status=live}} The Curragh Camp is now home to the Defence Forces Training Centre of the Irish Defence Forces.{{Cite web|title=The Curragh Museum|url=https://www.military.ie/en/public-information/defence-forces-museums/the-curragh-museum/the-curragh-museum.html|access-date=2020-06-12|website=Irish Defence Forces|language=en|archive-date=2020-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714134002/https://www.military.ie/en/public-information/defence-forces-museums/the-curragh-museum/the-curragh-museum.html|url-status=live}}
Records of women, known as Wrens of the Curragh, who were paid for prostitution by soldiers at the camp, go back to the 1840s. Up to 60 women lived in 'nests' half-hollowed out of banks and ditches, which were covered in furze bushes.{{Cite journal|last=Luddy|first=Maria|date=1992|title=An outcast community:the 'wrens' of the curragh|journal=Women's History Review|language=en|volume=1|issue=3|pages=341–355|doi=10.1080/09612029200200014|issn=0961-2025|doi-access=free}} Whilst many women were sex workers, others had common-law marriages to soldiers but were barred from living within the camp itself. The women's presence is not reported after the 1880s.
Sport
=Horse racing=
The Curragh Racecourse on the plain is Ireland's Premier Flat Racecourse. Every year, it hosts all five classic races in the racing calendar: the Irish Derby Stakes, the Irish Oaks, the Irish 1,000 Guineas, the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the Irish St. Leger.
=Motor racing=
{{main|1903 Gordon Bennett Cup}}
File:1903 Gordon Bennett Trophy. De Knyff passes Winton repairing his car.jpg
On 2 July 1903, the Gordon Bennett Cup ran through the Curragh. It was the first international motor race to be held in what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Automobile 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 in Shamrock green{{efn|According to [http://www.kildare.ie/heritage/Gordon-Bennett-Race/Leinster-Leader-11-04-1903-2.asp Leinster Leader, 11 April 1903], Britain had to choose a different colour to its usual national colours of red, white and blue, as these had already been taken by Italy, Germany and France respectively. It also stated red as the colour for {{em|American}} cars in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup.}} which later became known as British racing green. The route consisted of several loops of a circuit that passed-through Kilcullen, the Curragh, Kildare, Monasterevin, Stradbally, Castledermot, Carlow, and Athy. The {{convert|328|mi|km|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} race was won by the Belgian racer Camille Jenatzy, driving a Mercedes.
After The 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.{{cite news |last=Kenny |first=Liam |title=When horse power of a different kind echoed over the Curragh plains |publisher=Leinster Leader |date=2007-10-04 |url=http://www.kildare.ie/library/ehistory/2007/11/curragh_motor_racing_19471954.asp |access-date=2014-06-25 |archive-date=2014-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714182831/http://www.kildare.ie/library/ehistory/2007/11/curragh_motor_racing_19471954.asp |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=McCrossan |first=Oliver |title=Commemorating Car & Motorcycle Racing at the Curragh |publisher=Motorsport.ie |date=2012-08-02 |url=http://www.motorsport.ie/commemorating-car-motorcycle-racing-at-the-curragh/ |access-date=2014-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714121322/http://www.motorsport.ie/commemorating-car-motorcycle-racing-at-the-curragh/ |archive-date=2014-07-14 }} The first race was run by the Leinster Motor Club on 12 July 1947 over a {{convert|1.67|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} course known as the "Short circuit" but eight years later the death of Don Beauman during at a different Irish venue plus other fatal racing accidents in 1955 brought an end to motor car racing at the Curragh.{{cite book |last=Traynor |first=Michael |title=Iona National Airways: Irelands First Commercial Airline |publisher=Michael Traynor |year=2004 |pages=90–93 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S1oIrPQNJcAC&pg=PA90 |isbn=0-9549194-0-8 |access-date=2016-10-24 |archive-date=2017-02-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217110107/https://books.google.com/books?id=S1oIrPQNJcAC&pg=PA90 |url-status=live }} The 1951 Wakefield Trophy was won by the then 22-year-old Stirling Moss.{{cite web |title=Wakefield Trophy [Formula Libre] |publisher=RacingSportsCars.com |date=1951-09-08 |url=http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Curragh-1951-09-08-10355.html |access-date=2014-06-25 |archive-date=2014-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714180629/http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Curragh-1951-09-08-10355.html |url-status=live }}
Education
