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County Kildare History and Heritage

Historic Houses of County Kildare

Belan House, Brannockstown
The ruins of Belan House are situated in the vicinity of Moone, Co. Kildare. Belan House was home to the Stratfords, earls of Aldborough. The Stratfords came to Ireland in the seventeenth century and purchased Belan where they built a mansion from the ruins of a Fitzgerald castle destroyed in 1641.

Harristown House, Brannockstown
Harristown House was originally built in 1740 by one Whitmore Davis as the country seat of the La Touche family. For more than 150 years the late Georgian house stood undisturbed, overlooking the Liffey and adjacent parklands. However in 1891, the home of Mr. and Mrs. John La Touche was gutted by fire.

Newberry Hall, Carbury
Newberry Hall, situated in the parish of Carbury, Co. Kildare, was built in the 1760s for Arthur Pomeroy. It is a Palladian style house of red brick with stone facings, and its design is attributed to amateur architect Nathaniel Clements.

Russborough House, Blessington
Russborough House in Blessington, is situated near the borders of counties Kildare and Wicklow. Nestled in spectacular natural surrounding, there is no other Palladian house in Ireland to rival it aesthetically or architecturally. It was designed by the renowned German architect, Richard Castles.

Castletown House, Celbridge
Castletown House, Celbridge, was built in 1722 for ‘Speaker’ William Connolly, the speaker of the Irish House of Commons from 1715. It was designed by the famous Italian architect Alessandro Galilei (1691-1737), and it remains the only house in Ireland designed by him.

Oakley Park, Celbridge
Oakley Park, formerly Celbridge House, was built in 1724 by Arthur Price when he was vicar of Celbridge. The house is thought to have been designed by the architect Thomas Burgh.

Millicent House, Clane
Millicent House, situated in Clane, was the residence of Richard Griffith after he retired from trading in the East Indies in 1786. He is especially famous for his Geological Map of Ireland and his Valuation of Rateable Property in Ireland, more commonly known as Griffith’s Valuation.

Knockanally House, Donadea
Situated in Donadea, Co. Kildare, Knockanally House is built in what is known as Italianate style. It is two storeys in height. It has a three bay entrance and a superb view from the beautiful central Venetian window which overlooks the gardens.

Kerdiffstown House, Naas
Kerdiffstown House is situated at Naas, Co. Kildare. It is a three-storey house and is dated to the eighteenth century. It was originally owned by the Hendrick family. It was then passed onto the Aylmer family through the marriage of Charlotte Hendrick to Michael Aylmer in 1853.

Carton House, Maynooth
Carton House is situated about one mile from Maynooth beside the Galway Road. This great house is nestled among a most beautiful setting of trees and lawns. The Rye Water weaves its way through the estate lands until it joins the river Liffey at Leixlip. The demesne is surrounded by a five mile long wall and there are five lodge house dotted along the boundary.

Forenaughts House, Naas
Forenaughts House, situated in the district of Naas, is an early to mid-eighteenth century house. It was home to the Wolfe family, among whose members was Theobald Wolfe, godfather to Theobald Wolfe Tone.

Market House, Kildare Town
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