Life in the trenches — a talk and site visit

A presentation on the Great War trench systems of the Curragh will be hosted by the Kilcullen World War 1 Commemoration Group on Sunday May 11, writes Brian Byrne.

The event will begin with the presentation by Des Travers in Kilcullen Heritage Centre at 2pm, and this will be followed by a site visit to Flagstaff Hill on the edge of the Curragh, where there is a complex of trench systems used for training soldiers before they were sent to the front.

Des Travers will show various types of trenches and their purpose, discuss the tactical rationale for a complex of trenches including opposing trenches and ‘no-man’s land’, and examine life and routine in a forward trench. He will also compare the Curragh trenches and those in Kilworth and Gosforth (UK) and the actual trenches of the Western Front.

Admission free and everybody is welcome. For further details contact julieodonoghue21@hotmail.com or phone 045 482193 and 045 442175.

The Kilcullen World War 1 Commemoration Group will be holding a commemorative event for all local combatants who fought and died in the conflict, in August.