The Curragh Camp has one primary school which is a mixed school called St Catherine of Sienna.{{cite web|url = http://curraghprimary.com/ | website = curraghprimary.com | title = St Catherine of Siena NS - About Our School | accessdate = 25 March 2025 | quote = 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 }} 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,{{cite web|url = https://www.curraghcc.ie/page/Principals-Welcome/12876/Index.html | website = curraghcc.ie | title = Curragh Community College - Principal's Welcome | accessdate = 25 March 2025 | quote = 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 }} is situated beside the parade ground. As of November 2024, it was proposed to move the school to a new building in Kildare town.{{cite web|url = https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kildare/news/plans-for-1000-student-secondary-school-in-kildare-appealed-to-an-bord-pleanala/a1866807976.html | website = independent.ie | title = Plans for 1,000-student secondary school in Kildare appealed to An Bord Pleanála | date = 8 November 2024 | accessdate = 25 March 2025 }}
Other primary schools in the Curragh area include Newbridge Educate Together (a national school under the patronage of Educate Together){{cite web|url = https://www.educatetogether.ie/list-of-schools/kildare-primary-school/newbridge-educate-together-national-school/ | website = educatetogether.ie | title = Newbridge Educate Together National School | quote = Newbridge Educate Together National School, Green Road, The Curragh, Co Kildare}} and Gaelscoil Chill Dara (an Irish medium school or gaelscoil).{{cite web|url = https://www.gaelscoilchilldara.com/ | title = Baile {{!}} Gaelscoil Chill Dara | website = gaelscoilchilldara.com | quote = Gaelscoil Chill Dara: coeducational Irish language primary school situated on the Green Road in the Curragh, County Kildare }} Gaelscoil Chill Dara, which was founded in 1995,{{cite news|title=Dublin Gospel Choir to lead Gaelscoil 20th anniversary celebration|url=http://www.kildare-nationalist.ie/2015/10/02/dublin-gospel-choir-to-lead-gaelscoil-20th-anniversary-celebration/#! |accessdate=16 May 2016|publisher=Kildare Nationalist|date=1 October 2015 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20151014074414/http://www.kildare-nationalist.ie/2015/10/02/dublin-gospel-choir-to-lead-gaelscoil-20th-anniversary-celebration/#! | archivedate= 14 October 2015 }} 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 of An Foras Pátrúnachta.{{cite web|url = https://www.foras.ie/aimsigh-scoil-cill-dara/ | website = foras.ie | title = Ár Scoileanna/Aimsigh Scoil - Cill Dara | language = ga | accessdate = 4 April 2025 }} The school, which was oversubscribed for a number of years,{{cite news|last1=McHugh|first1=Conor|title=Meeting on new gaelscoil held in Kildare town|url=http://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/local-news/65973/Meeting-on-new-gaelscoil-held-in.html|accessdate=16 May 2016|publisher=Leinster Leader|date=29 January 2013}} takes many of its pupils from the surrounding towns of Newbridge, Kildare Town, Naas, Kilcullen and Rathangan.{{cite web|title=School Philosophy|url=http://www.gaelscoilchilldara.com/lang1/our-school-philosophy.html|publisher=Gaelscoil Chill Dara|accessdate=16 May 2016 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160506011756/http://www.gaelscoilchilldara.com/lang1/our-school-philosophy.html | archivedate = 6 May 2016 }} Gaelscoil Chill Dara had an enrollment of 312 as of August 2024.{{cite web|url = https://www.gov.ie/en/directory/page/w0uy72-f8q6r9-/ | website = gov.ie | publisher = Department of Education | title = Directory Page - Gaelscoil Chill Dara | date = 23 August 2024 | accessdate = 19 March 2025 }}
Cultural references
- The Curragh plains were used to film the battle scenes in the film Braveheart.{{cite web|url = https://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/local-news/70336/Braveheart-made-20-years-ago-on.html| work = Leinster Leader | title = Braveheart made 20 years ago on Curragh | date = 23 September 2014 | accessdate = 25 March 2025 }}
- An Irish folk song is called The Curragh of Kildare.
- The 2020 film Dating Amber was filmed and set in the Curragh.{{Cite web|url=https://gcn.ie/dating-amber-new-film/|title=Dating Amber is the funny, heartwarming coming out story the world needs now|date=1 June 2020|website=GCN}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jun/03/dating-amber-review-fionn-oshea-sharon-horgan|title=Dating Amber review – gay teenagers' pretend love fails to blossom|date=3 June 2020|website=The Guardian}}
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{Cite web |url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/83945-the-birth-of-british-motor-racing |title=Bleacher report, The Birth of British motor racing |website=Bleacher Report |access-date=2010-01-19 |archive-date=2017-01-06 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170106120010/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/83945-the-birth-of-british-motor-racing |url-status=live }}
}}
External links
- [http://www.curragh.info/ Curragh history and information]
- {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Curragh |volume=7 |page=647 |short=1}}
- [http://www.curraghgolf.com/ Ireland's oldest golf course]
- [http://www.curragh.ie The Curragh Racecourse]
{{County Kildare}}
Category:Geography of County Kildare
Category:Sports venues in County Kildare