Soldiers of the Short Grass. Dan Harvey

1869 that a ‘lock hospital’ (an institution for treating venereal disease) was opened in Kildare town and the ‘wrens’ could receive proper medical treatment over the twenty years which followed. The presence of these ‘unfortunates’ sometimes caused public outrage, their existence in a rural setting being more obvious than in a town or urban area. Over the years, the enforcement of the Curragh bye-laws for trespass, along with the passing of the Contagious Diseases Act in 1886, caused the problem to become less visible and extensive and, on some occasions, efforts went beyond expressions of strong disapproval and attempts at reforming some of the ‘fallen women’ met with success. The ‘wrens’, however, remained and the presence of prostitutes on the plain did not cease.

      The Commander-in-Chief’s Headquarter Block circa turn of the twentieth century (courtesy of the National Library of Ireland).

      A soldier’s lot at the Curragh was not always a wholeheartedly happy one. There was much to complain of: the dreariness and isolation of the camp, leaks in the wooden accommodation, dampness in the concrete huts, strenuous duties and training, little money, strict discipline – all underlined by periods of unending routine punctuated by boredom; it was little wonder that drunkenness and the company of prostitutes were so attractive, especially among some rank and file who did not have the highest moral standards to begin with.