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{{Infobox Irish Place| name = County Kildare |
gaeilge = Contae Chill Dara |
crest image = |
map image = IrelandKildare.png |
area = 1,693 km² |
county town = [Naas |
code = KE |
population = 186,075 |
census yr = 2006 |
province = [Leinster |
web = www.kildare.ie |
|-->
County Kildare () is an
Republic of Ireland county located to the southwest of
Dublin in the province of Leinster. The name comes from the Irish, meaning church (
Cill) of the oaks (
Dara).
Kildare is bordered by the counties of
County Carlow, County Laois, County Meath,
County Offaly,
County Dublin and County Wicklow. Kildare is part of the "
Greater Dublin Area", a regional area surrounding Dublin.
Major towns
The town of Kildare is the oldest in the county and the most historic.
Naas (
Nás na Rí in Irish - meaning meeting place of kings) is the county town.
Newbridge, County Kildare (
Droichead Nua) is Kildare's largest town and is situated in the centre of the county, near the
Curragh of Kildare plain. It is a thriving and rapidly growing town of over 20,000.
Maynooth (
Maigh Nuad) is the historic educational centre of the county. It contains the
National University of Ireland, Maynooth and St Patrick's College, Maynooth. Kilcock (
Cill Choca) is a town located 6 kilometres (4 miles) from Maynooth.
Leixlip (
Léim an Bhradáin) town is the industrial centre of north Kildare, with large Intel Ireland and
Hewlett-Packard facilities, and the original home of Guinness which has its origins in Leixlip Castle.
Celbridge (
Cill Droichid) is the largest one street town in Ireland and nearby Straffan is the site of the K Club Golf Course which hosted golf's
Ryder Cup 2006.
Monasterevin (
Mainistir Éimhín) is the site of the
6th century Moore Abbey founded by St Evin.
East Kildare's population has increased rapidly, for example the amount of housing in the Naas suburb of Sallins has increased six-fold since the mid 1990s.
History
Kildare was
shired in 1297 and assumed its present
borders in
1832. Main article at History of County Kildare.
Transport and infrastructure
County Kildare houses the hub of
Ireland's network of major
roads.
The
N4 road from Dublin to
Sligo travels along the north of the county
by-passing the towns of Leixlip, Celbridge, Maynooth and Kilcock.
The M7 motorway (Republic of Ireland) from Dublin to
Limerick runs through the county and by-passes the towns of Naas, Newbridge, Kildare and Monasterevin. This road is commonly dubbed the "Naas
Dual carriageway" because when it was originally up-graded in 1964 the road from Dublin to Naas was a double lane carriageway, one of the first of its kind in Ireland.
The
N9 road is another National Primary Route that commences at
Kilcullen and ends at
Waterford. The first few miles of this are motorway which essentially by-passes Kilcullen. From there it is a single lane carriageway passing towns such as Timolin, Moone and Castledermot before leaving the County at the County Carlow border.
The County is also served by the trains connecting the Dublin to Munster, South Leinster, and South Connaught, with daily connections to
Cork (city), Waterford, Limerick, and
Galway. The principal Irish Rail intercity train station in the county is Kildare, however, Newbridge, Sallins and
Hazelhatch are also served by a Dublin
commuter train service called the Arrow.
Kildare was the centre of Ireland's inland waterway when it was constructed in the 1830s, and 1840s. This connects Kildare with Waterford, Dublin, Limerick and Athlone. The Royal Canal still forms the boundary with County Meath to the North.
Business
At the centre of the Irish motorway system, County Kildare is one of Ireland's premier sites for inward direct investment from the multinational sector. Kildare currently (2006) contians the European base of electronics firms, Intel and
Hewlett Packard, two of the largest employers in this sector in the entire island. Phramaceutical giant Wyeth has it's European Manufacturing base in County Kildare, with another plant in nearby Newcactle in County Dublin. Major pizza-making, soft drinks, and frozen food enterprises are located in
Naas. Large supermarket distribution centres are located in Naas and Kilcock.
The
Irish Army's largest military base, it's command headquarters, and it's training centre at the
Curragh Camp. Maynooth was the only University outside the Ireland's coastal cities.
