The Curragh, Kildare, means many things to many people. A group of ex-Army friends used to meet on occasion for a meal and a chat. They had this in common - they had been on the same course there, which led to them becoming temporary officers. A letter of long ago from one of these to another turned up in odd circumstances. And the oddest thing about it was, they agreed, that among the memories of their three- or four-month training course, one of the most lasting was of crawling over the short grass of the Curragh, rifles cradled across their arms, heads close to the ground - and the smell of, and contact with, er, sheep droppings, though droppings wasn't the word used. Many telling incidents were recalled in those meetings, but on one all agreed - that they had learned much, and derived satisfaction from their time on that great plain, which toughened them, led them to look at themselves in a new light and gave them great self-confidence. But the grass, the sheep, the whins! Other memories were of cycling to and from Dublin on their rare free weekends. Buses in wartime were few enough and not always at the right time. So, for Dubliners heading back very early on Monday morning, uphill for miles into the wind from the west, and often rain, was another toughening process.
They would wonder if all would get through and become officers. "You'll be kept," was said of another, often with sarcasm at some over-officiousness. Another prediction was: "You'll be sent to Cluais", a bog at the top of some mountain in Galway, where the Construction Corps was digging turf. Said to be the wettest place in the west.
What's all this meandering about? Apart from the odd collection of potential officers there were, quite separate, the Cadets, the men who were to become the real officers, spending two years of wide study in the process. And now, to mark the 70th anniversary of the commissioning of the First Cadet Class, it is proposed to launch a Cadet School Association on October 4th. A trust is to be formed and part of its objectives will be to provide extra financial support to The Cadet School. A worthy idea. Best write to Colonel Travers, Commandant, The Military College, Curragh, Kildare, for details. Perhaps more another day. Y.