County Kildare sits just outside Dublin, and it can feel like a different country entirely — flat, green, and given over almost completely to horses. This is Ireland’s racing and breeding heartland, home to the Curragh’s open plains and some of the finest stud farms in Europe, but it also holds a grand Palladian house, a walled Japanese garden, and a cathedral dedicated to one of Ireland’s patron saints.
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The Irish National Stud and Gardens
This working stud farm has bred multiple Derby winners, and visitors can walk right past the paddocks where champion thoroughbreds and their foals graze. The real draw for many, though, is the Japanese Gardens on the grounds — laid out between 1906 and 1910 to represent the journey of a soul from birth to eternity, and still one of the finest Japanese gardens in Europe.
The Curragh
The Curragh is a vast, unfenced plain of common land — over 5,000 acres of it — and it’s synonymous with Irish horse racing. The Curragh Racecourse hosts the Irish Derby and several other Group 1 races each year, and on a clear day the plain itself, with gallops crossing it in every direction, is worth the drive alone.
Castletown House
Castletown House in Celbridge is Ireland’s largest and earliest Palladian country house, built in the 1720s for William Conolly, then the richest man in Ireland. The interiors — particularly the Long Gallery and the Print Room — are among the best-preserved Georgian rooms in the country, and the parkland along the River Liffey is free to walk.
St Brigid’s Cathedral and Round Tower
In Kildare town, St Brigid’s Cathedral marks the site of the monastery founded by St Brigid in the 5th century. The adjoining round tower is one of the tallest in Ireland and one of the few visitors can still climb.
Kilkea Castle
Kilkea Castle, near Castledermot, dates back to the 12th century and is the oldest inhabited castle in Ireland still standing. It now operates as a hotel, so non-guests can still visit for a meal or a walk of the grounds.
Kildare Village
For a different kind of visit, Kildare Village is a designer outlet centre with over 100 stores, a popular day trip from Dublin in its own right.
Getting There
Kildare is easily reached from Dublin — the Curragh and Kildare town are under an hour by car or train, making the county an easy day trip or a relaxed overnight stay.
Tours & experiences you might love
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