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County Kildare Contae Chill Dara
Coat of arms of County Kildare Coat of arms
Motto: Meanma agus Misneach  (Irish) "Spirit and Courage"
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°10′N 6°45′W / 53.167°N 6.75°W / 53.167; -6.75Coordinates: 53°10′N 6°45′W / 53.167°N 6.75°W / 53.167; -6.75
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County town	Naas
Government
• Type	County Council
• Dáil Éireann	Kildare North Kildare South
• European Parliament	East
Area
• Total	1,693 km2 (654 sq mi)
Area rank	24th
Population (2011)	209,955
• Rank	7th
Code	KE
Website	www.kildare.ie

County Kildare (Irish: Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 209,955 according to the 2011 census.

Geography and political subdivisions[link]

Looking east across the broad plains of South Kildare to the distant Wicklow Hills.

Kildare is the 24th largest of Ireland’s thirty-two counties in area and seventh largest in terms of population.^[1] It is the eighth largest of Leinster’s twelve counties in size, and second largest in terms of population. It is bordered by the counties of Carlow, Laois, Meath, Offaly, Dublin and Wicklow. As an inland county, Kildare is a generally lowland region. The county's highest points are the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains bordering to the east. The highest point in Kildare is Cupidstown Hill on the border with Dublin, with the better known Hill of Allen in central Kildare.

Towns and villages[link]

Physical geography[link]

The county has three major rivers running through it: the Barrow, the Liffey and the Boyne. The Grand Canal crosses the county from Lyons on the east to Rathangan and Monasterevin on the west. A southern branch joins the Barrow navigation at Athy. The Royal Canal stretches across the north of the county along the border with Meath. Pollardstown Fen is the largest remaining calcareous fen in Ireland, covering an area of 220 hectares and is recognised as an internationally important fen ecosystem with unique and endangered plant communities, and declared a National Nature Reserve in 1986.

The Bog of Allen is a large bog that extends across 958 km2 and into County Kildare, County Meath, County Offaly, County Laois, and County Westmeath. Kildare has 243 km2 of bog (almost 14% of Kildare's land area) mostly located in the south-west and north-west, a majority of this being Raised Bog. It is habitat to over 185 plant and animal species.

There are 8,472 hectares (20,930 acres) of Forested land in Kildare, accounting for roughly 5% of the county's total land area. 4,056 hectares of this is Coniferous, while there is 2,963 hectares of Broadleaf and the remaining area are Unclassified Species. Coillte and Dúchas currently own 47% of the forestry. Coillte run Donadea Forest Park which is in North-Central Kildare. The forest covers 259 hectares of mixed woodland (60% Broadleaf, 40% Conifer) and is the largest forest park in Kildare.

History[link]

Kildare was shired in 1297^[3] and assumed its present borders in 1832, following amendments to remove a number of enclaves and exclaves.

The county was the home of the powerful Fitzgerald family. Parts of the county were also part of the Pale area around Dublin.

Local government and politics[link]

Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county. The Local Electoral Areas of Kildare are Athy (4 Seats), Celbridge (6 Seats), Clane (4 Seats), Kildare (6 Seats) and Naas (5 Seats). The Council has 25 members. The current council was elected in June 2009. The towns of Leixlip, Naas, Newbridge and Athy have separate town councils under the Local Government Act 2001.

For elections to Dáil Éireann, there are two constituencies in the area of the county; Kildare North, which returns four TDs and Kildare South which returns three TDs. In the Irish general election, 2011, Kildare North returned Bernard Durkan (FG), Anthony Lawlor (FG), Catherine Murphy (Ind), and Emmet Stagg (Lab) while with Martin Heydon (FG,) Sean O Fearghail (FF) and Jack Wall (Lab) were returned for Kildare South.

As part of the Mid-East Region, it is within the purview of the Mid-East Regional Authority.

For elections to the European Parliament, it is part of the East constituency which returns three MEPs.

Demographics[link]

The county's population has nearly doubled to some 186,000 in 1990-2005. The north eastern region of Kildare had the highest average per-capita income in Ireland outside County Dublin in 2003. East Kildare's population has increased rapidly, for example the amount of housing in the Naas suburb of Sallins has increased sixfold since the mid 1990s. As from June 30, 2011, the population of the county is 209,622. http://www.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/Statire/SelectVarVal/saveselections.asp

Economy[link]

River Barrow and White's Castle, Athy.

