Kildare Cill Dara | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:53°09′28″N6°54′41″W / 53.15772°N 6.91128°W /53.15772; -6.91128 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Kildare |
| Area | |
• Total | 3.1 km2 (1.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 105 m (344 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 10,302 |
| • Density | 3,300/km2 (8,600/sq mi) |
| Eircode routing key | R51 |
| Telephone area code | +353(0)45 |
| Irish Grid Reference | N726124 |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1813 | 1,299 | — |
| 1821 | 1,516 | +16.7% |
| 1831 | 1,753 | +15.6% |
| 1841 | 1,629 | −7.1% |
| 1851 | 1,275 | −21.7% |
| 1861 | 1,399 | +9.7% |
| 1871 | 1,333 | −4.7% |
| 1881 | 1,174 | −11.9% |
| 1891 | 1,172 | −0.2% |
| 1901 | 1,576 | +34.5% |
| 1911 | 2,639 | +67.4% |
| 1926 | 2,116 | −19.8% |
| 1936 | 1,758 | −16.9% |
| 1946 | 2,109 | +20.0% |
| 1951 | 2,286 | +8.4% |
| 1956 | 2,617 | +14.5% |
| 1961 | 2,551 | −2.5% |
| 1966 | 2,731 | +7.1% |
| 1971 | 3,137 | +14.9% |
| 1981 | 4,016 | +28.0% |
| 1986 | 4,268 | +6.3% |
| 1991 | 4,196 | −1.7% |
| 1996 | 4,278 | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 6,893 | +61.1% |
| 2006 | 7,538 | +9.4% |
| 2011 | 8,142 | +8.0% |
| 2016 | 8,634 | +6.0% |
| 2022 | 10,302 | +19.3% |
| [3][4][5][2][a] | ||
Kildare (Irish:Cill Dara, meaning 'church of oak') is a town inCounty Kildare,Ireland. As of 2022[update], its population was 10,302,[2] making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home toKildare Cathedral, historically the site ofan important abbey said to have been founded by SaintBrigid of Kildare in the 5th century.The Curragh lies east of the town.
The town lies on theR445, some 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional centre in its own right, acommuter town for the capital. Although Kildare gives its name to the county,Naas is the county town.
Rich in heritage and history, Kildare Town dates from the 5th century, when it was the site of the original 'Church of the Oak' and monastery founded by Saint Brigid. This became one of the three most important Christian foundations in Celtic Ireland.[6][7]
It was said that Brigid's mother was a Christian and that Brigid was reared in her father's family, that is with the children of his lawful wife. From her mother, Brigid learned dairying and the care of the cattle, and these were her occupations after she made a vow to live a life of holychastity. BothSaint Mel of Ardagh and BishopMac Caille have been credited with theconsecration of Brigid and some companions, after which the woman established a community beneath an oak tree, on a hill on the edge of theCurragh. Hence the nameCill Dara, the church of the oak.
Not too far away, onDún Ailinne, lived the King of Leinster who had donated the site to the holy woman. A story told was that the King had offered Brigid as much land as her cloak would cover. When she spread her garment it miraculously stretched out to embrace the entire Curragh. True to his promise, the King gave her the fertile plain, and there the new community grazed their sheep and cows.
