Holiday in South East Ireland - County Kildare

County Kildare
Leaving Dublin only a few miles behind, heading west, you enter County Kildare, the headquarters of the Irish bloodstock industry, and it is aptly named ?the Shortgrass County?. Surrounding the county town is the 6,000 acres of the Curragh, a flat area of grassland where in 1900 Colonel William Hall Walker set up his stud farm. He chose this place for the high levels of calcium carbonate in the waters of the River Tully and so in the grass that would encourage good bone strength. This turned out to be a good idea as Walker was phenomenally successful, and when he presented the stud and racecourse to the British Government he was created Lord Wavertree for his generosity. The Irish state has owned the property since 1943 and a tour around the National Stud is fascinating, even for non-horse-lovers. Seeing the luxurious accommodation on offer to the stallions, it is hardly surprising that covering fees can reach hundreds of thousands of pounds. The foaling unit has its' own intensive care stable, and well-kept paddocks abound to calm the mares waiting to give birth. The Irish Horse Museum is an enjoyable gallop through the animal?s history, and gives an enjoyable account of ?pounding matches? of the 18th and 19th centuries. This was a rather bizarre occupation, a cross between gambling and dueling, involving two gentlemen choosing difficult obstacles to jump, getting increasingly difficult, until one declined or failed in the attempt. Large amounts were bet on these matches, and more than one neck was broken in pursuit of honour and glory. The most prized possession in the museum is the fragile skeleton of Arkle, the greatest steeplechaser in the history of Irish racing, and it is a minor miracle that this minute horse defeated his much larger rivals on so many occasions. The Colonel engaged one of Japan?s top gardeners to design him a traditional Japanese garden to reflect a ?Journey through Life?, and from the stallion yard you can walk through all the stages, ending with the smooth lawns of the Garden of Peace and Contentment.

The town of Kildare, only a mile away, is a friendly town of slightly over 4,000 souls established on the site of a monastery that was founded in the fifth century by St Brigid. The handsome gray stone Cathedral in the centre of Kildare is dedicated to the Saint, and although extensively restored in the 19th century, dates from the 1300s. There are some amusing modern gargoyles including a bespectacled man, and another wearing a cow across his shoulders. Next to the Cathedral is the impressive round tower, which rises to 108ft above the graveyard. The doorway is set 15ft above ground level to secure it against Viking attack, and if you are feeling energetic you can climb the wooden ladders inside to the top and look out over the Curragh and the Bog of Allen. If you are looking for a holiday cottage near Kildare then you will find some delightful cottages to rent in the county.

The largest, and most significant, Palladian style country house in Ireland is Castletown, situated in the northeast of the county near the town of Cellbridge. William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons began construction of the house in 1720. He was a lawyer for Donegal who had made a considerable fortune from land transactions following the Williamite troubles, and decided to build the house as a grand patriotic gesture. Following his death in 1729 work was put on hold, with the exception of the 140ft high Obelisk 2 miles to the north, until the arrival of his great-nephew Thomas Conolly, and his aristocratic wife, Lady Louisa Lennox. Between them they finished the building and the interior decoration, with the assistance of Louisa?s sisters, and this enormous house is well worth a visit. The huge entrance hall, with its columns supporting the galleried first floor, black and white marble floor, and black Kilkenny marble fireplaces, sets the tone fore the rest of house. The renowned Lanfrancini Brothers did much of the decorative plasterwork, and the furniture came from the best designers and makers of the day, such as Chippendale and John Linnell. The Print Room is a copy of the one at Carton House where Lady Louisa?s sister, the Countess of Kildare lived, and is the only one left in Ireland. The Long Hall has three, hand blown, Venetian chandeliers and the painted panels on the walls were done by Charles Reily, an artist who was paid an annual retainer rather than per picture. The family sold the house in 1965 and it has undergone considerable restoration since, and in view of its size this is a permanent feature.