Clongowes Wood College in Clane is the premier Jesuit college in the east of Ireland.
Allenwood and
Timahoe are also the location of large peat burning power stations operated by the state, and Kildare has historically be an employment centre in this sector.
Kildare is the centre of the Irish horse industry. Kildare has more stud farms than any other county in Ireland, and an important racecources at
Punchestown, near
Naas, and at the leading flat national racecourse at
the Curragh. Kildare is also home to the state owned national stud farm, the national equistrian centre in Kill, and the equine auction centre (also in Kill). Most of Ireland's prominent show jumping competitors are located in, or come from county Kildare, especially the areas near Kilcock and Sallins. Several prominent international breeders have substantial stud farms in Kildare, including many from the
Arab world.
Ireland's premier golf course, the
Michael Smurfit owned K Club, near
Straffan, in addition to other prominent courses at Knockanally, Carton Estate, and
Clane.
County Kildare has always been one of the richest counties in Ireland outside of Dublin, with the lowest unemployment rates in Ireland, throughout the economic recession of the 1980s. Kildare was the first county in Ireland to experience the
Celtic Tiger economic boom in the early 1990s, mainly as a result of the decision of Intel to locate between Leixlip and Maynooth, and a pick up in construction boom that predated that of other countries.
The county's population has nearly doubled to some 186,000 in 1990-2005. The north eastern region of Kildare, had the highest average per-capita income in Ireland outside
County Dublin in 2003.
Music
Politics
Politically the county is divided into two
Dáil constituencies, Kildare North (three seats, to be increased to four at the next election) and Kildare South (three seats). After the 2007 General Election, the TDs elected were; Bernard Durkan (FG), Emmet Stagg (Lab), Aine Brady (FF), Michael Fitzpatrick (FF), Sean O Fearghail (FF), Sean Power (FF) and Jack Wall (Lab). Nevertheless, the whole county is governed at
local authority level by
Kildare County Council.
Towns and villages in Kildare
Towns
- Athy
- Leixlip
- Newbridge, County Kildare
- Naas
Maynooth (pop. 10,000) and Celbridge (pop. 20,000) have both applied to be upgraded to "Town" status.
Major villages
- Allen, County Kildare, Allenwood, Ardclough
- Ballitore, Ballymore Eustace, Ballynadrumny
- Calverstown, Caragh, Carbury, Castledermot, Celbridge, Clane, Coill Dubh
- Eadestown
- Hawkfield
- Kilcock, Kilcullen, Kildare, Kildangan, Kill, County Kildare, Kilmead, Kilteel
- Lullymore
- Maynooth, Milltown, Monasterevin
- Narraghmore, Newbridge, Nurney, County Kildare
- Prosperous, County Kildare
- Rathangan
- Sallins, Straffan, Suncroft
- Two-Mile-House
Sport
The nickname for the Kildare GAA team is the
Lilywhites, a reference to the all-white jerseys they wear. Kildare were the first team to win the
Sam Maguire All Ireland football Championship in 1928 defeating Cavan 2-6 to 2-5. County Kildare is also known as the
Shortgrass County which is a reference to how short the grass is on the commons of the Curragh. The Kildare Hotel and Golf Club, more well known as
The K Club, situated on the River Liffey at Straffan, County Kildare, played host to the 2006 Ryder Cup.
Horse racing
The
Curragh horse-racing course the home to all five irish classics is also located in County Kildare along with two other courses
Punchestown Racecourse home of the National Hunt Festival of Ireland and Naas Racecourse. The county is known for the quality of horses bred in the many horse stud farms to which it is home to. Kildare is also home to the Irish National Stud and many other top farms such as Moyglare Stud and Kildagan Stud.
External links
- County Kildare Community Network
- http://www.kildare.ie
- http://www.kildarecoco.ie
County Kildare Community Network, Ireland
An information resource for Kildare which includes local news, business, community and tourist information.
Kildare County Council - Home
Council profile with information on all services.
The Modern Antiquarian.com | Ireland | County Kildare
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