Castledermot () is an inland town in the south-east of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

, about from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, and from the town of

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

. The N9 road from Dublin to Waterford previously passed through the village but upon completion of a motorway bypass in 2010, it was re-designated the R448. The town is in a

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of the same name.

History

The earliest known Irish Parliament met at Castledermot on 18 June 1264. Also, the oldest intact window in Western Europe can be found in the town, being part of the ruins of a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

. The window, although large, is only stonework. St. Laurence O'Toole, (

1128 Year 1128 ( MCXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Hungarian War: Emperor John II Komnenos defeats the Hungarians and their Serbian allies at the fortress o ...

- 1180) or Lorcán Ua Tuathail, was born at Castledermot. 1903 Gordon Bennett Trophy

In July 1903 the Gordon Bennett Cup passed through Castledermot.

Public transport

Bus

The main bus route serving Castledermot is J.J. Kavanagh & Sons route 736 providing a limited number of daily services to

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

and Dublin Airport. This service was reduced in 2015 which impacted local commuters. Visitors who wish to visit Castledermot outside of the small number of services that pass through the town must alight at slip road off the M9 for Carlow and avail of a taxi service into Castledermot. South Kildare Community Transport operate a route from Castledermot to

Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 11,035 (as of the 2022 census) made it the sixth largest town in Kil ...

twice a day each way Mondays to Fridays inclusive.

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

used to serve Castledermot more frequently, but the solitary Sunday evening journey was withdrawn in 2015. Castledermot is also served by bus route 880 operated by Kildare Local Link. There are several buses each day including Sunday linking the town to

and

Naas Naas ( ; or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2022, it had a population of 26,180, making it the largest town in County Kildare (ahead of Newbridge, County Kildare, Newbridge) and the List of urban ar ...

as well as villages such as

Moone Moone (; ) is a small village in the south of County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the former N9 road (Ireland), N9 road (now by-passed) about south of Dublin. It has only a few hundred inhabitants, a church, a National scho ...

in the area.

Rail

Carlow railway station Carlow railway station serves the town of Carlow in County Carlow. It is a station on the Dublin to Waterford intercity route. The station has two platforms. The far-side platform is only used when two trains are in the station at once, as it i ...

is approximately 11 kilometres distant. Athy railway station is around 14 kilometres distant.

Demographics

The population of the town was 887 at the time of the (January

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

) census, a 22% increase over the figure recorded in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. As of the 2016 census, the population of the village had grown further to 1,475 people. The settlement is growing due to its proximity to Dublin.

Notable features

The River Lerr (a tributary of the larger

River Barrow The Barrow () is a river in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters (Ireland), The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers and, at 192 km (12 ...

, the second longest river in Ireland) flows through the town. In the town, there are various remains including Castledermot Round Tower, Saint John's Tower and two well-preserved

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

high crosses and the ruins of Castledermot Abbey, a Franciscan friary. away is Kilkea Castle, once the residence of the Duke of Leinster, but now a hotel and health farm. The north high cross contains scenes from both the new and old testaments and has interlocking spirals. The south high cross is taller and its west face if is filled with biblical scenes. The castle was built by the English Norman Hugh de Lacy in 1180, and later passed to the Fitzgeralds. Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, is said to have practised magic in Kilkea Castle which earned him the nickname "the Wizard Earl". Castledermot high cross

Education

There are two schools in the town. The national school, Scoil Diarmada, is on the

road out of Castledermot and was opened in January 2009. It has two floors, and an elevator for easier access for disabled people. The secondary school, Coláiste Lorcáin, is located on the main street.

Sport

Sporting organisations in Castledermot include the local

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

team, Castledermot GAA (which has men's and women's teams), and plays

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

and

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

. There are also local

Gaelic handball Gaelic handball (known in Ireland simply as handball; ) is a sport where players hit a ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return, and that may be played with two (singles) or four player ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

teams. Castle Villa, whose grounds are at Mullarney Park, are one of the most successful soccer teams in Leinster. Two of the club's most successful teams of the past were the 1979 team which won the Counties Cup and the Sheeran Cup winners of 1984. More recently, the club was crowned Lumsden League Cup Champions in 2016 and have been Kildare Senior League champions on several occasions.

Notable people

References

External links

{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Kildare Townlands of County Kildare Civil parishes of County Kildare