Athy, 10 m. S.W. of Kildare, celebrated as the scene of battles in early history.—See ruins of two Monasteries. At Ardee, 1 m., Danish Rath. At Carmen, 5 m. E., Rath on conical hill, with extensive prospect. See Kilberry Abbey, and Kildangon Castle, in ruins. At Maistean, field of battle where bones are still dug up, of great antiquity. Rheban, 2 m. N., has a quadrangular entrenchment, the remains of an ancient city.
Ballitore, a beautiful village, 12 m. S.E. of Kildare, situated in a valley on a winding stream. It is a colony of Quakers, with houses remarkable for neatness, cleanliness, and elegant simplicity, with highly cultivated gardens. See Belan House, the seat of the Earl of Aldborough, erected on, or near to the ruins of an old Castle which was demolished by Cromwell; after which another mansion was raised, since pulled down and rebuilt. It stands low, near the junction of two streams, which at the distance of 4 m. fall into the Barrow. Plainness and convenience seem to have been attended to on its erection, more than elegance, though handsome and substantial; the front and rear composed with breaks and ornamented with corner stone work; and the whole forming a good object at the end of a magnificent avenue. The visitor will be shown a bed which stood in the old mansion, in which it is said, by tradition, that both King William and King James slept in the course of the year 1690. The demesne is very extensive, and has the singularity of being in five counties, Kildare, Wicklow, Carlow, Queen's, and Dublin; and seven others may be seen from an eminence in the grounds, King's, Meath, Westmeath, Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford, and Tipperary. Timolin, 3 m. S., see ruins of Castle, and Moone Abbey.
Castle Carberry, 12 m. N. of Kildare, is a station for the N.W. part of the county. See ruins of ancient Castle, (1180) with extensive prospect; also Newberry, a handsome seat of Lord Harberton.
Castle Dermot, 18 m. S.E. of Kildare.—See ruins of Franciscan Friary, and Ch., close to which a round tower in good preservation, and beautifully enveloped in ivy; also remains of Castle, two stone Crosses, and three Pillars of great antiquity. A place of early celebrity, but now in decay. Kilkea Castle, 5 m. N.W., the property of the Duke of Leinster, presents the tourist with the agreeable picture of an ancient Castle fitted up for modern residence. Grose gives a very interesting engraving of it; and he describes it as situated on a rising ground and commanding an extensive prospect: near it is a Ch., and the river Grisso runs at a small distance. Having been partly rebuilt in the 15th century, it has a bawn or inclosure entered by an arched gateway, defended by a round tower which projects from the castle itself. In the front of the castle is the principal entrance, with an outer staircase. The whole forms a very interesting object.
Clain, 10 m. N.E. of Kildare, stands pleasantly on the Liffey; Ch. with lofty steeple; ruins of Abbey; ancient Castle, and extensive Rath; Aqueduct Bridge near it.
Kilcock, 18 m. N.E. of Kildare, and on the verge of the county, is a populous but straggling village. Suffered dreadfully from the rebels in 1798. See Cloncurry, 4 m., with ruins of ancient Ch.; also Donadea Castle.
Kilcullen, Old and New, 7 m. S.E. of Kildare, with round tower, and remains of monastic buildings; bridge over the Liffey. At Castle Martin, curious Chapel and Mausoleum. Kilgowan, near it, has an ancient stone pillar on a hill. At New Abbey, see the ruins and monuments of the Eustace family. At Old Kilcullen examine the shaft of an antique Cross covered with rude sculptures, of which a good plate is given in Ledwich's Antiquities. The style is grotesque, and evidently Danish. Some of the figures are intended to represent priests engaged in religious offices; but the others are mere caricatures.
