An Cosantóir

| 23 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE "The peace of the historic Glen of Imaal was much disturbed by the thundering of artillery" … so ran the opening line from a report in a local newspaper 125 years ago which described the first salvos to be unleashed in the west Wicklow firing range. A century and a quarter later the Glen of Imaal remains the primary training ground for the Defence Forces. For generations of gunners and, indeed, most arms of the military the Glen has been a familiar environment with its place names such as Camara, Cannow and Coolmoney imprinted in the memory of all who have passed a summer camp or participated in United Nations pre-deployment exercise within the embrace of its granite crags. How did this expansive corner of the Garden County become so associated with the arts of warfare? It's military origins date from the closing decades of the 19th Century when armies were making the transition from short- range canons to the longer-range rifled barrels made possible by the precision engineering of the industrial revolution. Such potent weapons demanded ranges with a safety margin greater than could be found on the Curragh plains of Kildare and, in a country which had a dispersed rural population, such clear expanses were difficult to come by. From the 1880s the Royal Artillery decamped to the distant location of Glenbeigh on the west Kerry coastline to complete its range practices - much to the consternation of the local cockle-pickers. However, the sandy Glenbeigh peninsula was unsatisfactory as its flat terrain meant that the gunners were not challenged in finding the firing solution to hit the target. As one commentator noted the artillery officers knew the elevation needed for the guns before they began their fortnight's practice. And there was further pressure to vacate when the dangers to the coastal population were raised in the House of Commons. Faced with these limitations some artillery officers on their own initiative surveyed Ireland for suitable gunnery terrain. The specification was daunting: a valley five or six miles long, absolutely clear of houses, and into which far-ranging projectiles might be fired with impunity. Scrutiny of the Ordnance maps pointed in the direction of Co Wicklow which had the advantage of being close to the military concentrations at the Curragh and Dublin. Initially, Aghavannagh on the east side of Lugnaquilla seemed promising and permission was secured from Earl Fitzwilliam and Charles Stuart Parnell, MP and landowner, to position two field pieces for experimental firing up the Owl river valley in the years 1888-89. The results were satisfactory in terms of the distance achievable for the trajectory of shells but the gunners' room for manoeuvre was limited because of the narrow profile of the valley. This led the artillery surveyors to look over the mountain at the horse-shoe shaped Glen of Imaal with Lugnaquilla providing the butt for firing on the western end of the valley. However, the War Department's representatives had not reckoned with the negotiating skills of the Glen dwellers. According to a report in the Kildare Observer they faced opposition from "landlords, tenants, priests and parsons who joined in strong protest against the occupation of the 'happy valley' by the artillery". Such defiance was nothing new in the Glen with columnists pointing out how an earlier generation of Imaal rebels had defied the redcoats in 1798. Rebuffed in west Wicklow the military surveyors looked farther north in the county and for a time had plans to add artillery to the training facilities of the new rifle range above Manor Kilbride. However, when the trajectories were calculated it was found that the shells would fly over the ridge line of Seefin and impact a hunting lodge belonging to a Mrs Cobb who owned heathland prized for its grouse shooting sport. The army authorities were obliged to return to the Glen of Imaal but this time they were armed with the threat of compulsory powers. After further tense negotiations and an expenditure of the then huge sum of £14,000 from the Treasury, the tenants' interest was purchased across fourteen townlands from the Glen floor and up the steep slopes of its embracing crescent of mountains. The compensatory offering did not stop at money – the War Department also provided what were described as "tin houses with nice boarded floors" as an alternative for those whose dwellings were in the firing line. The deal, twelve years in the making, was not without its critics from across the Irish Sea with a Daily Express columnist opining that the Glen tenants should be grateful for what they had been offered noting that "he who has lived all his life, on a clay floor, now gets a nice zinc and wood house, with a boarded floor, put up just outside the line of fire." Such condescension aside, the way was now clear for the artillery arm to open fire and the Kildare Observer newspaper reported that there was excitement in the Baltinglass area when the first salvo was unleashed on the 23 May 1899 by a battery of the Royal Horse Artillery. Perhaps appropriately, the name of the officer in charge was a Major Guinness. Over the last 125 years the Defence Forces has continued to use the ranges for military exercises and operational training and will continue to do so for many years to come. Liam Kenny has a MA in Military History from NUI Maynooth and is a regular contributor to the An Cosantóir Magazine as well as history columnist for the Leinster Leader newspaper. GLEN OF IMAAL MARKS 125 YEARS IN THE FIRING LINE ARTICLE BY LIAM KENNY, MA IN MILITARY HISTORY - MAYNOOTH Ordnance Survey Map dated 1943 The Artillery range is still in use Glen of Imaal Artillery Range bye-laws from 1920 Quick action 105mm shoot 4.5" Howitzer firing in the Glen of Imaal Scorpion CVRT's in action on the artillery range

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