Curragh - Dec 2024

Our next event takes place on the Curragh on Sunday 1st December. Start times are available from 11am to 1pm. Courses close at 3:00pm.

Irish Junior Squad Fundraiser:

This event is being organized and planned by members of the Irish Junior Squad to raise funds for their activities - you can help support them by simply coming along and running on the day.

If you can't be there, or don't plan on running, you can still enter (any course) and select "Junior Donation (Not Running)" as your price bracket, to donate €5 to the squad. 

There will also be a cake sale in the Sports club (at the assembly) so that you can get some xmas goodies after your run.

Location and Directions:

The assembly/parking is at the Defense Forces Sports Club, which is here: https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.150714,-6.8188034,17z

Directions from M7.

Take Exit 13 from Southbound carriageway on the M7. At the roundabout, take the first exit, signposted Kilcullen & Athgarvan onto the R413. Continue on R413 for 850ms to Lumville Cross Roads . Turn right onto L7042. Continue for 800ms and take the first right onto the access road for the Defence Forces Sports Pavilion. Turn right into their grounds for parking, enquiries and download. 

Terrain:

Assembly and download are in the club house and toilets are available. The Curragh Golf Club is marked on all maps as out of bounds. Use of any paths through the Golf Club is strictly prohibited for safety reasons.

The Curragh’s open, undulating grassland makes for unimpeded running. Furze is the dominant flora with some distinct stands of trees. Not every bush or man/sheep made track is mapped and power lines are not shown on the maps. 

The wearing of appropriate footwear and full body cover is advised. The Yellow and Orange courses are predominantly on grass. Only Brown, Blue, & Green cross a public road - no marked crossing, so look both ways. Courses are not suitable for buggies

Courses:

Start for the Yellow/Orange and Red courses is a short distance from the parking - follow tapes/signs.

Start for all other courses is ~800m away, the route will also be taped and signposted.

Course Length Climb No. of Controls

Yellow 1.8 kms 15 m 7

Orange 2.7 kms 25 m 10

Red 4.2 kms 30 m 12

Light Green 3.5 kms 50m 10

Short Green 3.5 kms 75 m 12

Green 6.2 kms 105 m 19

Blue 7.9 kms 135 m 25
Brown 10.3 kms 210 m 28 

Finish for all courses are close to their start points, so return to download via the route you took to get to the start.(taped)

SIAC will be enabled. (Punching start and finish)

Maps:

The maps will be printed on A4 waterproof paper. Control descriptions will be printed on all maps while loose descriptions will be available at the start. Yellow/Orange/Red/Short Green/Light Green courses will be scaled at 1:7,500. All other courses will be at 1:10,000.

Entries:

Entries close on Friday, Nov 29th at 24:00. There will be limited entries available on the day, dependant on spare maps. If you need to hire an SI card, you can indicate this on the entry form - these will be pre-allocated, and can be collected at registration, to be returned at the finish. Lost cards cost €40 to replace! Registration will be used for collection of SI rentals and downloading of results.

Entries via the online system at https://www.orienteering.ie/fixtures/curragh-5/ 

If you plan to bring a group, please contact us at cnoc@orienteering.ie ahead of time so that we can have maps and SI cards available to you promptly.

Results:

Results will be posted on https://www.orienteering.ie

Prices:

* Adults  €8

* Students, Juniors and those over 65 years €5

* Family: 2 Adults and up to 5 Juniors €20

Whether you are a complete novice, a family, or a seasoned veteran, there is a course to suit. If you are new to orienteering, drop us an email beforehand, or ask us on the day (at the event) for advice. I'd suggest beginner children or families start on the Yellow course, and beginner adults could try the Red course - both are technically easy, the only difference being the length involved.

Dogs:

The Curragh is sheep country! While dogs are allowed, they must be kept on a leash.

Litter:

Please bring your waste home with you - do not expect the organisers to take it away for you!