Where is kildare in ireland

Kildare really doesn't get its due. Often overlooked because of its proximity to big brother, Dublin, bordering just to the east, Kildare is a haven of outdoor delights, especially horseback riding and fishing. There are also plenty of walking trails in Kildare, for the county is largely rural and mostly flat. Most people associate Co. Kildare with horses, because it is home to three major Irish equestrian institutions: the Irish National Stud and the Punchestown hunting and Curragh flat racing Racecourses.

Compared with other Irish counties, Kildare has had a pretty quiet, albeit influential history. Shired in the s, the county was home to the FitzGerald family, which became the Earls of Kildare in after the county was incorporated into the Pale under English control.

Thanks to its proximity to Dublin, Kildare is one of Ireland's most affluent counties, especially as commuting to the city has become common and many multinational corporations, like Intel and Hewlett Packard, have opened in here. Kildare has also quietly been contributing numerous artists to the Irish music scene for years. Another famous Kildare son, albeit not a musician, is polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton who was born in Kilkee, County Kildare on February 15, In his family moved to Sydenham in London.

Back to Top. As an inland county, Kildare's landscape shares many of its features with its neighbours, but it has the advantage of the Wicklow mountain range to the east, with the foothills spreading westwards to meet the Curragh of Kildare. It extends into the undulating central lowlands, beneath which the layers of carboniferous limestone, sand and gravel provide good drainage.

The great raised Bog of Allen on the western side of the county, with its covering of black peat and mantle of heather and gorse, is a dramatic contrast to the well-tilled fields of south Kildare, or to the bright green paddocks and the wooded estates of the livestock and stud farms scattered throughout the county.

Three great rivers water the county, the Liffey which flows northwards from the Wicklow mountains to enter the sea at Dublin, the Barrow which forms the border of the county with Laois, and the legendary Boyne, the fount of which is beneath the historic hill of Carbury.

Both the Grand and Royal canals traverse the county, the Royal along the northern boundaries, and the Grand which crosses the county from Lyons on the east to Rathangan and Monasterevan on the west, and with a line southwards to join the Barrow navigation at Athy.

The river valleys, canals, bogs and woodlands are habitats of wild fowl, birds and animals, and the nature reserves at Pollardstown Fen and Ballinafagh are especially noted for their varieties of flora and fauna.

The open forests of native and imported species at Donadea, Glending, Kilkea and Monasterevan are restful oases for walks and picnicking. Kildare has a long and well-documented history with abundant physical evidence of ancient habitation. The tall granite standing stones at Punchestown, the stone circle at Broadlease, the hill forts at Dun Ailinne, Sillagh and Hughstown, and the many raths and other earthworks of the Curragh are all reminders of early settlers.

At Moone there is one of the most beautiful High Crosses to be found in Ireland. Castledermot traces its roots to the 9th Century hermitage of St. Diarmada on the banks of the Graney river. It too has the remains of a fine High Cross and a Round Tower.

Born in he became abbot of the Celtic monastery at Glendalough and archbishop of Dublin. He died in at Au in France.

At Ardscull and Rathmore there are fine examples of Anglo-Norman mottes. The many castles, such as those at Kilkea, Maynooth, Athy and Kilteel, and the ruined religious houses at Kildare, the Franciscan friary at Clane and Celbridge, link the medieval world with the modern.

His great grandson, John Fitzthomas, was created the first Earl of Kildare in The Fitzgeralds held extensive estates and had many castles in the county, the principal one being at Maynooth. Even with the coming of the railways, horses remained essential for agriculture, day-to-day transport and military use.

The 19th century created leisure time and disposable income for many, and horse-racing flourished, especially here so close to Dublin. Neither the county nor the town of Kildare inspired the fictional "Dr Kildare". He first appeared in print in , then in the TV soap opera of played by Richard Chamberlain. The airport also has the best deals for car hire. County Kildare has two principal transport corridors, laid down in prehistoric times to avoid the midland bogs.

One follows the north edge of the county through Maynooth then branches towards Galway, Mayo or Sligo, the other is central through Naas and Kildare then branches for Waterford, Cork or Limerick. Public transport is good along these corridors but sparse elsewhere. Coaches run from Dublin via the airport to Maynooth and variously continue west to Athlone and Galway , or via Mullingar and Longford then northwest to Dromod, Carrick-on-Shannon , Boyle and Sligo , or west to Ballina.

You need a car for travel off the two main transport corridors, and many places of interest are away out in the countryside. The area is lowland and the distances are not great so a bicycle might do, though it's sure to rain.