Clodagh Finn: Remembering the women who lived in holes in 19th-century Kildare

While they were cast out of society, they succeeded in creating their own subculture, one which offered them 'emotional and physical support, a certain degree of protection and indeed human validation'

A sketch of the wrens of the Curragh, the women who once lived in holes (or nests) on the perimeter of the 19th-century army camp in Co Kildare.

Mention the wren at this time of year and anyone versed in Irish folklore is likely to think of the wren boys (girls too, of course) who parade happily and noisily on St Stephen’s Day. But I always think of the wrens of the Curragh, those incredibly hardy but reviled women who once lived in holes on the perimeter of the military camp in 19th-century Co Kildare.

In fact, every time I pass that expanse of green I think of the outcast community of 60 or so women who led a truly communal — if brutal — life, sheltering in furze-covered hollows that resembled nests, hence the nickname ‘wren’.