County Kildare
| County Kildare | |
|---|---|
| |
| Area: | 1,693 kmò |
| Capital: | Naas |
| Code: | KE |
| Population: | 163,944 (2002) |
| Province: | Leinster |
County Kildare (Irish: Cill Dara) is an Irish county located to the southwest of County Dublin in the province of Leinster. The name comes from the Irish, meaning church (Cill) of the oaks (Dara), see Adare.
East Kildare's population has increased rapidly; the amount of housing in the Naas suburb of Sallens has increased six-fold since the mid 1990s.
Moore Abbey is in the town of Monasterevin. It is the site of a monastery founded by St Evin in the 6th century. Maynooth is the historic educational centre of the county. It contains National University of Ireland, Maynooth and St Patrick's College, Pontifical University.
The town of Kildare is the oldest in the county and the most historic. Naas (nas na rÃÂ in irish- meaning meating place of kings) is the county town, Leixlip town is the site of an enormous Intel factory, Kilcock is a town located 2 miles from Maynooth.
The Curragh horse-racing course is located in County Kildare. The county is known for the quality of horses bred in the many horse stud farms to which it is home. it is also home to the huge yearly puchestoun race festival. Kildare is home to the national stud.
The nickname for the Kildare GAA team is the Lilywhites, a reference to the all-while Kildare flag.
| Counties of Ireland | |
| Republic of Ireland: Carlow | Cavan | Clare | Cork | Donegal | Dublin | Galway | Kerry | Kildare | Kilkenny | Laois | Leitrim | Limerick | Longford | Louth | Mayo | Meath | Monaghan | Offaly | Roscommon | Sligo | Tipperary (North, South) | Waterford | Westmeath | Wexford | Wicklow | |
| Northern Ireland: Antrim | Armagh | Derry/Londonderry | Down | Fermanagh | Tyrone | |
| Provinces of Ireland: Connacht | Leinster | Munster | Ulster | |