Kildare currently (2010) contains the European base of electronics firms, Intel and Hewlett Packard, two of the largest employers in this sector in the entire island. Pharmaceutical giant Wyeth has its European Manufacturing base in Newbridge, with another plant in nearby Newcastle in County Dublin. Major pizza-making, soft drinks, and frozen food enterprises are located in Naas. Large supermarket distribution centres are located in Naas, Newbridge and Kilcock. Some of Ireland's most glamorous boutiques are in Naas such as the Emporium Kalu on Main Street Naas which is the most expensive boutique in Ireland. The county has numerous shopping malls in the main towns such as Manor Shopping centre in Maynooth, Kildare Village Outlet Shopping Centre in Kildare Town, Naas Shopping Mall under construction and the Whitewater Centre in Newbridge. The Irish Army's largest military base, its command headquarters, and its training centre are located at the Curragh. Allenwood and Timahoe are also the location of large peat burning power stations operated by the state, and Kildare has historically be an employment centre in this sector.

Kildare is the centre of the Irish horse industry.^{[citation needed]} Kildare has more stud farms than any other county in Ireland, and three important racecources at Punchestown, near Naas, Naas Racecourse itself and at the leading flat national racecourse at the Curragh. Kildare is also home to the state owned Irish National Stud farm, the national equestrian centre in Kill, and Goff's equine auction centre (also in Kill). Most of Ireland's prominent show jumping competitors are located in, or come from county Kildare, especially the areas near Kilcock and Sallins.^{[citation needed]} Several prominent international breeders have substantial stud farms in Kildare, including many from the Arab world.

County Kildare is the richest county in Ireland outside of Dublin and has the lowest unemployment rates in Ireland, throughout the economic recession of the 1980s. House prices in the county but especially in the North East of the county e.g. Naas and Maynooth have always been considerably higher than the other counties in the country outside Dublin. Kildare was the first county in Ireland to experience the Celtic Tiger economic boom in the early 1990s, mainly as a result of the decision of Intel to locate between Leixlip and Maynooth. From various high tech companies like Intel and Hewlett Packard the county is sometimes dubbed "the Silicon Valley of Europe", and had a pick up in construction that predated that of other counties.^{[citation needed]}

The North and East parts of Kildare (Naas, Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip,Kilcock) is considered more of an industrial and suburban style area. It is the area where most economic development in the county takes place and is considered the more wealthier areas of the county, it is the more densely populated areas of Kildare. The NE part of the county e.g., Celbridge and Leixlip is considered in the Western Suburbs of Dublin.

The South and West parts of Kildare (Athy, Kildare, Newbridge, Monasterevin, Rathangan) is considered the more agriculturally dominated area in the county and is less populated then the more densely populated areas in the North and East of the county.

Transport[link]

Road[link]

County Kildare houses the hub of Ireland's network of major roads.

A round tower at St. Brigid's Cathedral in Kildare.

The N4(M4) from Dublin to Sligo travels along the north of the county by-passing the towns of Leixlip, Maynooth and Kilcock.

The N7(M7) from Dublin to Limerick runs through the county and by-passes the towns of Naas, Newbridge, Kildare and Monasterevin. This road is colloquially referred to as the "Naas Dual carriageway" because when it was originally up-graded in 1964 the road from Dublin to Naas was a double lane carriageway, one of the first of its kind in Ireland.

The N9(M9) is another National Primary Route that commences at Kilcullen and ends at Waterford. It is motorway standard to Waterford, with a small gap of single lane carriageway between Carlow and Kilkenny (full motorway due for completion September 2010).

Rail[link]

The County is also served by the trains connecting the Dublin to Munster, South Leinster, and South Connaught, with daily connections to Cork, Waterford, Limerick, and Galway. The principal Irish Rail intercity train station in the county is Kildare, however, Newbridge, Sallins and Hazelhatch are also served by a Dublin commuter train service called the Arrow.

Waterway[link]

Kildare is the centre of Ireland's Grand Canal network built in the late 18th century. This connects Kildare with Waterford, Dublin, Limerick and Athlone. The Royal Canal runs west from Dublin and parts of it form the boundary with County Meath.

Irish language[link]

There are 4,491 Irish speakers in County Kildare; 2,451 attending the seven Gaelscoils (Irish language primary schools) and one Gaelcholáiste (Irish language secondary school).^[4] According to the Irish Census 2006 2,040 people in the county identify themselves as being daily Irish speakers outside the education system.

