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The Annals tell of Connairé Môr attending the fair with four chariots before he was killed in 60 AD. Racing constituted such an integral part of the fair that many chroniclers called it Curragh of the Races.
It was perhaps small wonder that St Bridget thus made sure her cloak enveloped the entirety of the Curragh plains when the King of Leinster promised to entrust her with any land that fell within its shadow. The kings of old all rode horses. The saintly king of Munster, broke his neck falling from a horse at the battle of Bellaghmoon near Castledermot in 908 AD. The victor of that clash was Cerball mac Muirecáin, the last King of Leinster to reside at Naas. Cerball was regarded as “a skilful horseman” but he was fated to die a slow, lingering death when, riding by a noisy blacksmith’s forge in Kildare town, his horse reared and flung the monarch upon his own lance.
As well as racehorses and hunters, Kildare was a bastion of the draught horses that were once used to carry the people along the country roads, to plough the fields and to draw barges of stout and other goods along the waterways. A gentleman was even filmed water-skiing up the Grand Canal in the 1960s – while attached by a rope to a galloping horse. The tracks of the ropes of the horse drawn barges can still be seen by the canal bridge at Ardclough.
The Hill of Allen, a place steeped in legend, was once the headquarters of the famous warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill, who served as a huntsman to King Cormac and had a pack of 300 hounds. The Celts would gather at the Curragh plains during the annual fair, where chariot races were a popular event. Racing was so integral to the fair that it was sometimes referred to as the Curragh of the Races.
Bridget, the patron saint of Ireland, covered the entire Curragh with her cloak when the King of Leinster promised to give her any land that fell within its shadow. The kings of old rode horses, and some were skilled horsemen, but they were not immune to accidents. The last King of Leinster to reside in Naas, Cerball mac Muirecáin, died a slow, lingering death after his horse reared and flung him upon his own lance while riding by a blacksmith's forge in Kildare town.
Kildare was also known for its draught horses, which were used for transportation and carrying goods along the waterways. Even in the 1960s, a gentleman was filmed water-skiing up the Grand Canal while attached to a galloping horse by a rope. Today, the tracks of the ropes used by horse-drawn barges can still be seen by the canal bridge at Ardclough, a testament to the important role horses played in the history of this region.
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