Our Town

The town of Naas has had a long and colourful history. The name ‘Naas’ appears in 3 forms;
‘An Nas’ meaning the place of assembly ‘Nas Leighan’ meaning the place of assembly of Leinstermen and
‘Nas na Riogh’ meaning the place of assembly of the Kings Naas was the seat of the Kings of Leinster up to 904 when the last Naas King to be recognised as King of Leinster, Cearbhall, died. For more information on Naas’s history check out http://kildare.ie/local-history/naas/naas-group.htm

The population of Naas in 1900 was 3,836 and is currently at 22,435.

All the principal service agencies such as Kildare County Council, the Health Service Executive, the divisional headquarters of the Garda Siochana, the General Hospital, along with various Government Departments, are located within the town. Service industries generally represent a high proportion of employment in the town.

Naas also has a strong industrial basis, hosting such industries as food and meat processing, trailer manufacturing, steel fabrication and the production of car mirrors. www.naaschamber.ie

The horse industry is of critical importance to Naas and to Co. Kildare and in recognition of this, County Kildare is now being marketed as “The Thoroughbred County”. Naas has its own racecourse within the town while the famous Punchestown racecourse which hosts the annual National Hunt Festival is located 5 km / 3 m from the town. The Curragh racecourse is only 20km/12 m from Naas. For further details click on  Horse Racing Ireland on www.hri.ie

Naas is fortunate in having outstanding sporting facilities and the major clubs are represented in the town. These include the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) www.naasgaa.ie, Rugby www.naasrugby.com, Soccer, Hockey www.naashockeyclub.ie, Golf www.gui.ie, Athletics, Swimming, Tennis www.naasltc.net etc.

 
There are a number of cultural and recreational organisations including Naas Musical Society, Naas Toastmasters, Naas Lions Club, The Moat Theatre Group www.moattheatre.com. Naas also boasts a wide variety of cafes, bars and restaurants. www.naasfestivals.com