County Kildare

Kildare translates to ‘Cill Dara’ meaning ‘Church of the Oaks’. It was once home to the powerful Fitzgerald family and has many grand houses and castles. The Irish Army has its home here and it has many famous horse riding stables and racecourses including Punchestown and The Curragh. Its highest peak is Cupidstown Hill at 379m.

Leixlip Castle, Leixlip. County Kildare 1172

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One of the longest-inhabited buildings in Ireland Leixlip is located on the confluence of the River Liffey and the River Rye. This was the ancient border between the Kingdoms of Leinster and Brega [...]

Leixlip Castle, Leixlip. County Kildare 11722023-05-10T06:55:38+00:00

Barberstown Castle, Straffan. County Kildare c.1500

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37 owners (so far) including Eric Clapton Barberstown Castle was built around c.1500 on the site of an earlier 13th-century Norman castle built by Nicholas Barby. Over the next 800 years, records show [...]

Barberstown Castle, Straffan. County Kildare c.15002023-05-10T07:03:14+00:00

Griesebank House, Ballitore. County Kildare 1700 

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The Quakers of Ireland & The Leadbeater Papers Griesebank House was a former school for Quakers. It was founded by Abraham Shackleton 1726, the forefather of the great polar explorer, Ernest Shackleton. Quakers [...]

Griesebank House, Ballitore. County Kildare 1700 2023-05-09T07:43:03+00:00

Shell Cottage, Carton House Estate. County Kildare 1750

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Give me Shell Tour  This stunning little house was built in 1750 for Emily Fitzgerald. She was a great-granddaughter of Charles II who married James Fitzgerald in 1747 of Carton House. When Emily's [...]

Shell Cottage, Carton House Estate. County Kildare 17502024-02-26T19:04:33+00:00

Kilkea Castle, Castledermot. County Kildare 1426 

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The Fitzgeralds & The Wizard Earl This was originally the site of a motte and bailey built by Sir Walter de Riddlesford in 1181. His granddaughter married Maurice Fitzgerald, and so The Manor [...]

Kilkea Castle, Castledermot. County Kildare 1426 2023-08-02T15:14:45+00:00

The Moone High Cross, Moone. County Kildare c.10th century

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One of Ireland's finest High Crosses This was originally the site of an early Christian monastery reputedly founded by St Colmcille in the 6th century AD. The name 'Moone' actually translates from ‘Maen [...]

The Moone High Cross, Moone. County Kildare c.10th century2024-03-11T19:12:39+00:00

Carton House, Maynooth. County Kildare 1739 

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Once home to the most powerful family in Ireland Carton House was built in 1739 for the powerful Fitzgerald family who became the Lords of Maynooth and the Earls of Kildare. The house [...]

Carton House, Maynooth. County Kildare 1739 2023-05-09T08:13:22+00:00

Castletown House, Celbridge. County Kildare 1729 

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The largest, finest, and earliest Palladian house in Ireland Castletown House was built between 1722 and 1729 for William 'Speaker' Conolly. Conolly was the wealthiest commoner in Ireland owning over 100,000 acres of [...]

Castletown House, Celbridge. County Kildare 1729 2024-02-17T17:03:15+00:00

The K Club, Straffan. County Kildare 1832

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The largest private collection of paintings by Jack B Yeats The original house here was built in 1832 by Hugh Barber, owner of the wine firm 'Barber and Guestier'. Its design was unsurprisingly [...]

The K Club, Straffan. County Kildare 18322023-05-09T08:14:28+00:00

Brennan’s Inn, Kilteel. County Kildare Est.1900

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Kildare's highest pub Brennan's Inn sits at an altitude of 700 feet and is a proper 'olde world' pub that boasts antique red brick walls, pitch pine woodwork, a back bar, tiled floors, [...]

Brennan’s Inn, Kilteel. County Kildare Est.19002024-02-26T18:21:18+00:00

The Great Motte, Rathmore. County Kildare c.12th century

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 One of Ireland's largest motte & bailey mounds This impressive structure is an early Norman fortification known as a motte-and-bailey. These were relatively easy to build and can be found across northern Europe [...]

The Great Motte, Rathmore. County Kildare c.12th century2023-06-24T13:55:51+00:00

Kilteel Monastic Ruins, Kilteel. County Kildare c.12th 

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A unique Romanesque arch with sculpted figures Kilteel is a small village in Kildare that is located on a strategic mountain pass connecting Dublin and Cork. It contains 2 racecourses, the ruins of [...]

Kilteel Monastic Ruins, Kilteel. County Kildare c.12th 2023-07-30T05:50:47+00:00

Conolly’s Folly, Celbridge, County Kildare 1742 

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One of Ireland's most striking memorials This strange-looking structure was built in 1742 and is known as 'Conolly's Folly' or ‘Conolly’s Obelisk’. It stands 140 feet high and is composed of several arches [...]

Conolly’s Folly, Celbridge, County Kildare 1742 2023-05-09T08:23:03+00:00

The Wonderful Barn, Leixlip. County Kildare 1742

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Ireland’s oddest building This odd-looking structure is The Wonderful Barn. It was commissioned as a famine relief project by Katherine Conolly in the years immediately after the much-forgotten famine’ of 1740-41. The Irish [...]

The Wonderful Barn, Leixlip. County Kildare 17422023-04-26T20:49:08+00:00
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