TheCarmelite Friars accepted the invitation ofLord William de Vesci and came to Kildare in 1290. This same de Vesci also established theFranciscans in the Grey Abbey and built the originalcastle of Kildare. With the suppression of the monasteries underHenry VIII, White Abbey was surrendered on 3 April 1539. The Friars, however, continued to minister clandestinely to the people of the area during the next two centuries. When thePenal Laws were relaxed in the 1750s, the Carmelites returned to Kildare and erected a church and a school close to or on the original 1290 foundation. This eighteenth century church served the Carmelites and the people in the district for more than one hundred years. The foundation stone of the present church was laid on 8 December 1884. The architect wasWilliam Hague who designed churches in thePugin style. The church is therefore gothic in design and the builder was John Harris ofMonasterevan, who usedWicklow granite and local stone from Boston, Rathangan. The church iscruciform in plan with thenave being set off with alternating window and arched roof-truss. The transepts are defined by polished granite pillars with moulded bases and carved caps which support arches in line with the walls of the nave. The side chapels are seen from the transepts and chancel through arches springing from moulded piers which also support the large chancel arch with its polished granite corbel shafts, moulded bases and carved caps. The principal entrance doorway faces east with pillared jambs, carvedtympanum and moulded arches set in a projecting porch. The tower, with its lanternbelfry, extends above the level of the nave roof. It has deeply recessed windows on each face and is finished with a moulded cornice. From this point, the tapering spire rises to a height of 40 metres and is surmounted by a cross. On the north transept wall of the church are inserted – for safekeeping – some interesting fifteenth/sixteenth century stone sculptures which came from the ruins of the Franciscan Grey Abbey. They are similar to the carvings fromGreat Connell andDunfierth, also in County Kildare, and probably came from the same workshop. The stained glass in the church includes scenes from the lives of Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the Scapular Vision, as well asSaints Patrick and Brigid, and the four Evangelists. The rose window over the main entrance is of special interest with its centrepiece being the Prophet Elijah, the spiritual founder of the Order. The surrounding panels show St Telesphorus, St Dionysius, St Albert (Patriarch of Jerusalem), St Andrew Corsini, St Cyril of Alexandria, St Louis IX, St Angelus, and St Albert of Sicily.[8]
In February 2016, the Carmelite Church and Friary were entrusted to the Indian Carmelites.[9]
In July 1903, theGordon Bennett Cup ran through Kildare. It was the first international motor race to be held in Britain or Ireland. TheAutomobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland wanted the race to be hosted in Britain or Ireland, and Ireland was suggested as racing was illegal on British public roads. The editor of theDublin Motor News suggested an area inCounty Kildare, and letters were sent to politicians, newspapers, railway companies, hoteliers, and clergy to win support and amend local laws. Kildare was chosen, among other candidate venues, partly because the straightness of the roads was deemed a safety benefit. As a compliment to Ireland, the British team chose to race inShamrock green[b] which became known asBritish racing green.[10][11][12][13] The 528 km race ran on a loop through parts of counties Kildare and Carlow, including Kildare town. It was won by Belgian racerCamille Jenatzy in a Mercedes.[11][14]
Kildare Town Tourist Office & Heritage Centre is situated in the Market House in Kildare Town.[15]St. Brigid's Cathedral and Norman tower House is also located in the town centre.
On the outskirts of the town are St Brigid's Well and Father Moore's Well (the latter on the Milltown Road).
Tourist destinations outside the town include theIrish National Stud and Japanese Gardens,Curragh Racecourse, and Kildare Village outlet centre. The latter is a shopping outlet located on the outskirts of Kildare and has become a shopping and tourist destination.[16][17][18]
Kildare Town is in theDáil constituency ofKildare South for national elections and in thelocal electoral area of Kildare for elections toKildare County Council.
Round Towers a localGAA club, was founded in 1888 and plays in the Kildare GAA league. Kildare Town A.F.C., a localassociation football (soccer) club, was founded in 1966 and plays in the Kildare & District Underage League.
Cill Dara RFC plays in theLeinster League and has its grounds at Beech Park. South Kildare Soldiers (anAmerican football team which plays in theIrish American Football League) is based at Rathbride Road.[citation needed]
Kildare is served by the R445 and M7 roads. Aircoach operates an expressway service between Dublin and Cork which calls at Kildare, whilst Dublin Coach operates services to theRed Cow (with a connection to Dublin city centre), Dublin Airport and Portlaoise. The Dublin Coach service also has a stop at the "Kildare Village" retail outlet development. Go Ahead Ireland have two services through Kildare. 126 is Dublin-Kildare, 126e is Dublin-Rathangan.
Kildare railway station is located on theDublin-Cork mainline railway line, with a connection to Waterford also, and options to change down the line for Limerick, Galway and Westport and Ballina. It is served by the south western commuter service as well. From the station, a community transport company serves Milltown, Nurney and Kildangan, there is a shuttle bus service to "Kildare Village" and on race days, also a shuttle bus to the Curragh Racecourse.
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a.^ 1813 estimate of population is from Mason's Statistical Survey For a discussion on the accuracy of pre-famine census returns see JJ Lee "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses Irish Population, Economy and Society" edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54, in and also New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700–1850 by Joel Mokyr and Cormac O Grada in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov. 1984), pp. 473–488.
b.^ According toLeinster Leader, Saturday, 11 April 1903, Britain had to choose a different colour to its usualnational colours of red, white and blue, as these had already been taken by Italy, Germany and France respectively. It also stated red as the colour forAmerican cars in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup.
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