| County Kildare
 The inland county of Kildare is famous as a sporting, racing and hunting region. Bordering Dublin to the west, it is situated on the edge of the central plain. The county's main features are big open grasslands, lush green pastures and large tracts of ancient bogland-all interspersed with trees and gentle rolling hills. This charming countryside can be seen when travelling from Dublin to Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford.
Ireland has a strong racing culture and thanks to a non-elitist image, the sport is enjoyed by all. Much of the thoroughbred industry centres around the Curragh, a grassy plain in County Kildare that stretches unfenced for over 5000 acres. This is home to many training yards and studs and every morning horses can be seen going through their paces on the gallops. Most of the major flatraces including the Irish Derby take place at the Curragh Racecourse just east of Kildare town.
This charming countryside can be seen when travelling from Dublin to Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford.
Maynooth Castle Maynooth, Kildare.
The castle was probably begun by Gerald Fitzgerald, Baron of Offaly, in 1203. the main tower, one of the largest of its kind, was built in three successive phases, but the vaults on the ground floor were added probably long after the rest of the tower had been completed. The inside of the tower was divided into two main rooms for each floor, as at Trim, Co. Meath, and the walls are preserved almost to the top where fragments of the original turret at the north-eastern angle can still be seen. The tower stood in an enclosure which was surrounded by a curtain wall, of which the main entrance gate (present entrance to castle), parts of the south-eastern tower (much restored in 16th - 17th century) and the north-eastern tower as well as much of the eastern and northern portions of the wall itself remain. the arches in the east wall mark the site of a large hall which was used up till the 17th century. In 1328 the castle had two gates; one leading to the tower, the other to the garden. It was enlarged in 1426 by John, 6th Earl of Kildare. In 1521 a college was founded nearby, but it was suppressed at the Reformation, only to open its gates again in 1795. The College is now part of the National University, and houses a Museum of Ecclesiology. In 1535, during the rebellion of the castle's owner, Silken Thomas (see St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin), the castle was treacherously taken by the Lord Deputy, William Skeffington. Until 1540 the Lords Deputy used it as their residence, but in 1552 the Castle and Estates were restored to Gerald, 11th Earl of Kildare. The Earl of Cork, who was the father-in-law of the 16th Earl of Kildare, restored the Castle in 1630 and subsequent years. The Confederate Catholics occupied the Castle in 1641, but it was rendered harmless at the end of the war. The Fitzgeralds abandoned the castle probably about 1656.
Kilteel Church and Castle
Kilteel, Kildare.
In the medieval church a 12th century Romanesque chancel arch has been partially re-erected. It is unique in that it is the only Romanesque chancel arch in Ireland which has figure sculpture. On the south side can be seen Adam and Eve, a man with drinking horn, two figures embracing, an acrobat and David with the head of Goliath, while on the north side there is Samson and the Lion, two bearded faces, an abbot with a crosier and other figures. Nearby is a granite cross. Not far away Maurice Fitzgerald, Second Baron of Offaly, founded a Preceptory of the Knights Hospitallers before his death in 1257, and dedicated it to St. John the Baptist. In 1335 Robert Clifford was appointed Porter of the Commandery and was ordered to repair the castle (a precursor of the present building). What remains is a 15th century tower and gateway of five storeys, of which the first and fifth are roofed with barrel vaults. A spiral staircase leads to the roof. The castle was suppressed in 1541, and granted in the following year to Sir John Allen. By the end of the 17th century it had passed to Richard Talbot, later Duke of Tyrconnel. In 1703 it was sold to the Hollow Sword Blade Company, and in 1704 to William Fownes. Further parts of the old Preceptory can be seen near the bridge not far from the church.
Rathcoffey Castle
Rathcoffey, Kildare, Kildare.
Remains of a castle built by the Wogans who came to Ireland with Henry 11. The castle is mentioned in 1454 when it was attacked by another branch of the Wogan family. It was fortified in 1641, but surrendered to General Mant in the following year, when Nicholas Wogan was outlawed for treason. The main surviving free-standing structure is nothing but the two-storey gatehouse leading to the enclosure in which the castle stood. It has a mullioned window in the east wall. It possibly dates to the 15th century, but has been much mutilated since. At the end of the 18th century Archibald Rowan Hamilton bought the castle, and incorporated a few parts of the original castle into the mansion which he built, but which is now in ruins.
Kildare Heritage and Genealogy Company
c/o Kildare County Library, Newbridge, Kildare.
Services The Kildare Heritage and Genealogy Company offers a Partial Service to enquirers and has access to church, civil, land and census returns for that county. The main records include: Earliest Roman Catholic Records for Co Kildare start in 1753 with latest year 1899. Earliest Church of Ireland (Anglican/Episcopalian) records date from 1669 to 1899. The Kildare centre holds copies of The 1841 and 1901 census Tithe Applotment Books Griffith's Valuation Thom's Almanac 1849, 1854, 1859, 1864 School Registers 1905 - 1910 approx.
Moone
Moone, Kildare.
Punchestown
Punchestown, Kildare, Kildare.
This gigantic monolith is the tallest and most remarkable of several 'long stones' in Co. Kildare. Now standing 19 feet high, it was re-erected in 1934, having toppled from its tilted position three years earlier. Its overall length measured on the ground was 23 feet and its weight was calculated at 9.22 tons. A Bronze Age cist was uncovered at the foot of the monument. Many such pillarstones are thought to mark burials, but few have been excavated.
Castledermot round Tower, Crosses and Church
Castledermot, Kildare.
