An Cosantóir

42 HISTORY OF CURRAGH CAMP Ireland's War of Independence 1919 – 1921 was a bitter campaign that eventually resulted in a truce and an end to hostilities on 11th July 1921. In the weeks and months that followed, negotiations took place between the Irish representatives and the British administration which resulted in the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on the 6th December 1921 at Downing Street, London. In February 1922, Gen Richard Mulcahy, then Minister of Defence, and later Commander in Chief of the National Army, made a scheduled visit to the Curragh Camp. The purpose of this visit was to illustrate how large and developed the military camp was compared to other establishments. The Curragh Camp consisted of seven barracks and was constructed to accommodate over ten thousand troops. Since its establishment, the Camp developed into a large military community and was comparable to any large town of its time. HISTORY OF CURRAGH CAMP By Comdt Conor Hurley However, unlike many towns of the time, the Curragh had far superior facilities and amenities which distinguished it as the centre for British military training in Ireland. The camp contained three churches, three hospitals, two picture houses, married quarters in every barracks, schools, Officer's, NCO's and men's mess and canteens, five Soldier's Homes, a bakery and a abattoir. Recreational amenities on the camp also included a swimming pool, football, rugby, cricket and polo grounds, tennis and racquet courts, a golf club, and the finest shooting ranges in all of Europe, with ranges exceeding 1,000 yards. Also unique to the Curragh were utility services such as an electric power station, freshwater pumping stations, fire station, ammunition magazine and military prison. The Camp also boasted a purpose-built post office with numerous additional shops and traders. On Monday evening, 15th May 1922, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time on the Water Tower and all flagstaffs were cut down. This act was not as sinister as it may appear and was an accepted military practice when evacuating a military post. Later that evening an advance party of about eighty troops arrived at Hare Park Camp on the western edge of the Curragh Camp. This advance party was under the command of Capt Hugh McNally and Lt Eamon Prendergast, neither of whom were strangers to the Camp and were in fact internees there during the War of Independence. The advance party was later joined by Lt Gen J.J. "Ginger" O'Connell, Comdts Bisette and Cronin and Capts O'Byrne and Irwin. In the early hours of Tuesday morning 16th May, the remaining British troops on the Curragh Camp A group of National Army officers who rendered a salute At 12 noon Lt. Gen. O'Connell climbed the Water Tower to hoist the tricolour Anglo Irish Treaty signed 6th DEC 1921 Gen. Richard Mulcahy, then Minister of Defence, and later Commander in Chief of the National Army

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