Kildare
County of the Republic of Ireland, in the province of Leinster; county town Naas; area 1,690 sq km/ 652 sq mi; population (2002) 163,950. The principal rivers are the Barrow, the Boyne, the Lesser Barrow, and the Liffey. Kildare is wet and boggy in the north with extensive grassy plains and rolling hills, and includes part of the Bog of Allen, the highest point being Cupidstown Hill (379 m/1,243 ft). The town of Maynooth houses a constituent part of the National University of Ireland; originally the college was a seminary for Roman Catholic priests. The Curragh, at Tully, is a plain that is the site of the national stud and headquarters of Irish horse racing; steeplechase racing also takes place at Punchestown. Cattle are grazed in the north, and in the south products include wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, beet, and cattle. Other main towns include Athy, Droichead Nua, and Kildare.
Kildare
| Market town in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, 48 km/30 mi southwest of Dublin; population (2002) 5,700. Kildare is the centre of the Irish horse-breeding and training industry, and the national stud is located at nearby Tully; the town also has meat-processing industries. An ecclesiastic settlement was founded at Kildare by St Brigid in AD 470. The Protestant St Brigid's Cathedral incorporates a 10th-century round tower and the ruins of a 13th-century church. |
| Tully, 1 km/0.6 mi away, also has the remains of a community of Knights Hospitallers (the Order of St John); Japanese gardens laid out in 1906; and a horse museum at the Irish National Stud. |
Kildare