Round Tower and Crosses: St. Dermot founded a monastery here which was plundered by the Vikings in 841 and again in 867. Cormac Mac Cuilleannain, the famous scholar, King and Bishop of Cashel, was buried here after his head had been cut off in battle in 908. the monastery was plundered in 1048, and the last known abbot of the monastery died in 1073. Between the entrance gate and the church is a reconstructed Romanesque doorway belonging to a vanished church. The Round Tower was built with irregular granite blocks, but the top part is medieval. There are two fine granite crosses and the base of a third. On the west face of the South Cross can be seen the Arrest of Christ, the Crucifixion, the Sacrifice of Isaac, Adam and Eve and Daniel in the Lion's Den; other panels on the cross have other less decipherable figures and geometrical decoration. On the North Cross there is the Temptation of St. Anthony, Daniel in the Lion's Den, Adam and Eve, David with the Harp, the Sacrifice of Isaac on the west face and the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes on the south face. In the church yard, Early Christian and medieval slabs and a 'hogback' (covering of a saint's tomb?) can be seen. Franciscan Friary: Near the southern end of the town are the remains of a Franciscan Friary founded in 1302 by Thomas, Lord of Ossory. It was plundered by Bruce in 1317. Originally the church was a long rectangle with a doorway and a pair of lancet windows in the west wall and a tower on the south side. The north transept was added to it later, and this is probably identical with the Chapel of St. Mary built by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Kildare, in 1328. When a part of the south wall of the church fell many years ago it was found to be hollow at the base and enclosed a row of skeletons. To the south of the Friary is a domestic residence, possibly 15th century in date, while to the north some of the retaining wall of the old monastery still exists. The Friary was suppressed in 1541.
Athy:
Athy, in the south of the country on the Dublin-Waterford road, is County Kildare's largest town. There is fishing on the Grand Canal and River Barrow. Tennis, indoor swimming pool, and golf (9). Overlooking the bridge across the River Barrow is White's Castle, built in the sixteenth century by the Earl of Kildare to defend this strategic crossing. Downriver from castle is a striking example of modern church architecture, the fan-shaped Dominican church
Kildare:
Kildare, on the opposite edge of the Curragh plain to Droichead Nua, is the centre of Ireland's horse-breeding and training industry. St Brigid founded a religious established here in the fifth century, and St Brigid's Cathedral (Church of Ireland) is a beautiful building incorporating part of a thirteenth-century structure and a tenth-century round tower.
Castledermot:
Nine miles (14km) south-east of Athy is Castledermot, which has a group of remains that include a round tower, two high crosses and the ruins of a Franciscan friary. Three miles (5 km) away is Kilkea Castle, once the residence of the Duke of Leinster, but now a hotel and health farm. The castle was built by Hugh de Lacy in 1180, and later passed to the Fitzgeralds. Garrett Og Fitzgerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, is said to have practised magic in Kilkea Castle. The castle was restored in 1849, but some of the old work remains.
Moone:
This area was inhabited 6,000 years ago which makes it one of the oldest inhabited areas of the county. Here can be found the tall pillars of the entrance to Belan, the vanished home of the Earls of Aldborough. Near the village is Moone High Cross, a National monument, Kildare's most important monument which dates back to the 7th century. The 5m high granite cross is decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testaments, including the Crucifixation, the Twelve Apostles, the Flight to Egypt and Daniel in the Lion's Den. A damaged holed cross is located inside the ruins of the 13th century church. Nearby is a 15th century tower and an 18th century house, which is private. Bolton Abbey, a Cistercian monastry with a medieval tower house and columbarium. Timolin, located in the south of the county, is one of the oldest inhabited areas in the county. This village has a pewter mill and gift shop which is open to the public and in the porch of the Protestant church is the 13th century effigy of a knight.
The Curragh:
On the western side of Droichead Nua is the Curragh, a vast plain that has been a horse-racing venue from the earliest times. It is the headquarters of Irish racing today, and here the Irish Derby and other classic races are decided. For nearly a century the Curragh Camp has been an important military station and training centre: it was handed over to the Irish Army in 1922. East of the Camp is the Curragh Golf Club (18). At Donnelly's Hollow, on the eastern end of the Curragh, a small obelisk commemorated a celebrated boxing match in 1815. Dan Donnelly, a giant Irishman, defeated the English champion George Cooper. Donnelly's footprints on leaving the hollow have been preserved by being retrodden by countless visitors since.
Celbridge:
Castletown House in Celbridge is considered to be one of the finest Georgian mansions in Ireland. Built for William Connolly, Speaker of the Irish Parliament and designed by Italian architect Alessandro Galilei, it was completed in 1732. The interior contains some magnificent plasterwork, a long gallery hung with venetian chandeliers, and an eighteenth-century print room. It is now the headquarters of the Irish Georgian Society, who have restored the building and furnished it with Irish furniture and paintings of the period.
Newbridge:
Droichead Nua, also known as Newbridge, is 7 miles (11 km) beyond Naas on the road from Dublin to Cork and Limerick. This former garrison town on the River Liffey now has some thriving industries and the research centre of Bord na Mona, the national authority for peat development. Golf (9) and (18), greyhound racing, horse-riding and outdoor swimming pool. On the bank of the river is an ancient motte about 40 feet high and 180 yards across.
Naas:
Naas, the county town, is on the main road from Dublin to Cork, Limerick and Waterford. In early times it was the seat of the kings of Leinster, and the North Mote is the site of the ancient royal palace. St Patrick visited here and is said to have camped on the site of the present Protestant parish church. The town was fortified by the Normans, and plundered in 1316 by Robert and Edward Bruce. A Norman castle, once part of the town's fortifications, has been converted into the modern Church of Ireland rectory. |