Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north

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 ...

, Ireland. It is home to

Maynooth University Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

(part of the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, a

Pontifical University A pontifical university or athenaeum is an ecclesiastical university established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and canon law (Catholic Church), Canon Law) and at least o ...

and Ireland's sole Roman Catholic seminary. Maynooth is also the seat of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference and holds the headquarters of Ireland's largest development charity,

Trócaire Trócaire (, meaning "compassion") is an International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) which is based in Ireland. It was founded, in 1973, as the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Trócaire is involved ...

. Maynooth is located 24 kilometres (15 miles) west of central

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 ...

Location and access

Maynooth is located on the R148 road between

Leixlip Leixlip ( or ; , ) is a town in north-east County Kildare, Ireland. Its location on the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water has marked it as a frontier town historically: on the border between the ancient kingdoms of Leinster and ...

and

Kilcock Kilcock () is a town and townland in the north of County Kildare, Ireland, on the border with County Meath. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 8,674, making it the eighth largest town in County Kildare and 61st largest in Ireland. ...

, with the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

bypassing the town. Other roads connect the town to

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

Clane Clane (; ) is a town in County Kildare, Ireland, from Dublin. With a population of 8,152 in 2022, it is the ninth largest town in Kildare and the 66th largest in Ireland. The town is on the River Liffey. Clane gives its name to the associate ...

, and

Dunboyne Dunboyne () is a town in County Meath, Ireland, north-west of Dublin city centre. It is a commuter town for Dublin. In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 censuses, the population of Dunboyne more than doubled from 3,080 to 7,272 inhabitan ...

. Maynooth is also on the Dublin-Sligo railway line and is served by the

Commuter Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...

and

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

train services.

Etymology

Maynooth comes or ''Maigh Nuadhad'', meaning "plain of Nuadha". ''Maigh Nuad'' is the modern spelling. Nuadha was one of the gods of the ancient Irish, corresponding to Nudd of Wales and

Nodens *''Nodens'' or *''Nodons'' ( reconstructed from the dative ''Nodenti'' or ''Nodonti'') is a Celtic healing god worshipped in Ancient Britain. Although no physical depiction of him has survived, votive plaques found in a shrine at Lydney Park ...

of ancient Britain and Gaul.

History

Historical governance

Maynooth was a long-term centre for the Geraldine or FitzGerald family, which dominated Irish affairs during the Anglo-Norman and Tudor periods. From 1932 to 1937, the town was the unofficial home to the King's representative in Ireland, Governor General

Domhnall Ua Buachalla Domhnall Ua Buachalla (; ; 3 February 1866 – 30 October 1963) was an Irish politician and member of the First Dáil who served as third and final governor-general of the Irish Free State from 1932 to 1936, and later served as a member of the ...

, who declined to take up official residence in the Viceregal Lodge in the Phoenix Park, and whose family operated a hardware store in the town until 2005.

Historical features

The town is just inside the western edge of

The Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

. It has, at either end of the main street,

Maynooth Castle Maynooth Castle is a ruined castle in Maynooth, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland which stands at the entrance to the South Campus of Maynooth University. Constructed in the early 13th century, it became the primary residence of the K ...

and

Carton House Carton House is a country house and surrounding demesne that was the ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster for over 700 years. Located 23 km west of Dublin, in Maynooth, County Kildare, the Carton Demesne is a 1,100 ...

, two former seats of the Dukes of Leinster. The castle was a stronghold of the 16th century historical figure

Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare {{Infobox noble, type , name = Thomas FitzGerald , title = The Earl of Kildare , image = Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = , ...

who was better known as Silken Thomas. The castle was overrun in 1535, after the rebellion of the Earl. The most important historical buildings in the town are those of St. Patrick's College and some which antedate the foundation of the college, while others are in the late Georgian and neo-Gothic revival style. The "new range" of buildings was erected by A. W. N. Pugin in 1850 under a commission from then college president Laurence F. Renehan, while the College Chapel was designed and completed by

James Joseph McCarthy James Joseph McCarthy was an Irish architect known for his design of ecclesiastical buildings. McCarthy was born in Dublin, Ireland on 6 January 1817. His parents were from County Kerry. He was educated by the Christian Brothers in Richmond St., ...

