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The
Curragh History
It is an historical military assembly and training area. Its
ancient name of ‘CUIRREACH LIFE’ would suggest that at one time it
extended to the banks of the River Liffey. In pre-Christian times it was the
site of Aonach Life, a gathering of all the people of the Kingdom of
Leinster.
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The Danes passed along the plains on more than one occasion, as
they raided and plundered the monasteries of Kildare. The Curragh was the
place chosen by Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyreconnell to prepare his Army for
the cause of James II.
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The end of the 18th Century saw the 1798 Rebellion. During this
rebellion at the Gibbet Rath (near the present Ammunition Depot), 350
rebels were massacred by the forces of General Duff.
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Wellington
passed through the Curragh on his way to the peninsular wars.
It was the Crimean War
(1855-1856) which lead to the construction of the first permanent camp at
the Curragh
while in the early 1900’s the present structure of the camp began to
appear.
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Queen
Victoria visited the Curragh in 1861 to visit her son the Prince of
Wales (Edward VII), who was serving in the Curragh and to inspect
troops.
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The
New Curragh Camp -1879
Onwards
Beresford
Barracks was the first section of the Curragh to be rebuilt, this
occurred in 1879. The present red bricked camp emerged about the turn of the
century.
When
completed, seven new barracks made up the camp and these barracks
were named, from West to East, as follows
Ponsonby Barracks
now Plunkett
Barracks.
Stewart Barracks now Connolly
Barracks.
Beresford Barracks now Ceannt
Barracks.
A.S.C. Barracks now
Clarke Barracks.
Engineer Barracks now MacDermott
Barracks.
Gough Barracks now MacDonagh
Barracks.
Keane Barracks now Pearse
Barracks.
The
camp moved forward into the 20th century and in March, 1914, the
calm and routine peacetime soldiering was suddenly disrupted by an
event to be known in history as “The Curragh
Incident.”
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Some short distance NORTH-WEST of Gibbet Rath and close to
the main NEWBRIDGE-KILDARE road, there are to be seen traces of the
foundations of buildings of the Rath Internment Camp which was established in 1921 by the British to house 1,200-1,500
Irish Volunteer prisoners. The interment camp was used to intern republican
prisoners during the civil war in the early 1920's, thereafter, to intern
republicans in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's as required. It was also used to
intern German and Allied airmen during World War II who enjoyed a very benign
camp regime.
German Internees
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The
handover of the Curragh Camp to the Army of the Free State took
place at 10 o’clock on Tuesday, May 16 1922 when the camp was
handed over to a party of Irish troops commanded by Lt Gen
O’Connell.
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On
Monday evening the Union Flag was lowered for the last time. At 12
o’clock, noon, on the Tuesday, Lt Gen O’Connell climbed the Water
Tower and hoisted the first Tricolour to fly over the Curragh Camp.
By tradition the British army had cut down the flagpole requiring
the Irish officers to physically hold the Flagpole while the
Tricolour was raised. During the period since 1922 the Union Flag was
cared for by the Stokes family who presented the flag to the GOC Curragh in
1997. Both
the Union Flag and the Tricolour , which measures 10’ x 18’ are now preserved in the
DFTC.
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