The Curragh (/ˈkʌrə/ KURR-ə; Irish: An Currach [ənˠ ˈkʊɾˠəx]) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland.

It is composed of a sandy soil, formed after an esker deposited a sand load, and as a result has excellent drainage characteristics.

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.

[1] 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.

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.

[4] On 2 January 1941 the Curragh was bombed by the Luftwaffe, the air force of the Third Reich, causing slight damage.

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.

[9] 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.

Following a lobbying campaign, local laws were adjusted, and Kildare was chosen on the basis of the straightness of its roads.

[11][12][13][14] The route consisted of several loops of a circuit that passed-through Kilcullen, the Curragh, Kildare, Monasterevin, Stradbally, Castledermot, Carlow, and Athy.