Kildare is the county town, about 28 m. from the metropolis.—The Abbey is a very fine ruin, consisting of part of the tower and a considerable portion of the walls, containing six Gothic arches and as many buttresses, but entirely modernized. It is said that the ruinous state of the steeple is in consequence of the siege during the civil war, when its north side was knocked down by a Cromwellian battery. The south wing is a mass of ruins, but the antiquary may still notice two statues in alto relievo; one of which is the representation clad in armour of an ancient knight of the Fitzgerald family, surrounded by heraldic escutcheons; the other a bishop with his pastoral staff, and his mitre supported by monkeys. Close to the ruins is a Round Tower 132 feet in height, with a light battlement in pretty good preservation, being one of the best specimens in the island. The monastic annals of this town present the extraordinary instance of a Sacred Fire having been preserved from the time of the Druids by Christian nuns of St. Bridget; a lady much celebrated for her virtues and her miracles. The place where this relic of heathen superstition was preserved, is still in existence, and now called the Fire-house. Of this fire many wonderful tales are related, especially that although it consumed great quantities of fuel, yet the ashes never increased. It was considered impious to blow the fire with the human breath, but only by a pair of bellows; yet people of plain sense might suppose that a holy miraculous flame would never require human assistance in any shape. It appears indeed that in the 13th century the Archbishop of Dublin performed a miracle in putting out this fire; but it was rekindled and continued in good preservation until the dissolution of the religious houses. The town stands pleasantly on the side of a hill; and the ancient Castle is partly habitable. The Curragh is a fine unequal down of short pasture, famous for its races; and contains 3000 acres; with remains of ancient Barrows or small Raths, which Sir R. C. Hoare supposes to be Druidical. The hill of Allen gives name to an extensive bog, and is celebrated for its cave where repose the remains of Oscar and other Ossianic chiefs, this being the hill of Temora in ancient times. Dunmurry presents great variety to the mineralogist. Kilmaoge has an ancient Ch. At Lackagh, 3 m. W., ancient cemetery with ruins of Ch. and Castle. Monasterevan, 5 m. S.W., has a modern built Ch. and Nursery for the Leinster Charter Schools: near it the venerable but beautifully repaired mansion of Moore Abbey, seat of the Marquis of Drogheda. At New Bridge, ruins of magnificent Abbey of Great Connell. Rathangan, on the banks of the canal, suffered greatly in the rebellion.
Leixlip, 8 m. from Dublin, near Lucan, a romantic scene of wood, rocks, and water.—Near it, at Castletown, is the finest house in Ireland, built by the late Mr. Conolly: a large handsome edifice situated on an extensive lawn surrounded by fine plantations, uniting with sombre woods and artificial scenery. From hence visit also Cartown, the picturesque seat of the Duke of Leinster; Summerhill; Dangan, &c. &c. See also the Salmon leap, with magnificent old Castle delightfully seated on a rising ground overhanging the Liffey, near which is the celebrated Aqueduct of the royal canal, being 85 feet above the river, equal to the famous Roman work at Pont de Gard in France. The village is picturesquely situated on the edge of the river, near a charming wild romantic dell, where high slopes covered with wood rise on each side above the water, having paths that lead to the Cascade. See at St. Woolstan's, 2 m. S.W., ruinous towers and gateways of ancient Priory (1208).
Maynooth, 11 m. from Dublin, has lately become famous for its Roman Catholic College, formed to receive a great number of students. It has a large Inn and fine Market-house; also a Protestant Charter School, and near it are the ruins of an ancient Castle. Bishop's Court may be visited along with the beauties of Leixlip: it is a magnificent mansion and highly cultivated demesne of Lord Ponsonby. Celbridge, a modern built village, is highly worth notice, with fine stone bridge over the Liffey, and at the lower extremity an elegant Ch. lately erected. See extensive woollen manufactory; also at the S. end of the village, remains of a magnificent Abbey, now repaired, and converted into a habitation presenting all the external appearance of its former character, in all the gloomy grandeur of Gothic architecture. Castle Browne, not far distant, has recently been purchased for a society of Jesuits. Furnace is a beautiful seat, lately much improved, with ruins of ancient chapel in the lawn, in which is a window of painted glass of high antiquity and extreme beauty. At Oughterard, see ancient Ch. and Round Tower on summit of a hill. Prosperous is another modern creation, being founded by Colonel Brook in 1780, for a Cotton Manufactory: ½ m. distant from which, at a place called the Cott, is a strong sulphureous spa, richly impregnated also as a chalybeate, useful in scrophulous and cutaneous diseases.
Naas, 10 m. N.E. of Kildare, was in ancient times the residence of the Kings of Leinster, of which it still retains evident marks in the existence of Moats or Raths of considerable elevation at its N. and S. extremities. See Court House; Parsonage House, built upon the site of an ancient Castle; and extensive Barracks. No remains of its original fortifications now exist; but the tourist will find a good inn, with a supply of post horses. Jigginstown, ½ m. distant, has been repeatedly noticed for the ruins of an elegant mansion begun by Lord Strafford in the unhappy reign of Charles I. It stands close to the road, and is vaulted underneath. At Johnstown is the ancient mansion and extensive demesne of Lord Mayo.
