Kildare Market House



The Market House, situated in Kildare town, dates from the early nineteenth century. It is believed to have been built to replace an earlier and similar structure, as Kildare is known to have been a market town as far back as the sixteenth century. This is confirmed by John Rocque’s map of 1757 which shows a market house in the same location.

A drawing from the illustrated "London News" 8 January 1881, depicts a Land League meeting at Kildare, with Michael J. Boyton burning the leases of the Duke of Leinster on a 1798 pike against the background of the Market House.

In 1951 the building was purchased by Kildare County Council for the sum of £300. It was decided to build a bus station and public toilets within the structure of Market House in order to provide a viable means of maintaining and preserving the building. This scheme of development also provided for a small museum to be set up in the building to house a collection of items from the medieval period. This was to function under the guidance of the Kildare Archaeological Society.

Back To Historic Sites Back To The Heritage Homepage