Call Out To Celbridge LDF/FCÁ
We are currently researching for an upcoming project focusing on the military story of Celbridge, County Kildare.
In the past Celbridge has had several military units of it’s own; a company of Irish Volunteers was formed in 1779 known as the Castletown Union, the Castletown Union Volunteers or the Castletown Volunteers. This unit was reformed into the Celbridge Volunteers in 1784; a company of Irish Volunteers was formed in 1914; local Irish Volunteer and IRA units were also active from 1919 – 1923; on the outbreak of the Emergency in 1939 a unit of the Local Defence Force (LDF) was formed. The Celbridge LDF company morphed into a company of the North Dublin Battalion on the formation of the Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil (FCÁ) in the late 1940s. The North Dublin Battalion eventually became the 7th Infantry Battalion FCÁ, of which C Company was in North Kildare with platoons in Celbridge, Maynooth, and Kilcock. The unit remained active in Celbridge until the 1980s.
As part of our upcoming project – Celbridge’s Military Story – we are very interested to meet military veterans in the area, especially those who served in the Celbridge LDF and FCÁ.
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This project is supported by Kildare County Council Heritage Office.