County Kildare
County Kildare () is a county in Ireland. It is in the 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 authority for the county, which has a population of 222,504. Geography and subdivisions. Kildare is the 24th-largest of Ireland's 32 counties in area and seventh largest in terms of population. It is the eighth largest of Leinster's twelve counties in size, and second largest in terms of population. It is bordered by the counties of Carlow, Laois, Meath , Offaly, Dublin and Wicklow. As an inland county, Kildare is a generally lowland region. The county's highest points are the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains bordering to the east. The highest point in Kildare is Cupidstown Hill on the border with South Dublin, with the better known Hill of Allen in central Kildare. Physical geography. The county has three major rivers running through it: the Barrow, the Liffey and the Boyne. The Grand Canal crosses the county from Lyons on the east to Rathangan and Monasterevin on the west. A southern branch joins the Barrow navigation at Athy. The  Royal Canal stretches across the north of the county along the border with Meath. Pollardstown Fen is the largest remaining calcareous fen in Ireland, covering an area of 220 hectares and is recognised as an internationally important fen ecosystem with unique and endangered plant communities, and declared a National Nature Reserve in 1986. The Bog of Allen is a large bog that extends across and into County Kildare, County Meath, County Offaly, County Laois, and County Westmeath. Kildare has of bog (almost 14% of Kildare's land area) mostly located in the south-west and north-west, a majority of  this being Raised Bog. It is habitat to over 185 plant and animal species. There are of forested land in Kildare, accounting for roughly 5% of the county's total land area. of this is coniferous, while there is of broadleaf and the remaining area are unclassified species. Coillte and Dúchas currently own 47% of the forestry. Coillte run Donadea Forest Park which is in North-Central Kildare. The forest covers of mixed woodland (60% broadleaf, 40% conifer) and is the largest forest park in Kildare. History. Kildare was shired in 1297 and assumed its present borders in 1832, following  amendments to remove a number of enclaves and exclaves. The county was the home of the powerful Fitzgerald family. Parts of the county were also part of the Pale area around Dublin. Local government and politics. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county. The Local Electoral Areas of Kildare are Athy (6 Seats), Celbridge – Leixlip (7 Seats), Maynooth (9 Seats), Kildare – Newbridge (9 Seats) and Naas (9 Seats). The council has 40 members. The current council was elected in May 2019. Under the Local Government Reform Act 2014 the towns of Leixlip, Naas, Newbridge and Athy ceased  to have separate town councils and were absorbed into their corresponding local electoral area. For elections to Dáil Éireann, there are two constituencies in the area of the county; Kildare North, which returns four TDs and Kildare South which returns three TDs. In the 2016 Irish general election, Kildare North returned Catherine Murphy (SD), James Lawless (FF), Frank O'Rourke (FF) and Bernard Durkan (FG), while Martin Heydon (FG), Fiona O'Loughlin (FF) and Sean O Fearghail (FF) (elected Ceann Comhairle) were returned for Kildare South. As part of the Mid-East Region, it is within the purview of the Mid-East  Regional Authority. For elections to the European Parliament, it is part of the Midlands North-West constituency which returns four MEPs. Demographics. The county's population has nearly doubled to some 186,000 in 1990–2005. The north eastern region of Kildare had the highest average per-capita income in Ireland outside County Dublin in 2003. East Kildare's population has increased rapidly, for example the amount of housing in the Naas suburb of Sallins has increased sixfold since the mid-1990s. Health care. County Kildare hospitals include Naas General Hospital and Clane General Hospital. Transport. Road. County Kildare houses the hub of  Ireland's network of major roads. The N4 (M4) from Dublin to Sligo travels along the north of the county by-passing the towns of Leixlip, Maynooth and Kilcock. The M7 from Dublin to Limerick runs through the county and by-passes the towns of Naas, Newbridge, Kildare and Monasterevin. This road is colloquially referred to as the "Naas Dual carriageway" because when it was originally up-graded in 1964 the road from Dublin to Naas was a double-lane carriageway, one of the first of its kind in Ireland. The M9 is another motorway that commences at Kilcullen and  ends at Waterford. It is motorway standard for its entire length. Rail. The county is also served by the trains connecting with Dublin, southern Leinster, Munster and Connacht, with daily connections to Cork, Waterford, Limerick, and Galway. The principal Irish Rail InterCity train station in the county is Kildare, however, Newbridge, Sallins and Hazelhatch are also served by South Western Commuter services, while Maynooth, in northern County Kildare, is served by Western Commuter and Sligo InterCity services. Waterway. Kildare is the centre of Ireland's Grand Canal network built in the late 18th century. This connects Kildare with Waterford, Dublin , Limerick and Athlone. The Royal Canal runs west from Dublin and parts of it form the boundary with County Meath. Irish language. There are 4,491 Irish speakers in County Kildare; 2,451 attending the seven Gaelscoils (Irish language primary schools) and one Gaelcholáiste (Irish language secondary school). According to the Irish Census 2006, 2,040 people in the county identify themselves as being daily Irish speakers outside the education system. Sport. GAA. The nickname for the Kildare GAA team is the "Lilywhites", This is as a result of early jerseys being made from the bags of the Lilywhite Bakery. The all-white  jerseys they wear are in reference to this. In 1928, Kildare became the first team to win the Sam Maguire trophy for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, defeating Cavan 2–6 to 2–5. However, since then Kildare have reached the All-Ireland Football Championship Final on four occasions, the last being in 1998, but have failed on all four attempts. County Kildare is also known as the "Shortgrass County" which is a reference to how short the grass is on the commons of the Curragh. Golf. The Michael Smurfit owned K Club, situated on the River Liffey near Straffan played  host to the 2006 Ryder Cup. Carton House Golf Club is located in Maynooth. The Golfing Union of Ireland, the longest established golf union in the world, have their national headquarters on the estate. This facility also comprises the GUI National Academy, an teaching facility for up and coming golfers, as well as being a facility available to all golfers in Ireland. Other prominent courses are located at Knockanally and Clane. Horse racing. Kildare is famous worldwide for its horse racing. The Curragh horse-racing course is the home to all five Irish Classic Flat races. Also located in County  Kildare are two other courses, Punchestown Racecourse, home of the National Hunt Festival of Ireland, and Naas Racecourse, which runs both National Hunt and Flat meetings and is used by top race horse trainers as a test for horses preparing for the Cheltenham festival. The county is famous for the quality of horses bred in the many stud farms to which it is home, including the Irish National Stud and many other top studs such as Gilltown, Moyglare and Kildangan Stud, and race horse training establishments, such as the Osborne Stables. Motorsports. Kildare is the home to Mondello Park, Ireland 's only international motorsport venue. Established by Martin Birrane in 1968 on , and redeveloped in 1999/2000, the facility incorporates of race track, 24 race garages and 12 Hospitality Suites. The Circuit also has of extreme off-road driving trails and a off-road activities centre and the Museum of Motorsport. Mondello Park was awarded the FIA International race track status in 2001. It is host to National and International Race events, Motor Shows, Car & Bike Track days, Training Schools and Corporate Events. Soccer. Kildare County F.C. was a League of Ireland club from 2002 until 2009, based in Newbridge, where  Leinster Senior League side Newbridge Town F.C. was invited to join the league in 2002, however, a broader Kildare based franchise was created instead, playing out of Station Road, Newbridge. Twinning. County Kildare is twinned with the following places: Both are major centres of the Thoroughbred breeding industry in their respective countries. External links.