Education[link]

• Two third-level educational institutions – St. Patrick's College founded by King George III in 1795 to educate Ireland's Catholics and the National University of Ireland, Maynooth founded in 1997—are located in Maynooth. They share campus space and many facilities. The two institutions were formally separated in 1997. NUI Maynooth is the only university in the Republic of Ireland not situated in a city.
• Clongowes Wood College is a private secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane. Founded by the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits) in 1814, it is one of Ireland's oldest Catholic schools.
• The town of Clane is home to another educational institute, Clane College, a provider of further education to the wider Kildare community.
• Newbridge College is a co-educational secondary school. The Dominican Order founded Newbridge College in 1852 as a boarding school for boys.
• Pipers Hill College Naas is a second level college opened in August 2009 to replace St. Patrick's Community College.

People[link]

• George Barrington: Pickpocket, socialite
• Eamon Broy: Policeman
• Domhnall Ua Buachalla: Governor-General of the Irish Free State
• Ambrose Bury: Candanian Politician
• Paul Cullen (bishop): Archbishop of Dublin and Archbishop of Armagh
• Nonpareil Dempsey: Boxer
• John Devoy: Fenian
• Charles FitzClarence: Soldier
• Lord Edward FitzGerald: Revolutionary
• Matt Goff: Gaelic footballer
• Arthur Guinness: Brewer
• Willoughby Hamilton: Tennis Player
• Gabriel Hayes: Sculptor & Coin Designer
• Aidan Higgins: Writer
• John Vincent Holland: Soldier
• Molly Keane: Novelist
• Michael Kelly Lawler: Soldier
• Emily Lawless: Writer
• Mary Leadbeater: Writer
• Kathleen Lonsdale: Scientist
• Devon Murray: Actor
• John de Robeck: Admiral
• Ernest Shackleton: Explorer
• Barry St. Leger: Soldier

Music[link]

• Bell X1 are from Celbridge, County Kildare
• Blood or Whiskey, punk rock/irish music band originate from Leixlip
• Luka Bloom is from Newbridge
• Joseph Doyle, bassist from Irish band The Frames is from Allenwood
• Graham Hopkins, drummer with The Frames, The Swell Season, and Therapy? is from Clane
• Damien Leith, Australian Idol 2006 winner and singer-songwriter lived in Milltown until he moved to Australia.
• Jack Lukeman, otherwise known as Jack L, is from Athy
• Donal Lunny was raised in Newbridge.
• MayKay, lead singer of Fight Like Apes, is a native of the county
• Miracle Bell, Indie-pop band, hail from Naas.
• Christy Moore, folk musician, was born in Newbridge.
• Paul Quinn, lead singer of the rock band No Sweat, hailed from Kilcock
• Liam O'Flynn from the band Planxty is from Kill
• Damien Rice was born in Celbridge
• Super Extra Bonus Party, Choice Music award winners, are from Newbridge
• Heidi Talbot is from Kill
• Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood owns a home in the area

Sport[link]

GAA[link]

Horses near Pollardstown Fen.

The nickname for the Kildare GAA team is the Lilywhites, a reference to the all-white jerseys they wear.

In 1928, Kildare became the first team to win the Sam Maguire trophy for the All Ireland football Championship, defeating Cavan 2-6 to 2-5.

County Kildare is also known as the Shortgrass County which is a reference to how short the grass is on the commons of the Curragh.

Golf[link]

The Michael Smurfit owned K Club, situated on the River Liffey near Straffan played host to the 2006 Ryder Cup. Other prominent courses are located at Knockanally, Carton Estate, and Clane.

Horse racing[link]

Kildare is famous worldwide for its horse racing.^[5][6] The Curragh horse-racing course is the home to all five Irish Classic Flat races. Also located in County Kildare are two other courses, Punchestown Racecourse, home of the National Hunt Festival of Ireland, and Naas Racecourse, which runs both National Hunt and Flat meetings and is used by top race horse trainers as a test for horses preparing for the Cheltenham festival.

The county is famous for the quality of horses bred in the many stud farms to which it is home, including the Irish National Stud and many other top studs such as Gilltown, Moyglare and Kildangan Stud, and race horse training establishments, such as the Osborne Stables.

Twinning[link]

County Kildare is twinned with the following places:

• Deauville, France
• Lexington, Kentucky, USA ^[7][8]

Both are major centres of the Thoroughbred breeding industry in their respective countries.

