Kildare Ireland

Welcome to Kildare!

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.

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Information Kildare Ireland

Horse mad County Kildare, as it’s known, is home to the Irish National Stud paddocks which features a foaling unit and intensive care stable, a stallion yard, the Oak and Tully Walks which flank the railed paddocks, and the Covering Shed where the mating takes place. A guided tour is available of the stud farm, established in 1900 by Colonel William Hall Walker. The colonel’s choice of the village of Tully (a mile south of Kildare town) was based on a number of factors – including the levels of calcium in the waters of the River Tully, which he felt would be good for strengthening the horses’ bones. He earned a lordship for the generous gift of the stud to the British Crown in the middle of the Great War.

St Fiachra’s Garden (first opened in 1999) can be found on the National Stud grounds too – it has among its trees hermit huts that are recent additions.

The Japanese Gardens, its senior cousin, with its Tunnel of Ignorance, Bridge of Marriage and Hill of Ambition, among other features, can be entered through the Gate of Oblivion, and the entirely contrived attraction is supposed to represent the journey through life. First developed in the earliest years of the twentieth century, the beauty of parts of the gardens mitigates the need for the symbolic gimmickry.

The Irish Horse Museum can also be found in County Kildare, where the skeleton of Irish steeplechaser Arkle is lies “in state”. Arkle’s body is complemented with displays of ancient horse related accessories and a portrait of the aforementioned Colonel Walker.

Kildare Town has among its attractions St Brigid’s Cathedral, on the grounds of which are located dining buildings and wattle huts, the living accommodations for members of the clergy.

The town of Celbridge is home to Castletown House, built in the 1720s for William Connolly. This grand home is the finest of its kind in the county.

Attractions Kildare Ireland


Kildare Tourist Attractions

  • Butterfly Farm - Straffan

    Located at Ovidstown, Straffan, come and walk through a tropical Butterfly House with colourful butterflies flying around you. View a collection of reptiles, stick insects, tarantulas and bird eating spiders - safely behind glass! You can also learn about the interesting life and conservation of butterflies in the Exhibition centre, featuring butterfly collections.

  • Celbridge Abbey - Celbridge

    Located at Clane Road, Celbridge and set amid the magnificent Celbridge Abbey Grounds, features of the abbey include historical guided tours, nature study tours, flora and fauna, themed walks and a model railway. There's also a restaurant, children's playground, natural woodland gardens and garden centre.

  • Coolcarrigan House & Gardens - Naas

    Located at Naas, these gardens are approached by a long, woodland avenue with a large collection of rhododendrons and azaleas. The formal gardens around the house have a good herbaceous border, rockeries and fine Victorian greenhouse. The rest of the garden, divided by various paths and covering some eight acres, has a very interesting collection of shrubs and trees, mostly chosen by plantsman, Sir Harold Hillier.

  • Peatland World Museum - Rathangan

    Located at Lullymore, Rathangan, you can explore the fascinating history and science of Ireland's boglands at Peatlands World Museum. Housed in a beautifully restored nineteenth century courtyard, it helps to explain the development of bogs, their exploitation and future importance.  A series of trails have been established around the centre and guided walks are offered to visitors.

  • Steam Museum - Straffan

    Located at Lodge Park Heritage Centre, Straffan, a Victorian Gothic building - once the Great Southern and Western Railway Church, has been rebuilt here and now houses the power hall of the museum. The model hall displays early locomotive prototype models. There is a memorabilia hall, an interactive area, courtyard and an 18th century garden.

  • The National Stud & Japanese Gardens - Tully

    Located at Tully, The National Stud has 958 acres of land and operates to promote the interests of the Irish Bloodstock industry. On site, a museum serves as a historical archive of the Studs successes. In the Japanese Gardens the 'Life of Man' is beautifully symbolised through the landscape of the garden. The visitor centre at the stud has been developed to include a full restaurant and craft shop - there's also a "lego" area for the younger visitor. Saint Fiachras Garden is a new addition to the Stud and was built to celebrate the Millennium.


Heritage Sites

  • Castletown House - Celbridge

    Located at Celbridge, the most significant Palladian style country house in Ireland. Built c.1722 for the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, William Connolly, the designs of a number of important architects were used, notably Alessandro Galilei, Sir Edward Lovett Pearce and later Sir William Chambers. The entire estate was sold by the Connolly-Carew family in 1965, and in 1967 the house and some parkland were purchased by Hon Desmond Guinness. Both Mr Guinness and subsequently the Castletown Foundation, who acquired the house in 1979, devoted considerable effort and resources to the maintenance and restoration of the principal rooms.

The Golf Courses Kildare Ireland

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  • Athy Golf Club

    Geraldine, Athy, Co. Kildare

    2km's from Athy on the Kildare Road. New clubhouse. Excellent facilities. Visitors welcome.

  • Carton House

    Maynooth, Co. Kildare

    The Montgomerie & O'Meara Courses. Both are championship standard courses. Visitors Welcome.

  • Moyvalley golf Club

    Balyna Estate, Moyvalley, Co. Kildare

    The Champions Cub designed by Darren Clarke. Less than a hour from Dublin, set on 500 acrec of parkland at Balyna Estate, Moyvalley.

  • The Kildare Club (K Club)

    Straffan, Co. Kildare

    Venue for Ryder Cup of 2006. Georgian Estate, set on 300 acres. Ireland's only Five Red Star Resort.

Bodenstown Golf Club
Castlewarden Golf Club
Celbridge Golf Club
Cill Dara Golf Club
Clane Golf Club
Clongowes Golf Club
Curragh Golf Club
Highfield Golf Club
Kilcock Golf Club
Kilkea Castle Golf Club
Killeen Golf Club
Knockanally Golf Club
Naas Golf Club
Newbridge Golf Club
Woodlands Golf Club

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