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Kill

The pretty village of Kill is on Kildare's border with Dublin . The village has a population of approximately 2,000.

Kill has won numerous awards in Ireland's Tidy Towns Competition . The famous Goffs Bloodstock Sales Ring is nearby, and Kill is steeped in Kildare's equestrian tradition, with a number of riding schools in the area.

Local History

The Gaelic name for Kill is "An Chill" meaning "The Church" and Kill has two Churches, St. Brigid's Catholic Church and St John's Church of Ireland . The exact date the Catholic Church was built is not known but it was definitely built around the 1650 's. By the 19th century it had fallen into disrepair, so in 1821 it was rebuilt but this time as a Protestant Church.

There is a beautiful and very old organ in St. John's Church which was donated by the Earl of Mayo , who lived nearby in Palmerstown House . The strange thing about the organ are the keys. The normal positions of the black and white keys are reversed. There is also a half door in the church. These half doors used to be quite common in Churches but now have almost completely vanished and this particular example is reputed to be one of the last in Ireland.

Looking back at old maps of Kill, it seems that pubs were very popular in Kill even then. There were two sheebeens and one public house. A sheebeen is a little one-roomed thatched cottage with a big window in the front where the drink was served. On the site of both sheebeens there are now modern shops. The public house was and still is, called the Old House . It was originally built in 1794 and then rebuilt in 1943 .

Things To Do

Equestrian

Kill is steeped in equestrian activities with the choice of two horse riding centres, - Old Mill Riding Centre and the Kill International Equestrian Centre . Goffs bloodstock complex is located at Kill and is the main sales ring in Ireland for thoroughbreds and yearlings.

Golf

There is a choice of four 18 hole golf courses all within a 6 mile radius of Kill . Killeen , Naas , Craddockstown and The K-Club are first class golf courses and all are open to Green Fees. Naas Driving Range is 2 miles from Kill .