Curragh Camp
Encyclopedia
The Curragh Camp is an army base and military college located in The Curragh, County Kildare
, Ireland
. It is the main training centre for the Irish Army
.
Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnel
chose the Curragh as a muster
point for the cause of James II in the Glorious Revolution
. In 1783, a review of the Volunteers raised to assist in the defence of the country while England was at war with America held on the Curragh attracted upwards of 50,000 spectators.
It was also a muster point during the 1798 Rebellion as can be seen in the Irish peasant song The Sean-Bhean bhocht
translated by Padraic Colum in 1922:
. However, the first permanent military structures were built in 1855 by British soldiers preparing for the Crimean War
. These structures were wooden in character but the camp did have its own post-office, fire station, ten barracks, two churches, a water pumping station, court house and a clock tower.
In the following decade Queen Victoria visited to inspect troops, and as her son (Edward VII
the then Prince of Wales
) was serving at the camp. A great troop review was held for the visit of the Queen and an album of the occasion can be found in the Royal Archive at Windsor.
By 1893 the General Officer Commanding (GOC) was Major-General Lord Ralph D. Kerr CB. The garrison was the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment (the 18th Foot), the 1st Battalion The Lancashire Fusiliers (the 20th Foot), and the 2nd Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment (the 31st Foot). In 1894 the Worcestershires were replaced by the 2nd Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment (the 67th Foot).
The Curragh was a little isolated, which led to stringent regulations about taxi fares. However, the camp was well provided for, with recreational facilities (including, for the officers, hunting with the local gentry), several posts a day (last collection for England at 11 pm), and a daily Mass for Catholics at the East Church. A gun was fired every day at reveille, at 1 pm and at 9.30 pm.
By the end of the century the Camp became a divisional headquarters and soldiers were trained there for fighting in the Boer War
.
In the furze covered areas surrounding the camp women, mainly prostitutes, set up camp in what were known as 'nests'. These women became known as the wrens. Their story gained prominence in a series of articles in the Pall Mall Gazette by the English journalist James Greenwood in 1867. His book The Seven Curses of London also contains a chapter on the Wrens.
The problem of sexually transmitted diseases due to the prevalence of prostitution and men willing to partake in their services can be seen by the numbers reporting with gonorrhea in the military hospital in the 1911 Census.
, where a number of officers proposed to resign rather than enforce Home Rule against the will of the Unionists.
After the Irish War of Independence
(21 January 1919 – 11 July 1921) the British Army handed over the Curragh Camp to the Irish Free State
Army. The handover 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. 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.
In 1928 the seven barracks were renamed after the executed leaders of the 1916 Rising, as follows:
On 13 December the men were surprised in a dug-out at a farmhouse at Moore’s Bridge, on the edge of the Curragh plains, by Free State troops. In the dug-out were ten men, ten rifles, a quantity of ammunition, and other supplies. The men were arrested and conveyed to the Curragh. The proprietress of the farmhouse was also arrested and lodged in Mountjoy Prison.
Controversy surrounds the circumstances of the death of Thomas Behan, one of the men. One version has it that his arm was broken when he was being apprehended and he was subsequently killed by a blow of a rifle butt on the head, at the scene of the raid when he was unable to climb on the truck that conveyed the men to the Curragh. The official version was that he was shot when attempting to escape from a hut in which he was detained in the Curragh Camp.
Those that were executed:
A memorial to the executed men can be found in Kildare Town.
The camp was the location of the Curragh incident
in 1914. It was also used as a military detention centre where civil war
prisoners and, later, members and suspected members of the Anti-Treaty IRA were interned
on various occasions between the 1920s and the 1950s.
Government of Éamon de Valera
. As a result, IRA members who were arrested by the Garda Síochána
were interned in the Curragh for the duration of hostilities. According to historian Tim Pat Coogan
, around 2,000 IRA men passed time in the internment camp during the war years.
According to Coogan,
Also according to Coogan, the years in internment left a great mark on the IRA veterans who remained there long term.
Allied
and Axis
personnel who had found themselves in Ireland
during World War II
. There were three sections in the camp at the time: one each for the IRA, Allied airmen and German mariners and airman.
