Maynooth Totally Explained

Everything about Maynooth totally explained

Maynooth (Maigh Nuad in Irish) is a university town located in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is located on the R148 road between Leixlip and Kilcock, with the M4 motorway bypassing the town. Other roads connect the town to Celbridge, Clane, and Dunboyne. The ancient name of Maynooth means the plain of Nuada. Nuada is referred to as the maternal grandfather of the legendary Fionn mac Cumhail in the Annals of the Four Masters. It is currently within the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin.
The population of 10,715 (2006 Census) makes it the fifth largest town in Kildare and the 35th largest in the Republic of Ireland. A difficulty in measurement is due to the fact that much of the town's population is transient - students at NUI Maynooth or temporary employees at the nearby Intel and Hewlett Packard facilities (both located in Leixlip).

History

The town is a major historical centre, with, at either end of the main street, Maynooth Castle and Carton House: two former seats of the Dukes of Leinster. The castle was a stronghold of the 16th century historical figure Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare better known as Silken Thomas. The castle was taken by force in 1535, after the rebellion of the Earl. The town is just inside the western edge of The Pale.
   The most important historical buildings in the town are those of St. Patrick's College some of which antedate the foundation of the college, while others are in the late Georgian and neo-Gothic revival style. The "new range" of buildings was erected by A.W.N. Pugin in 1850 under a commission from then college president Laurence F. Renehan, while the highly important College Chapel was designed and completed by J.J. McCarthy during the presidency of Dr. Robert Browne in 1894.
   In the 1920s, the town was the unofficial home to the King's representative in Ireland, Domhnall Ua Buachalla, who declined to take up official residence in the Viceregal Lodge in the Phoenix Park, and whose family operated a hardware store in the town until 2005, the only store with an Irish language name in the town for many years.
   The famed Connolly's Folly is also near the town, although it's arguably in Celbridge, as it's much closer to it, but is covered by Maynooth's very large town boundaries.

Education

Two third-level educational institutions -- St. Patrick's College, Maynooth founded by King George III in 1795 to educate Ireland's Catholics and the National University of Ireland, Maynooth founded in 1997 -- are located in the town. They share campus space and many facilities. The two institutions were formally separated in 1997. NUI Maynooth is the only university in the Republic of Ireland not situated in a city.

Economy & amenities

The town is the main retail and other service centre for North Kildare and South Meath, with branches of SuperValu, Tesco Ireland, Aldi and Lidl, as well as a wide variety of non-chain stores. In October 2005, Dunnes Stores opened a major shopping centre off the town's main street, Manor Mills. This centre contains a number of other high street names, such as Easons, Elvery's Sports and a Halifax branch. Both Tesco and Dunnes Stores are open 24 hours. On 18 January 2007 Tesco Ireland announced plans to demolish its existing store in Maynooth (the same store having been demolished and rebuilt only seven years previously) and build a larger shopping centre, anchored by a Tesco Extra store, on the same site (External Link

). The new centre will be known as Carton Park, after nearby Carton House.
The town contains a fire station, in addition to the area's part time Garda station, a health centre, a branch library and a Credit Union. In the mid-1980s the town gained some minor fame for having the first callcard phones in Ireland.

Transport

Maynooth is on the Royal Canal, navigable from central Dublin to this point, now used mostly for leisure purposes. It provided an important stopping point before Dublin in the period directly before the coming of the railways to Ireland in the first half of the 19th century.
Maynooth station is one of the busiest in the Dublin / Kildare region, serving as it does two major educational institutions. The town is the terminus of most Iarnród Éireann Western Commuter, as well as a being served by the Sligo InterCity service. Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann services also serve the town. A number of private operators also serve the town, linking it with nearby towns and cities.

Sport

Rugby

The North Kildare Rugby Club is the local rugby club and is situated about 3km from Maynooth on the Kilcock road, recently renovated and a regular host to major area finals (2006 Towns Cup Wicklow vs Tullamore attracted 3500+) and schools cup matches, North Kildare RFC boasts successful youth teams from Under 8's to under 18's, and field 3 men's senior teams. The 1st XV were promoted in 2006 to the Leinster League Div 2, after an extended period in division 3. 2006 was also a successful year for the 2nd XV winning the Div 3 league undefeated, and also going close in the 2nds towns cup losing out in the semi finals. 2007-8 saw the 2nd XV reach the provincial towns cup final. http://www.northkildarerfc.com/

Gaelic games

Maynooth GAA is the local Gaelic Athletic Association club.

Soccer

Maynooth Town F.C. is the local soccer club.

Horseracing

Maynooth is home to the prominent Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding operation, Moyglare Stud Farm.Further Information

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