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County Kildare History and Heritage

Castles of County Kildare

County Kildare has many remaining sites which reflect its rich architectural heritage.

Maynooth Castle
The ancient name of Maynooth ‘Magh Nuadhat’ means the plain of Nuadhat. Nuadhat is referred to as the maternal grandfather of the legendary Fionn MaCumhail in the ‘Annals of the Four Masters’. In 1176 Strongbow granted the manor of Maynooth to Maurice Fitzgerald who erected a castle for protection against the native Irish...

Castle Rheban
Castle Rheban is situated two miles north of Athy. The castle, believed to be the burial place of a king, was once attached to the site of an ancient moat, but the two have long since been separated by the construction of the Grand Canal

Kilteel Castle
The village of Kilteel lies six miles north of Naas at the foot of the Wicklow mountains. It is here that we find Kilteel Castle. It was built in the early thirteenth century by Maurice Fitzgerald for the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. The site upon which the castle was built was once a monastic settlement...

Jigginstown Castle
Jigginstown or Sigginstown House as it was also known and one of Kildare’s most prominent ruins, was constructed under the guidance of Thomas Wentworth. Wentworth was Earl of Strafford and was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland during the reign of Charles I. Stafford had planned the building with the idea that it could be home to the king on royal visits to Ireland...