County Kildare is close enough to Dublin for visitors to
get to easily. It is west of Dublin and has many attractions on
offer. The towns of Athy and Kildare are interesting to explore, as
is Naas. At Athy there is an interpretative centre that houses an
exhibition and shows a video about the local area and the families
who lived there.
The Kings of Leinster once had their base at Kildare. Kildare
has over 30 pubs in the main street so if shopping gets too much you
can always have a drink. There is a university town at Maynooth and
Leixlip is where Guinness, that most Irish of drinks, was first
brewed. Castletown offers a magnificent Palladian house to visit.
Learn all about peat and how it was extracted from the area at the
Peatland World Visitor Centre at Lullymore. County Kildare is
situated on the edge of Ireland’s central plain and enjoys open
grasslands, this makes it ideal for horse racing and riding as well
as other sports. Golf, motor racing, fishing, cruising and walking
are all popular.
In September 2006
the K Club golf course will host the “Ryder Cup”. Perhaps though
County Kildare’s greatest claim to fame is its horse racing and stud
farms. The most famous racecourse is the Curragh, while Punchtown
and Nass are home to racing festivals.
Worth a look...
The Curragh
The government-owned National Stud was the brainchild of the
eccentric Colonel William Hall-
Walker. He believed that the stars dictated the destiny of all
living creatures so he incorporated skylights into the stabling that
he built. Sharing the same estate, the Japanese Gardens take the
form of a journey through life, while St Fiachra’s Gardens contain
woodland, wetland, lakes and a Waterford Crystal Garden within the
monastic cells.
Ballitore
Small village founded by Quakers, with a museum
and a working mill.
Peatland World – Bog of Allen, Lyllmore Peatland World
visitors can discover pre-historic artefacts preserved in bogland
and see a typical Irish Cottage Kitchen from the early 1900s with a
turf fire, and examples of turf-cutting implements and equipment.
Tourist Offices:
● Kildare Town, tel: 00 353 4552 1240
Did You Know
The Irish National Stud is a state-owned bloodstock farm at Tully. As well as breeding horses, they have The Isish Horse Museum. Amongst the exhibits is the skeleton of that famous steeplechaser Arkle.
The Japanese Gardens are next to the Stud. They were created by a Japanese gardener in 1906 and offer a symbolic journey through life. unusual and fascinating and curiously calming.
The couty is well blessed with High Crosses. The best is at Moone, it's over 16ft high and has biblical scenes carved into it.
Grangemellon Castle, which used to stand alongside the Ath/Carlow road was once ovned by Jack St. Leger. He gave his name to the classic horse race, first run in 1776.
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