Welcome to Maynooth!
Maynooth town in County Kildare has some acceptable dining emporia and it might be worth a visit to the casual visitor, but it will be more of interest to the person with an interest in academia. Maynooth is the home of St Patrick’s College, a seminary that has evolved into a national university. The seminary was founded in 1795. The college itself has some Victorian architecture worthy of a look.
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Glenroyal Hotel Maynooth
From the moment you arrive at The Glenroyal Hotel you will notice the ...
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Maynooth Castle was the home to the Kildare earls from the 1300s to the 1600s. The entrance gate and keep will still impress. The keep in all likelihood occupies the space of a former residence of the Norman conquerors of the thirteenth century. In one of the first instances of such siege warfare in Ireland, Henry VIII’s Lord Deputy bombarded the castle into submission in 1535. Thus, the castle has seen better days, but it’s well worth a visit.
Nearby Straffan is home to a Steam Museum, where you can get to learn about industrial revolution era devices and contraptions that were used in industry and transport. On display you will find locomotives that served various parts of Ireland, as well as machinery that was used in the production of alcoholic beverages including Irish whiskey and beer.
Maynooth College Museum (or the National Science Museum), meanwhile, is devoted primarily to science. The museum is home to some of the early radio equipment employed by Marconi and a selection of contraptions that were built in Dublin. Inventor Nicholas Callan, who served in the college as professor of natural philosophy in the mid nineteenth century, deserves a museum of his own for his creations of primitive batteries and induction coils. As Maynooth has a strong association with the religious in Ireland, the museum also contains religious artefacts. A history of the college is provided in a separate visitors’ centre.
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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.
- Tel: +353 (0)59 8631729
- Email: info@athygolfclub.com
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Carton House
Maynooth, Co. Kildare
The Montgomerie & O'Meara Courses. Both are championship standard courses. Visitors Welcome.
- Tel: +353 (0)1 5052000
- Email: reservations@carton.ie
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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.
- Tel: +353 (0)46 954 8000
- Email: info@moyvalley.com
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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.
- Tel: +353 (0)1 6017300
- Email: info@kclub.ie
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
Kildare Tourist Attractions
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
