County Kildare
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| County Kildare | |
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| Area: | 1,693 km˛ |
| Capital: | Naas |
| Code: | KE |
| Population: | 163,944 (2002) |
| Province: | Leinster |
County Kildare (Irish: Cill Dara) is an Irish county located to the southwest of 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 Sallins has increased six-fold since the mid 1990s.
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Maynooth is the historic educational centre of the county. It contains National University of Ireland, Maynooth and St Patrick's College, Maynooth.
In the 6th century St Evin founded Moore Abbey in the Kildare town of Monasterevin.
The town of Kildare is the oldest in the county and the most historic. Naas (Nás na Rí in Irish- meaning meeting 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 Punchestown race festival. Kildare is home to the National Stud.
The nickname for the Kildare GAA team is the Lilywhites, a reference to the all-white Kildare flag. County Kildare is also known as the Shortgrass County.
Kildare is bordered by the counties of Carlow, Fingal, Laois, Meath, Offaly, South Dublin, and Wicklow. The county is considered part of the "Greater Dublin Area".
Towns in Kildare
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