British Personnel were interned at the Curragh, whereas US personnel were repatriated due to an agreement between the Irish and US governments. One US citizen, whose nationality had been stripped by the US Government for fighting with the British in 133 Squadron
prior to the US entry to the war, was also interned. The British and US "Internees" at the Curragh were not always strictly contained, and many were allowed to attend social events outside the detention camp, own bicycles and travel into Dublin under supervision. Some of those interned at the Curragh eventually married into the area and remained in Ireland after the war, while others return frequently to maintain local contact.
There is a movie about the WW2 detention camp, called "The Brylcreem Boys
."
, housing the Command and Staff School, the Cadet School, the Infantry School, The Combat Support College, The Combat Services Support College,the Equitation school, A Logistics Base a Supply & Services Unit and the United Nations
School.
The Curragh Camp has seen extensive modernisation in recent years. Billet blocks are being refurbished and dining and messing facilities have been radically upgraded for all ranks. Other developments include a new workshop complex and a massive garage for the new MOWAG Piranha
APCs.
The tallest building in the Curragh is the Fire Station, where the Army maintain a modern fire fighting service. The area is no longer occupied solely by the military, and many of those living in the environs of the Camp have no connection to the Army. Many personnel in fact choose to live in nearby Newbridge
.
Although the Camp has its own small-arms ranges adjacent to the Hospital, the nearest tactical area is in the Glen of Imaal
Co Wicklow
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. It is the main training centre for the Irish Army
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...
.
Brief history of the Curragh's military heritage
The Curragh has historically been a military assembly area due to the wide expanse of plain. Henry Harvey in 1599, during the Elizabethan wars noted 'A better place for the deploying of an Army I never beheld.' However, the Curragh's history goes further back being mentioned in The Annals of the Four Masters where Laeghaire Lore, the king of Ireland was slain on the Curragh by Cobhthach Cael Breagh.Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnel
Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnel
Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell PC was an Irish royalist and Jacobite soldier.-Life:The youngest of sixteen children of Sir William Talbot, 1st Baronet, of Carton, and his wife, Alison Netterville, he was descended from an old Norman family that had settled in Leinster in the twelfth century...
chose the Curragh as a muster
Muster
Muster may refer to:* Muster , a process or event for the of accounting for members in a military unit* Muster , the rounding-up of livestock* Muster , a competitive skills event held between fire departments...
point for the cause of James II in the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
. In 1783, a review of the Volunteers raised to assist in the defence of the country while England was at war with America held on the Curragh attracted upwards of 50,000 spectators.
It was also a muster point during the 1798 Rebellion as can be seen in the Irish peasant song The Sean-Bhean bhocht
The Sean-Bhean bhocht
The Sean-Bhean bhocht, Irish for the "Poor old woman" , is a traditional Irish song from the period of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and dating in particular to the lead up to a French expedition to Bantry Bay, that ultimately failed to get ashore in 1796.The Sean-Bhean bhocht is used to personify...
translated by Padraic Colum in 1922:
The Crimean War and the establishment of the Curragh Camp
There were numerous training camps organised on the Curragh in the nineteenth century including the training of militia to defend the country during the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. However, the first permanent military structures were built in 1855 by British soldiers preparing for the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. These structures were wooden in character but the camp did have its own post-office, fire station, ten barracks, two churches, a water pumping station, court house and a clock tower.
Events and Routines at the Curragh
In 1879 the first of the "modern" barracks (Beresford Barracks) was built at the camp, and six new barracks were subsequently constructed through the turn of the century. The names of the barracks that were built by the British Army were Ponsonby Bks, Stewart Bks, A.S.C Bks, Engineer Bks, Gough Bks and Keane Bks.In the following decade Queen Victoria visited to inspect troops, and as her son (Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
the then Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
) was serving at the camp. A great troop review was held for the visit of the Queen and an album of the occasion can be found in the Royal Archive at Windsor.
By 1893 the General Officer Commanding (GOC) was Major-General Lord Ralph D. Kerr CB. The garrison was the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment (the 18th Foot), the 1st Battalion The Lancashire Fusiliers (the 20th Foot), and the 2nd Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment (the 31st Foot). In 1894 the Worcestershires were replaced by the 2nd Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment (the 67th Foot).
The Curragh was a little isolated, which led to stringent regulations about taxi fares. However, the camp was well provided for, with recreational facilities (including, for the officers, hunting with the local gentry), several posts a day (last collection for England at 11 pm), and a daily Mass for Catholics at the East Church. A gun was fired every day at reveille, at 1 pm and at 9.30 pm.
