Touring Routes of County Kildare
Mid Kildare Tourist Route
23. DONNELLY'S HOLLOW, THE CURRAGH
Donnelly's Hollow was
the site of the famous fight between Dan Donnelly and the
English champion George Cooper which was held on December
13th 1815. Donnelly was the victor by a knock-out. You
can still see giant footprints in the ground reputed to be
Donnelly's. A pleasant site for a picnic and a good access
point to Kildare's famous Curragh.
Open all year.
24. THE CURRAGH
The Curragh plain is the landscape most evocative of County Kildare, much referenced in song and poetry. A glacial formation, whose limestone base produces a mineral-rich sward said to nourish the thoroughbreds for which County Kildare is famous, the plain stretches over 1,977 hectares and contains over 70 recorded earthworks, ritual sites, dwellings and burial chambers. Since the 16th century the Curragh has been used as an army camp and the permanent military camp, now the Irish army's main training centre, was built in 1858.
25. CURRAGH RACECOURSE
The Curragh
T: 045 441205
E: info@curragh.ie
www.curragh.ie
ENTRANCE CHARGE
The Curragh Racecourse is the headquarters
of flat horse racing in Ireland with a history stretching
back to the 3rd century when written evidence tells of
chariot races at the 'Cuireach'. All five Classic races including
the Budweiser Irish Derby are held here. The racecourse
is also the headquarters of the Turf Club which governs flat
and national hunt racing in Ireland. The Racing Apprentice
Centre of Education, at which jockeys are trained, is nearby.
Open on race days
26. POLLARDSTOWN FEN
Milltown
Pollardstown Fen, situated on the Northern edge of the Curragh plain, covering 220 hectares, is a wetland of international importance as this type of system is now rare in Western Europe. It contains a number of rare vegetation types and invertebrates, along with an uninterrupted pollen record of the changes in the composition of its vegetation going back to the last ice age. Numerous natural springs feed the fen with alkaline-rich waters from the Curragh. A protected area, the fen is a good example of how Ireland's raised bogs would have looked 6,000 years ago.
27. THE HILL OF ALLEN
The base camp of legendary hero Fionn Mac Cumhaill
and his warriors, the Fianna, and one of County Kildare's
few hills. Allen has been eroded by quarrying on one side,
but with the 19th century Aylmer Folly atop, it still makes
a distinctive silhouette. Sir Gerald Aylmer, one of the
most important landowners in Kildare in the mid 19th century,
built the folly as a famine relief project and named those
involved in its construction on the 83 steps to the viewing
platform.
Folly not open to the public.
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