Kildare is home to the National Stud and three racecourses, at Curragh, Naas and Punchestown. This inland county has areas of low-lying bogs on its western boundary. To the east, the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains meet its unique fertile plain, the Curragh, which has 6,000 acres of grassland where, in the early morning, you see beautiful thoroughbred racehorses exercising.
Its county capital and largest town is Naas, and others include Athy, Celbridge, Kildare, Leixlip, and the university town of Maynooth.
Kildare Town
The road through Kildare Town , 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Naas, is always busy. Kildare was founded by Saint Bridget (or Brigid) during the sixth century. The local king promised to give her what land she covered by her handkerchief when she spread it on the ground, and of course there was a miracle and she built a convent here. Today, St. Brigid’s Cathedral is beside the market square, but little remains of the original 13th-century building, as it was burned down long ago. Its most interesting feature is the window showing the three most important Irish saints, Bridget, Patrick and Columba. There’s a 10th-century round tower nearby, open to visitors in summer, with lovely views from its summit.
Irish National Stud & Japanese Gardens
On the edge of town is the Irish National Stud, home to some of Ireland ’s finest thoroughbreds, where you can enjoy a guided tour and see the racehorses in their paddocks or being exercised or groomed. There’s also a museum. Next to it are the Japanese Gardens , created by Tassa Eida and his son Minoru in 1906-10, and now considered the finest in Europe . It’s a very peaceful place to visit, as you follow the 20 stages that symbolize the journey of a soul from Oblivion to Eternity, passing the Tunnel of Ignorance, the Hill of Ambition and so on. To mark the Millennium, St. Fiachra’s garden was created, which visitors enter via an underground passage. Fiachra (590-670) is the patron saint of gardeners.