during the presidency of Robert Browne in 1894. Conolly's Folly is within Maynooth's extensive town boundaries. There are three old monastic settlements in the vicinity of Maynooth, including

Laraghbryan Laraghbryan () is the site of an old monastic settlement, cemetery and ruined church, west of Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It is in a civil parish of the same name. It is the site of a graveyard which is in use by the Roman Catholic Paris ...

and its cemetery,

Taghadoe Taghadoe in County Kildare in Ireland is the site of an ancient monastic settlement and round tower. The site includes a graveyard and the ruins of a 19th-century church. It is situated 5 km from Maynooth, off the Straffan Road. The name is ...

and its Round Tower and

Grangewilliam Grangewilliam is also known as Donaghmore (Domhnach Mór), is a monastic settlement about 1 mile (2 km) outside Maynooth, County Kildare. The monastery stood here until the about the 11th century. There remain the ruins of the walls and gable ...

(Donaghmore). Maynooth Pound is a rare example of a surviving pound which has existed since the 18th century. The existing walls were built in 1822 although the pound is older than that. Historically, stray animals were impounded here to be returned to their owners for a fee or sold at auction if not claimed. More recently the pound was renovated and is now a place of recreation by the

Lyreen River The Lyreen River () is a small river in County Kildare, Ireland, a tributary of the Rye River (Ryewater), and ultimately of the River Liffey. Name The Irish name ''Laidhrín'' is diminutive of ''ladhar'', meaning "fork". The Anglicised form i ...

Population

The population of 17,259 (according to the census in 2022) makes Maynooth the fourth largest settlement in

and the 29th largest settlement in Ireland. However, during the academic year the population of Maynooth nearly doubles in size. Measurement can be difficult as much of the population is transient – students at

(above 12,000) or St. Patrick's College, or temporary employees at the nearby

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

and

Hewlett Packard Enterprise The Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) is an American multinational information technology company based in Spring, Texas. It is a business-focused organization which works in servers, storage, networking, containerization software and ...

facilities (both located in

Education

There are two third-level educational institutions – St Patrick's College, founded under

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

in 1795 to train Ireland's Roman Catholic clergy, and

, separated from St. Patrick's College in 1997 – located in the town. They share campus space and many facilities. There are two secondary schools ( Maynooth Post Primary & Maynooth Community College, run from the same premises by Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board), and five primary schools: a

Presentation Sisters The Presentation Sisters, officially the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are a religious institute of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland, by Honora "Nano" Nagle in 1775. The sisters of the congregation use th ...

girls-only school, a Dublin Archdiocese boys-only school (St. Mary's BNS), an

Educate Together Educate Together () is an educational charity in Republic of Ireland, Ireland which is the patron body to "equality-based, co-educational, child centred, and democratically run" schools. It was founded in 1984 to act as the patron body for the ...

school, a Dublin Archdiocese Irish-language school and an

An Foras Pátrúnachta ''An Foras Pátrúnachta na Scoileanna Lán-Ghaeilge Teoranta'' is the largest patron body of Irish-language schools (''gaelscoileanna'') in the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1993 to act as an alternative patron body for gaelscoileanna. ...

multi-denominational Irish-language primary school, currently co-located with the other Irish-language school. A KWETB Irish-language secondary school opened in September 2020.

Amenities

The town contains a

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

, in addition to the area's part-time Garda station, a health centre, a public library, and a

credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

as well as various restaurants, including ''Romayo's'' which was voted to be the best Take-Away in

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

in 2014. Maynooth Community

Library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

hosts regular public events, including

book clubs Book club may refer to: * Book discussion club, a group of people who meet to discuss a book or books that they have read ** Literature circle, a group of students who meet in a classroom to discuss a book or books that they have read * Book sale ...

, a film club, children's storytime, and author visits. It also offers services and events relating to National Healthy Ireland and Work Matters initiatives.

Churches

Maynooth is served by two churches named St. Mary's, one St. Mary's

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

(Anglican) which is incorporated into the walls of St. Patrick's College, and St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, where the Kilcock Road turns into Maynooth Village, serving the Maynooth Parish of St. Mary's and Lady chapel. Also close by is the former Moyglare Church which is used as the Church of Ireland, Meath & Kildare Diocesan Centre. Maynooth Community Church, a congregation linked to the

Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland. ...