By the end of the century the Camp became a divisional headquarters and soldiers were trained there for fighting in the Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
.
The Wrens of the Curragh
The Camp, like many military garrisons in Ireland at the time, had a particular problem with prostitution and was mentioned in the Contagious Disease Acts, which allowed the authorities to stop and arrest women if they suspected them of being prostitutes.In the furze covered areas surrounding the camp women, mainly prostitutes, set up camp in what were known as 'nests'. These women became known as the wrens. Their story gained prominence in a series of articles in the Pall Mall Gazette by the English journalist James Greenwood in 1867. His book The Seven Curses of London also contains a chapter on the Wrens.
The problem of sexually transmitted diseases due to the prevalence of prostitution and men willing to partake in their services can be seen by the numbers reporting with gonorrhea in the military hospital in the 1911 Census.
Curragh Cemetery
The Curragh Cemetery has many graves that attest to the British Army presence on the Curragh up to their departure in 1922.The Curragh Camp and Irish independence
At the time of the passage of the Home Rule Act in 1914, the Camp became the scene of the Curragh IncidentCurragh Incident
The Curragh Incident of 20 March 1914, also known as the Curragh Mutiny, occurred in the Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. The Curragh Camp was then the main base for the British Army in Ireland, which at the time formed part of the United Kingdom....
, where a number of officers proposed to resign rather than enforce Home Rule against the will of the Unionists.
After the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
(21 January 1919 – 11 July 1921) the British Army handed over the Curragh Camp to the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
Army. The handover 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. 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.
In 1928 the seven barracks were renamed after the executed leaders of the 1916 Rising, as follows:
- Ponsonby Barracks is now Plunkett Barracks.
- Stewart Barracks is now Connolly Barracks.
- Beresford Barracks is now Ceannt Barracks.
- A.S.C. Barracks is now Clarke Barracks.
- Engineer Barracks is now MacDermott Barracks.
- Gough Barracks is now MacDonagh Barracks.
- Keane Barracks is now Pearse Barracks
Civil War Executions
In December 1922 seven men were executed in the Curragh Military Prison. The Leinster Leader of 23 December 1922 reported that a column of ten men had operated against railways, goods trains and shops in the vicinity of Kildare for some time. Five of them had apparently taken part in an attempt to disrupt communications by derailing engines on 11 December. Two engines had been taken from a shed at Kildare and one of them had been sent down the line into an obstruction at Cherryville, thereby blocking the line. It was also alleged that goods trains had been looted and shops robbed in the locality. The same column was also reported to have taken part in an ambush of Free State troops at the Curragh siding on 25 November.On 13 December the men were surprised in a dug-out at a farmhouse at Moore’s Bridge, on the edge of the Curragh plains, by Free State troops. In the dug-out were ten men, ten rifles, a quantity of ammunition, and other supplies. The men were arrested and conveyed to the Curragh. The proprietress of the farmhouse was also arrested and lodged in Mountjoy Prison.
Controversy surrounds the circumstances of the death of Thomas Behan, one of the men. One version has it that his arm was broken when he was being apprehended and he was subsequently killed by a blow of a rifle butt on the head, at the scene of the raid when he was unable to climb on the truck that conveyed the men to the Curragh. The official version was that he was shot when attempting to escape from a hut in which he was detained in the Curragh Camp.
Those that were executed:
- Stephen White (18) Abbey St., Kildare
- Joseph Johnston (18) Station Rd., Kildare
- Patrick Mangan (22) Fair Green, Kildare
- Patrick Nolan (34) Rathbride, Kildare
- Brian Moore (37) Rathbride, Kildare
- James O’Connor (24) Bansha, Co. Tipperary
- Patrick Bagnall (19) Fair Green, Kildare
A memorial to the executed men can be found in Kildare Town.
Wartime internment
Curragh Incident
The Curragh Incident of 20 March 1914, also known as the Curragh Mutiny, occurred in the Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. The Curragh Camp was then the main base for the British Army in Ireland, which at the time formed part of the United Kingdom....
in 1914. It was also used as a military detention centre where civil war
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
prisoners and, later, members and suspected members of the Anti-Treaty IRA were interned
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
on various occasions between the 1920s and the 1950s.
IRA internees
During The Emergency, internment of Republicans was again instituted by the Fianna FáilFianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
Government of Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
. As a result, IRA members who were arrested by the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
were interned in the Curragh for the duration of hostilities. According to historian Tim Pat Coogan
Tim Pat Coogan
Timothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987...
