County Kildare
| County Kildare Contae Chill Dara |
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| Location | ||
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Leinster | |
| County seat: | Naas | |
| Code: | KE | |
| Area: | 1,693 km2 (654 sq mi) | |
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Population (2006) |
186,075 | |
| Website: www.kildare.ie | ||
County Kildare (Irish: Contae Chill Dara) is an Irish 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).
Contents |
History
Kildare was shired in 1297 and assumed its present borders in 1832.
From The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce:
Can you answer me this one? Why is the county of Kildare like the leg of a fellow's breeches?
Stephen thought what could be the answer and then said:
--I give it up.
--Because there is a thigh in it, he said. Do you see the joke? Athy is the town in the county Kildare and a thigh is the other thigh.
Geography
Kildare is bordered by the counties of Carlow, Laois, Meath, Offaly, Dublin and Wicklow. Kildare is part of the "Greater Dublin Area", a regional area surrounding Dublin.
Towns and villages in Kildare
Towns
- Naas (pop. 24,785) is the County Town and is the largest town in County Kildare with a population of over 23,000 and rapidly growing Naas is situated in the North-East of the County.With new house planning the population could exceed 40,000 in the next five years and becoming the largest town in The Greater Dublin Area zone.Both Sallins and Johnstown are suburbs of Naas,the town is the main collector for the population overspill of Dublin.Naas is also the main centre for economic growth in the county of Kildare.
- Newbridge is Kildare's second largest town and is situated in the centre of the county, near the Curragh plain. It is a thriving and rapidly growing town of 18,520.
- Celbridge (Cill Droichid) (pop. 17,262) [1] 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.
- Leixlip (pop. 15,000) (Léim an Bhradáin) town is the industrial centre of north Kildare, with large Intel and Hewlett-Packard facilities, and the original home of Guinness which has its origins in Leixlip Castle.
- Maynooth (Maigh Nuad) (pop. 10,715)[2] 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.
- Athy (pop. 7,943) is the main town in the southern part of the county.
- Kildare (pop. 7,538) is the oldest in the county and the most historic.
- Monasterevin (pop. 3,000) (Mainistir Éimhín) is the site of the 6th century Moore Abbey founded by St Evin.
Villages
- Allen, Allenwood, Ardclough
- Ballitore, Ballymore Eustace, Ballynadrumny
- Calverstown, Caragh, Carbury, Castledermot, Celbridge, Clane, Coill Dubh
- Eadestown
- Hawkfield
- Kilberry, Kilcock, Kilcullen, Kildare, Kildangan, Kill, Kilmead, Kilteel
- Lullymore
- Maynooth, Milltown, Monasterevin, Moone
- Narraghmore, Newbridge, Nurney
- Prosperous
- Rathangan, Robertstown
- Sallins, Straffan, Staplestown, Suncroft
- Timolin, Two-Mile-House
Border Regions
County Kildare borders several counties:
- Co Meath - To the North
- Co Dublin - To the North-East
- Co Wicklow - To the South-East
- Co Carlow - To the South
- Co Laois - To the South-West
- Co Offaly - To the West
Demographics
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. East Kildare's population has increased rapidly, for example the amount of housing in the Naas suburb of Sallins has increased sixfold since the mid 1990s.
Transport and infrastructure
Roads
County Kildare houses the hub of Ireland's network of major roads.
The N4(M4) from Dublin to Sligo travels along the north of the county by-passing the towns of Leixlip, Celbridge, Maynooth and Kilcock.
The N7(M7) 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(M9) 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.
Rail
The County is also served by the trains connecting the Dublin to Munster, South Leinster, and South Connaught, with daily connections to Cork, 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.
Canals
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.
Economy
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) contains 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 its 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, its command headquarters, and its training centre at the Curragh. 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.
County Kildare is the richest county 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.
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.
Education
- Two third-level educational institutions -- St. Patrick's College founded by King George III in 1795 to educate Ireland's Catholics and the National University of Ireland, Maynooth founded in 1997 -- are located in Maynooth. They share campus space and many facilities. The two institutions were formally separated in 1997. NUI Maynooth is the only university in the Republic of Ireland not situated in a city.
- Clongowes Wood College is a private secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane. Founded by the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits) in 1814, it is one of Ireland's oldest Catholic schools.
- Newbridge College is a co-educational secondary school. The Dominican Order founded Newbridge College in 1852 as a boarding school for boys.
Music
- Iconic folk musician Christy Moore was born in Newbridge, County Kildare.
- Luka Bloom is from Newbridge, County Kildare.
- Choice Music award winners Super Extra Bonus Party are from Newbridge
- Damien Rice was born and bred in Celbridge, Co. Kildare.
- Bell X1 are from Celbridge, County Kildare.
- Australian Idol 2006 winner and famous Australian and Irish singer-songwriter Damien Leith was born in Dublin and lived in Milltown, County Kildare until he moved to Australia.
- Punk rock / Irish Music band Blood or Whiskey originate from Leixlip
- Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood owns a home in the area. He lived in it during his scandalous affair with an eighteen year old cocktail waitress in July 2008.
- Joseph Doyle, bassist from Irish band the Frames is from Kildare Town.
Sport
GAA
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.
Golf
Ireland's premier golf course, the Michael Smurfit owned K Club, situated on the River Liffey near Straffan played host to the 2006 Ryder Cup. Other prominent courses are located at Knockanally, Carton Estate, and Clane.
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.
See also
- List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kildare)
References
External links
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