See also[link]

• List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kildare)
• Lord Lieutenant of Kildare
• High Sheriff of Kildare

References[link]

• [1]

External links[link]

• Kildare Fáilte's Tourism Pages
• County Kildare Community Network
• Kildare County Council
• Clane College
• Kildare Gaelscoil stats 2010-2011
• Irish Census 2006

v t e Places in County Kildare County town: Naas Towns Athy Clane Kilcock Kildare Kill Leixlip Maynooth Monasterevin Naas Newbridge Prosperous Rathangan Sallins Villages and Townlands Allen Allenwood Ardclogh Ballitore Ballymore Eustace Calverstown Caragh Carbury Castledermot Coill Dubh Celbridge Derrinturn Eadestown Hawkfield Johnstown Kilberry Kilcullen Kildangan Kilmead Kilmeage Kilteel Lullymore Milltown Moone Narraghmore Nurney Robertstown Straffan Staplestown Suncroft Timolin Landforms Bog of Allen Cupidstown Hill Curragh Grand Canal Hill of Allen River Barrow River Boyne River Liffey River Rye Royal Canal Topics Geography of County Kildare List of National Monuments in County Kildare List of townlands in County Kildare Mountains and hills of County Kildare Rivers of County Kildare

v t e Counties of Ireland The counties are listed per province Connacht Galway Leitrim Mayo Roscommon Sligo Munster Clare Cork Kerry Limerick Tipperary (North Tipperary · South Tipperary) Waterford Leinster Carlow Dublin (Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown · Fingal · South Dublin) Kildare Kilkenny Laois Longford Louth Meath Offaly Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Ulster Antrim† Armagh† Cavan Donegal Down† Fermanagh† Londonderry† Monaghan Tyrone† Italics denote non-administrative counties. Brackets denote non-traditional counties. †denotes non-administrative counties of Northern Ireland

Kildare Cill Dara
—  Town  —
Saint Brigid's Cathedral
Kildare Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°09′28″N 6°54′41″W / 53.15772°N 6.91128°W / 53.15772; -6.91128Coordinates: 53°09′28″N 6°54′41″W / 53.15772°N 6.91128°W / 53.15772; -6.91128
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Kildare
Elevation	105 m (344 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	8,142
Irish Grid Reference	N726124

Round Tower Kildare

Kildare Cathedral

Kildare (Irish: Cill Dara, meaning "church of the oak") is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. Its population of 8,412 (2011 Census^[4]) makes it the eighth largest town in County Kildare and the 55th largest in the state, with a growth rate of 8.0pc since the 2006 census. Although Kildare gives its name to the county, Naas is the county town. The town lies on the R445, some 50 km west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional centre in its own right, a commuter town for the capital.

History[link]

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 St. Brigid. This became one of the three most important Christian foundations in Celtic Ireland.

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 holy chastity. Both St. Mel of Ardagh and Bishop Mac Caille have been credited with the consecration of Brigid and some companions, after which the woman established a community beneath an oak tree, on a hill on the edge of the Curragh. Hence the name Cill Dara, the church of the oak.

Not too far away, on Dun Ailinne, lived the King of Leinster who had donated the site to the holy woman. A story told was that the King 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.

Birth of British motor racing[link]

On Thursday, 2 July 1903 the Gordon Bennett Cup ran through Kildare. It was the first international motor race to be held in Great Britain, an honorific to Selwyn Edge who had won the 1902 event in Paris driving a Napier. The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland wanted the race to be hosted in the British Isles, and their secretary, Claude Johnson, suggested Ireland as the venue because racing was illegal on British public roads. The editor of the Dublin Motor News, Richard Mecredy, suggested an area in County Kildare, and letters were sent to 102 Irish MPs, 90 Irish peers, 300 newspapers, 34 chairmen of county and local councils, 34 County secretaries, 26 mayors, 41 railway companies, 460 hoteliers, 13 PPs, plus the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Patrick Foley, who pronounced himself in favour. Local laws had to be adjusted, ergo the 'Light Locomotives (Ireland) Bill' was passed on 27 March 1903. Kildare and other local councils drew attention to their areas, whilst Queen’s County declared That every facility will be given and the roads placed at the disposal of motorists during the proposed race. Eventually Kildare was chosen, partly on the grounds that the straightness of the roads would be a safety benefit. As a compliment to Ireland the British team chose to race in Shamrock green^[b] which thus became known as British racing green, although the winning Napier of 1902 had been painted Olive green.^[5][6][7][8]