Just across the River Liffey is the Gothic house of Celbridge Abbey. This was a popular retreat for the writer Jonathan Swift, who immortalised the daughter of the house, Esther Van Homrigh, as ?Vanessa?. There is an annual seminar held at the Abbey, which discusses all things concerned with him, and in the grounds, lies the Rock Bridge, purportedly the oldest remaining stone bridge over the Liffey.

Not far away is the town of Leixlip, a hundred years ago just another pretty village, now a satellite town for Dublin. There are various places to visit around the town, not least the castle, which stands above the confluence of the Liffey and the Rye. The massive round tower dates from the 12th century, but it was William Conolly who restored the castle and redeveloped the interior before moving on to Castletown House. One of the advantages of having such wealthy local landowners was that they tended to help out in difficult times; such was the case with the Wonderful Barn and the Obelisk at Castletown. The Barn was built to give employment to the locals when severe and prolonged frosts destroyed the crops in the winters of 1741 and 42. The conical tower stands 70ft high and with its external spiral staircase resembles a Babylonian ziggurat.

Following to course of the Royal Canal westwards you come to the town of Maynooth, and the estate of the Earls of Kildare, and later Dukes of Leinster. Carton House is at present being developed into a luxury golf course and hotel complex but the original 18th century features are being restored to their former glory. The plasterwork is another example of the Lanfrancini Brothers and is one of the finest examples of their craft, and the Chinese Room was the prototype for the Print Room at Castletown. Lady Emily, Countess of Kildare, was instrumental in converting the original house into the present model, though how she had time is a mystery. She had nineteen children in all until her husband, doubtless as exhausted his wife, died in 1773. Although the house is not open to the public, visits can be arranged through the Maynooth College Visitors Centre.

On the border with County Wicklow lies the last of the great houses of this county, Russborough. Most great houses are distinguished by their architecture or their contents, rarely by both. This superb Palladian-style mansion is home to the world-renowned Beit collection, and has been targeted by the I.R.A. when they stole nineteen pictures in a failed ransom attempt in 1974; local Dublin criminals stole four in 1986, and finally two in 2001. Most of the paintings have been recovered, and the collection includes several by Reubens, Goya, Vermeer, and Gainsborough. As a result some of the paintings have been moved to the National Gallery in Dublin, and loaned back to the house for special exhibitions. Joseph Lesson commissioned the house after inheriting a fortune from his father, a wealthy Dublin brewer, and work started in 1741, finally finishing ten years later. The fa硤e is of locally quarried granite, which has wonderfully crisp detailing, and the entrance extends to 900ft, the longest in Ireland, and fortunately it has remained untouched since. The granite steps leading up to the front door are flanked by carved lions and the interior of the hall resembles Leinster House in Dublin, another property that the architect, Richard Cassels, worked on. The Lanfrancini Brothers were employed to do the plasterwork, and Kilkenny marble used for the monumental fireplace. The house is stuffed with beautifully carved West Indian mahogany doors, which compliment the furniture and fittings. Undoubtedly the finest room in the house is the Saloon, not only because this houses the principal Dutch and Flemish paintings of the collection, but also due to the remarkable inlaid mahogany sprung-floor with its central star in satinwood. This floor was covered with a green baize rug when the property was occupied by rebels during the 1798 rebellion, but they resisted the temptation of cutting this up to make flags as ?their brogues might ruin his lordship?s floor?. It wasn?t until 1952 that the Beits acquired the house and moved their extensive art, silver, porcelain, and furniture into this isolated, and at the time lonely, location. Sir Alfred Beit was the nephew of one of the financiers who had bankrolled Mr Oppenheimer in his acquisition of certain diamond mines in South Africa. The company became De Beers, and the Beit fortune was assured. During the course of their restoration of the estate the Beits have spent time on the grounds as well, but have fallen short of replacing the semi-naked statuary that was smashed in the 1930s, a direct result of the local priest demanding their destruction as they were an abomination. The gardens are now as wild as they were originally intended, with stunning views out over the Wicklow Mountains. This is a place of rare quality and beauty.

Irish tourist information

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