, has applied for planning permission to construct a church.

Economy

The town is the main retail and service centre for North Kildare and South

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, with several supermarkets as well as a wide variety of non-chain stores. In October 2005,

Dunnes Stores Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. It was founded by Ben Dunne (businessman, born 1908), Ben Dunne in 1944. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain al ...

opened a major shopping centre off the town's main street, ''Manor Mills''. This centre contains a number of other high street shops. Carton House is a five-star hotel located on the outskirts of Maynooth. In 2020, it was announced that the hotel would be managed by the Fairmont hospitality group.

Transport

Canal

When the Royal Canal was designed in 1790, with a planned length of 175 km, with 76 locks, 65 aqueducts and 85 bridges, it was intended to pass north of the town of Maynooth. However the Duke of Leinster contributed £1,000 towards the cost of the £200,000 undertaking and insisted that his town would be served by the canal. Maynooth has a canal harbour, and the canal is navigable from central Dublin to this point and onwards to Clondara, County Longford. It is now mostly used mostly for leisure and drainage purposes but historically was used for passengers and freight (grain, potatoes, coal and coke, manure, turf, bricks, stone, sand, timber, and general merchandise) and Maynooth's canal harbour provided a stopping point before Dublin. When the railways arrived, passengers transferred to the quicker rail service. The harbour, known locally as ''Duke's Harbour'', is roughly triangular in shape and on the north side of the canal, opposite the railway station, is a popular fishing area.

Rail

Maynooth railway station Maynooth railway station serves the town of Maynooth in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is a key exchange station on the Dublin to Maynooth commuter services, Dublin to Mullingar/Longford long-distance commuter service and Dublin to Sligo Int ...

is one of the busiest in the Dublin / Kildare region, as it serves two major educational institutions and is a major commuter town for people working in

. The town is the terminus of most

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann, () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national Rail transport in Ireland, railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal I ...

Western Commuter trains, as well as being served by the Dublin-Sligo InterCity service. In December 2019, Iarnród Éireann awarded a contract for Multi-Disciplinary Consultancy Team for the expansion of the

Dublin Area Rapid Transit The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system (stylised as DART) is an electrified commuter rail railway network serving the coastline and city of Dublin, Ireland. The service makes up the core of Dublin's suburban railway network, stretching from Gre ...

on the Maynooth Line which will lead to electrification of the line to Maynooth and increase capacity on the line.

Bus

Dublin Bus Dublin Bus () is an Irish State-owned enterprise, state-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 145 million passengers in 2023. It is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann ...

operates routes C3, C4 and the night buses C5 and C6, from Maynooth to

Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...

in Dublin.

Go-Ahead Ireland Go-Ahead Transport Services (Dublin) Limited, trading as Go-Ahead Ireland, is a bus operator in Dublin that commenced trading in September 2018. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History With the aim of improving efficiency, in 2015 t ...

operates the W61, which links Maynooth to the

Hazelhatch and Celbridge Railway Station Hazelhatch and Celbridge railway station serves the area around Hazelhatch in South Dublin and the large town of Celbridge in neighbouring County Kildare, Ireland. Because of its distance from Celbridge town (2.4 km / 1½ miles south of th ...

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 ...

services 22 (Ballina to Dublin Airport), 23 (Sligo to Dublin Airport) and 115 (Mullingar/Kilcock to Dublin) serve the town, as well as

Aircoach First Bus Ireland Limited trading as Aircoach is an Ireland-based subsidiary company of FirstGroup. It provides airport express coach services from Cork, Belfast, Derry, Southside Dublin and Dublin to Dublin Airport and from Derry to Belfast ...

's route 706/706X (Galway to Dublin Airport). Passengers may travel from Maynooth westbound or to

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport () is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of the town of Swords. In 2024, over 34 ...

. Airport Hopper route 767 provides an additional higher frequency link to Dublin Airport. JJ Kavanagh/ National Transport Authority route 139 links

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 ...

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern Counties of Ireland, county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchards ...

via Maynooth. A number of private operators also serve the town, linking it with nearby towns and cities; many in college term-time only.

