County Kildare Towns and Villages
Kill
The pretty village of Kill is on Kildare's border with Dublin . The village has a population of approximately 2,000.
Kill has won numerous awards in Ireland's Tidy Towns Competition . The famous Goffs Bloodstock Sales Ring is nearby, and Kill is steeped in Kildare's equestrian tradition, with a number of riding schools in the area.
Local History
The Gaelic name for Kill is "An Chill" meaning "The
Church" and Kill has two Churches, St. Brigid's Catholic
Church and St John's Church of Ireland . The exact date the
Catholic Church was built is not known but it was definitely
built around the 1650 's. By the 19th century it had fallen
into disrepair, so in 1821 it was rebuilt but this time as
a Protestant Church.
There is a beautiful and very old organ in St. John's Church which was donated by the Earl of Mayo , who lived nearby in Palmerstown House . The strange thing about the organ are the keys. The normal positions of the black and white keys are reversed. There is also a half door in the church. These half doors used to be quite common in Churches but now have almost completely vanished and this particular example is reputed to be one of the last in Ireland.
Looking back at old maps of Kill, it seems that pubs were very popular in Kill even then. There were two sheebeens and one public house. A sheebeen is a little one-roomed thatched cottage with a big window in the front where the drink was served. On the site of both sheebeens there are now modern shops. The public house was and still is, called the Old House . It was originally built in 1794 and then rebuilt in 1943 .
Things To Do
Equestrian
Kill is steeped in equestrian activities with the
choice of two horse riding centres, - Old Mill Riding Centre
and the Kill
International Equestrian Centre . Goffs bloodstock complex
is located at Kill and is the main sales ring in Ireland
for thoroughbreds and yearlings.
Golf
There is a choice of four 18 hole golf courses all
within a 6 mile radius of Kill . Killeen , Naas , Craddockstown
and The K-Club are first
class golf courses and all are open to Green Fees. Naas
Driving Range is 2 miles from Kill .