The route consisted of two loops that comprised a figure of eight, the first was a 52-mile (84 km) loop that included Kilcullen, The Curragh, Kildare, Monasterevin, Stradbally, Athy, followed by a 40-mile (64 km) loop through Castledermot, Carlow, and Athy again. The race started at the Ballyshannon cross-roads (53°05′07″N 6°49′12″W / 53.0853°N 6.82°W / 53.0853; -6.82) near Calverstown on the contemporary N78 heading north, then followed the N9 north; the N7 west; the N80 south; the N78 north again; the N9 south; the N80 north; the N78 north again. Competitors were started at seven minute intervals and had to follow bicycles through the 'control zones' in each town. The 328 miles (528 km) race was won by the famous Belgian Camille Jenatzy, driving a Mercedes in German colours.^[6][9]

Places of interest[link]

• St. Brigid's Cathedral and Norman tower House in the town center
• St Brigid's Well on the outskirts of the town,
• Father Moore's Well on the Milltown Road
• The National Stud and Japanese Gardens.
• The Curragh Race Course Just outside the town

People[link]

• Alan Dukes: Former leader of Fine Gael and Irish government minister
• Bláthnaid McKenna: Miss Ireland 2007
• Damien Leith: Winner of Australian Idol 2006.
• Timmy Murphy: Winner of the 2008 Grand National.
• Ray D'Arcy : TV presenter and radio host.
• Charles Ancliffe : Composer
• Sharon Condon: member of girlband Wonderland
• Damien Rice : Singer
• Richard Hughes : Jockey
• Pat Eddery : Former Jockey
• Seamie Heffernan : Jockey
• Sea the Stars Racehorse(John Oxx)
• Damien Molony : Actor

Politics[link]

Kildare Town lies in the Kildare South Dáil constituency and the Kildare Local Electoral Area of Kildare County Council.

Sports Clubs[link]

Transport[link]

Bus Eireann operates an expressway service between Dublin and Cork which calls at Kildare, whilst Aircoach operate a similar service that also calls at Dublin Airport.

Kildare railway station is located on the Dublin-Cork mainline and is served by the south western commuter service.

See also[link]

• List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kildare)
• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Market Houses in Ireland

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kildare town
• Kildare Toastmasters
• Kildare railway station
• Kildare town history
• The Irish National Stud
• The Irish National Stud - Japanese Gardens
• kildare.ie

v t e Places in County Kildare County town: Naas Towns Athy Clane Kilcock Kildare Kill Leixlip Maynooth Monasterevin Naas Newbridge Prosperous Rathangan Sallins Villages and Townlands Allen Allenwood Ardclogh Ballitore Ballymore Eustace Calverstown Caragh Carbury Castledermot Coill Dubh Celbridge Derrinturn Eadestown Hawkfield Johnstown Kilberry Kilcullen Kildangan Kilmead Kilmeage Kilteel Lullymore Milltown Moone Narraghmore Nurney Robertstown Straffan Staplestown Suncroft Timolin Landforms Bog of Allen Cupidstown Hill Curragh Grand Canal Hill of Allen River Barrow River Boyne River Liffey River Rye Royal Canal Topics Geography of County Kildare List of National Monuments in County Kildare List of townlands in County Kildare Mountains and hills of County Kildare Rivers of County Kildare

Roger Perry (born May 7, 1933) is an American film and television actor whose career began in the late 1950s.

In the 1960–1961 television season, Perry portrayed a handsome young attorney, Jim Harrigan, Jr., in the ABC and Desilu Studios sitcom Harrigan and Son, with co-stars Pat O'Brien, Helen Kleeb, and Georgine Darcy.

He guest starred on numerous American television during the 1960s through the 1980s. One of his best known roles was that of Captain John Christopher in the Star Trek episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday". Other television series where he appeared as guest star or as a semi-regular cast member included Love, American Style, Ironside, The F.B.I., The Eleventh Hour, Barnaby Jones, The Facts of Life, and Falcon Crest.

He was married to actress Jo Anne Worley (Laugh In) for twenty-five years. They divorced in 2000. They had no children. Since 2002 he has been married to actress Joyce Bulifant.

Perry served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force during the Cold War.

External links[link]

• Roger Perry at the Internet Movie Database
• Roger Perry at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

This article about an American television actor or actress born in the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This disambiguation page is currently linked from a large number of articles. Please help direct these ambiguous links to articles dealing with the specific meaning intended. (March 2012)

Mike Quigley may refer to:

• Mike Quigley (politician), U.S. Representative for Illinois
• Mike Quigley (footballer), assistant manager of Chorley FC

This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.