
The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open
plain of almost of common land in
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
. This area is well known for Irish
horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...
and training. The
Irish National Stud is located on the edge of
Kildare town, beside the famous
Japanese Gardens. Also located here is Pollardstown Fen, the largest
fen in Ireland. This area 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, it has excellent
drainage characteristics. This makes it a popular location for training racehorses.
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.
On 1 April 1234,
The 3rd Earl of Pembroke lost
a battle at the Curragh against a group of men loyal to
King Henry III of England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry ass ...
. Lord Pembroke was wounded in the battle and died at his
castle at Kilkenny on 16 April.

It was a common site for mustering the armies of
the Pale (see
Essex in Ireland). During the
1798 Rebellion
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...
there was a massacre in the Curragh at
Gibbet Rath. The
Curragh Camp is now located there, where the
Irish Defence Forces
The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in ...
undergo training.

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
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and e ...
to report into the use made of the Curragh and make recommendations on legislation.
It reported in 1868,
and led to the Curragh of Kildare Act, 1868.
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.
Legal recognition
The earliest mention of the Curragh in legal documents was
1299
Year 1299 ( MCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* July 4 – Battle of Cape Orlando: A Aragonese-Angevin fleet (some 60 galleys) ...
, when an Act was passed, to prevent swine from feeding on the Curragh plains to the detriment of the sward.
In 1865 the houses of parliament set up a commission to examine the Curragh. The findings of this led to the enactment of the Curragh of Kildare Act 1868. 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 1870 Curragh of Kildare act. This act specifies sheep grazing rights for the Curragh.
After the Anglo Irish treaty of 1921 the lands of the Curragh passed from the Crown to the Minister for Finance of the Irish State.
In 1961 a new Curragh of Kildare Act 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.
Military
There has been a permanent military presence in the curragh since 1856.
The
Curragh Camp is now home to the
Defence Forces Training Centre of the
Irish Defence Forces
The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in ...
.
Wrens of the Curragh

Records of women, known as
Wrens of the Curragh, who were paid for sex work by soldiers at the camp, go back to the 1840s.
They lived in 'nests' half-hollowed out of banks and ditches, which were covered in furze bushes; their lifestyle was communal - money and resources were shared amongst the (up to 60) women who lived there.
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 no longer 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 Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 ...
, the
Irish Oaks, the
Irish 1,000 Guineas, the
Irish 2,000 Guineas and the
Irish St. Leger
The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...
.
Motor racing

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 its roads. As a compliment to Ireland, the British team chose to race in
Shamrock green 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
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
, and Athy. The race was won by the Belgian racer Camille Jenatzy
Camille Jenatzy (1868, Schaerbeek – 8 December 1913, Habay la Neuve) was a Belgian race car driver. He is known for breaking the land speed record three times and being the first man to break the 100 km/h barrier.
He was nicknamed ''Le ...
, 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. The first race was run by the ]Leinster Motor Club
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
on 12 July 1947 over a course known as the "Short circuit" but eight years later the death of Don Beauman
Donald "Don" Bentley Beauman (26 July 1928 – 9 July 1955) was a British Formula One driver who took part in one World Championship Grand Prix.
Beauman was born in Farnborough, Hampshire, the only son of Brigadier General Archibald Bentley B ...
during at a different Irish venue plus other fatal racing accidents in 1955 brought an end to motor car racing at the Curragh. The 1951 Wakefield Trophy was won by the then 22-year-old Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...
.
Education
The Curragh Camp has two primary schools (national schools
In Ireland, a national school () is a type of primary school that is financed directly by the state, but typically administered jointly by the state, a patron body, and local representatives. In national schools, most major policies, such as the ...
); Curragh Girls' National School, Curragh Boys' National School. It has one secondary school, the Curragh Post Primary School (PPS), which has been situated beside the parade ground since 1933. Curragh Girls' School and Curragh PPS have approximately 200 pupils with a population of 191 as of 2015/16 school year. The Curragh Boys' School has 112 pupils.
Cultural references
*The Curragh plains were used to film the battle scenes in the film ''Braveheart
''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ag ...
''.
*An Irish folk song is called ''The Curragh of Kildare
The Curragh of Kildare, also known as The Winter it is Past, is a folk song particularly associated with the Irish tradition.
Elements of some versions of the song suggest that it dates from at least the mid 18th century. The Curragh of Kildare sp ...
''.
*The 2020 film ''Dating Amber
''Dating Amber'' (originally titled ''Beards'') is an Irish comedy-drama film directed by David Freyne. The film features two closeted teenagers in 1990s Ireland who decide to start a fake relationship. The film was produced with assistance fro ...
'' was filmed and set in the Curragh.
See also
* Curragh Incident
Notes
a. According t
''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 ''American'' cars in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup.
References
External links
Curragh history and information
*
Ireland's oldest golf course
The Curragh Racecourse
{{County Kildare
Geography of County Kildare
Sports venues in County Kildare
Tourist attractions in County Kildare
Archaeological sites in County Kildare