Sport and voluntary groups

Golf

Carton House Golf Club Carton House is a country house and surrounding demesne that was the ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster for over 700 years. Located 23 km west of Dublin, in Maynooth, County Kildare, the Carton Demesne is a 1,100 ...

is located in Maynooth. The

Golfing Union of Ireland Golf Ireland is the governing body for golf across the island of Ireland. Formed in 2021, it replaced the Golfing Union of Ireland as the governing body for men's and boy's amateur golf, and the Irish Ladies Golf Union which oversaw women's com ...

, the longest established golf union in the world, have their national headquarters on the estate. This facility also comprises the GUI National Academy, a 22-acre (89,000 m) teaching facility. It has a driving range, putting green, and short game area, as well as lessons.

GAA

Maynooth GAA Maynooth GAA (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Máigh Núad) is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It caters for the sporting and social needs of residential areas adjacent to its location for all ages ...

is the local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

club and has competed in the senior football championship in Kildare since 2009.

Soccer

Maynooth Town F.C. is the local soccer club. The senior men's team competes in co-operation with Maynooth University as Maynooth University Town F.C., a member of the Leinster Senior League. They won the

FAI Intermediate Cup The FAI Intermediate Cup (), also known as the FAI Umbro Intermediate Cup and the Pat O'Brien Intermediate Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for intermediate association football clubs from the ...

in 2018 and hence now compete in the senior

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

. They progressed to the second round of the 2018 tournament. They reached the FAI Cup quarter-final in 2021 for the first time. They were beaten 4–0 in the quarter final by Bohemians F.C.

Rugby

North Kildare RFC North Kildare RFC is an Irish rugby team based between Maynooth and Kilcock, County Kildare. It is part of the North Kildare Club, which also includes cricket, hockey, bowls, tennis and bridge sections. It is also the home of a gym. The club ...

is the local rugby club and is situated about 3 km from Maynooth on the

road. Maynooth native

Bob Casey Robert or Bob Casey may refer to: American politicians * Robert E. Casey (1909–1982), Pennsylvania Treasurer, 1977–1981 * Robert R. Casey (1915–1986), House of Representatives member from Texas *Robert F. Casey (1921–2006), Illinois House o ...

(born 1978) was a professional rugby player and a senior Irish international.

and the

based Barnhall Rugby Club merged in 2010 and renamed to

MU Barnhall RFC MU Barnhall RFC is an Irish rugby union club. History Barnhall Rugby Club was founded on 16 May 1969 by employees of Irish Meat Packers, Barnhall, Parsinstown, Leixlip, County Kildare. The first full season was 1969/70 when Barnhall played ...

in 2015, fielding 28 teams both male and female from U7 to Senior All-Ireland League.

Equestrian

Maynooth is home to the

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

and

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

operation,

Moyglare Stud Farm Walter Haefner (13 September 1910 – 19 June 2012) was a Swiss businessman and a thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder in Ireland. As a young man Haefner went to work in the auto industry as an employee of the Swiss division of General Moto ...

Basketball

North Kildare Eagles Basketball Club is based in Maynooth. The club runs an academy for kids aged 5-10, juvenile teams for girls and boys aged 11-18, and Basketball4All for children with disabilities. Juvenile teams compete in competitions run by the Midlands Area Basketball Board.

Cycling

There are two cycling clubs based in Maynooth. Maynooth Cycling Club is sponsored by and runs out of Maynooth Cycles in Newtown Shopping Centre. The other is Maynooth Students for Charity, also known as the Galway Cycle. This club runs out of

, and from January to April culminating in a charity cycle to Galway and back over a weekend. The club has raised over 1 million euro for charity since its inception.

Scouting

The Maynooth Scout group has been in existence since 1975. After many years operating out of the Maynooth Post Primary school they restored and redeveloped the Geraldine Hall, a protected building, as their Den in 2013.=

International relations

Maynooth has a

town twinning A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

agreement with

Canet-en-Roussillon Canet-en-Roussillon (; ; , ; , ) is a communes of France, commune and town in the France, French Departments of France, department of the Pyrénées-Orientales, regions of France, administrative region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitan ...

in France.

References

External links

*
Maynooth (County Council site)
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Kildare