The Curragh is one of the great open spaces of Ireland — five thousand acres of unfenced limestone grassland that has never been ploughed. Sheep still graze freely across the plain, sometimes wandering onto the road. It is the heartland of Irish thoroughbred racing: training gallops run in the early morning mist, strings of horses moving at exercise, and the whole industry centred on the big white grandstands of the Curragh Racecourse. The Irish Derby, run here every June, is one of the oldest and most prestigious flat races in the world.
Beyond racing, the Curragh has a long military history — the Curragh Camp is Ireland's largest military installation, and the plain itself was the site of the Curragh Incident of 1914, when British officers threatened to resign rather than enforce Home Rule in Ulster.