, around 2,000 IRA men passed time in the internment camp during the war years.
According to Coogan,
"GaeltachtGaeltachtis the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
s, peopled entirely by IrishIrish languageIrish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
speaking internees, were set up and Máirtín Ó CadhainMáirtín Ó CadhainMáirtín Ó Cadhain was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century.-Career:Born in Connemara, he became a schoolteacher but was dismissed due to his IRA membership. In the 1930s he served as an IRA recruiting officer, enlisting fellow writer Brendan Behan...
ran highly successful language classes. Other prisoners who had more education than these fellows gave tutorials in their own special subjects, and many a young country lad who had left school at age twelve emerged from the Curragh with a far better education than he could possibly have acquired any other way."
Also according to Coogan, the years in internment left a great mark on the IRA veterans who remained there long term.
"Most men, on leaving the internment camp, were so unable to deal with ordinary life that it took upwards of six before any of them could screw up their courage to do normal things such as signing on at the Labour Exchange to draw unemployment benefits or applying for jobs. Even to cross the road was a terrible effort, the traffic, thin anough after the war, seemed fantastic after the years in the Curragh. The difference in women's fashion frightened them and added to the general air of unfamilarity. After years in confinement with adult men, children seemed fragile and small scale. Most remained Republicans in sympathy, but had no means of solving the border problem. Some were broken and turned to drink or had nervous breakdowns."
Internment of belligerents
It was also used to internInternment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
and Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
personnel who had found themselves in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. There were three sections in the camp at the time: one each for the IRA, Allied airmen and German mariners and airman.
British Personnel were interned at the Curragh, whereas US personnel were repatriated due to an agreement between the Irish and US governments. One US citizen, whose nationality had been stripped by the US Government for fighting with the British in 133 Squadron
No. 133 Squadron RAF
133 Squadron RAF was one of the famous Eagle squadrons formed from American volunteers serving with the RAF during World War II.-History:133 Squadron was first formed in 1918 at RAF Ternhill. It was a training unit for the Handley Page O/400, flying the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2, that was...
prior to the US entry to the war, was also interned. The British and US "Internees" at the Curragh were not always strictly contained, and many were allowed to attend social events outside the detention camp, own bicycles and travel into Dublin under supervision. Some of those interned at the Curragh eventually married into the area and remained in Ireland after the war, while others return frequently to maintain local contact.
There is a movie about the WW2 detention camp, called "The Brylcreem Boys
The Brylcreem Boys
The Brylcreem Boys is a 1998 film directed and co-written by Terence Ryan about the extraordinary neutrality arrangements pertaining to Ireland during World War II, by the Éamon de Valera government...
."
Modern times
The Curragh Camp is now home to the Defence Forces Training Centre of the Irish Defence ForcesIrish Defence Forces
The armed forces of Ireland, known as the Defence Forces encompass the Army, Naval Service, Air Corps and Reserve Defence Force.The current Supreme Commander of the Irish Defence forces is His Excellency Michael D Higgins in his role as President of Ireland...
, housing the Command and Staff School, the Cadet School, the Infantry School, The Combat Support College, The Combat Services Support College,the Equitation school, A Logistics Base a Supply & Services Unit and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
School.
The Curragh Camp has seen extensive modernisation in recent years. Billet blocks are being refurbished and dining and messing facilities have been radically upgraded for all ranks. Other developments include a new workshop complex and a massive garage for the new MOWAG Piranha
Mowag Piranha
The MOWAG Piranha is a family of armoured fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss MOWAG , corporation....
APCs.
The tallest building in the Curragh is the Fire Station, where the Army maintain a modern fire fighting service. The area is no longer occupied solely by the military, and many of those living in the environs of the Camp have no connection to the Army. Many personnel in fact choose to live in nearby Newbridge
Newbridge, County Kildare
The earliest known mention of Newbridge was by traveller and bookseller John Dunton in 1698, though he does not refer to any settlement other than at Ballymany....
.
Although the Camp has its own small-arms ranges adjacent to the Hospital, the nearest tactical area is in the Glen of Imaal
Glen of Imaal
The Glen of Imaal is a remote valley in the western Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It is ringed by the Lugnaquilla massif and its foothills, including Table mountain and Keadeen...
Co Wicklow