Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the count ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge.

History

The name of Naas has been recorded in three forms in Irish: , translating as 'Place of Assembly of the Kings'; , translating to 'the Place of Assembly'; and , translating to 'Place of assembly of the Leinster Men'. In the Middle Ages, Naas became a walled

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and was occasionally raided by the O'Byrne and O'Toole

clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, mea ...

from the nearby area which became

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by ...

. Naas features on the 1598 map by

Abraham Ortelius Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the '' Theatrum Orbis Terraru ...

as ''Nosse''. A mayor and council were selected by local merchants and landowners. Naas became known as the "

" of County Kildare because of its use as a place for trading, public meetings, local administration including law courts, racecourses and the army's Devoy Barracks (closed 1998). In the Middle Ages, before it settled permanently in Dublin, the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two ch ...

occasionally met in Naas, as in 1441.

Saint David's Castle Saint David's Castle is a 13th-century Norman castle located in Naas, Ireland. Location Saint David's Castle is located just off Church Lane, immediately east of St David's Church. History St. David’s Castle, sometimes called King John ...

, a 13th-century Norman castle, was first built c. 1210, although the present structure is a fortified house of the 18th century. One of the first battles of the rebellion of 1798 took place in Naas on 24 May 1798. During the

Battle of Naas The Battle of Naas took place in Ireland on 24 May 1798. Background One of the first engagements of the 1798 rebellion, a force of over 1,000 rebels, led by Michael Reynolds attacked Naas, the strongest Crown garrison in County Kildare, follow ...

, a force of about 1,000 rebels were defeated in an unsuccessful attack on the town. In 1898, the Local Government Act established Naas Urban District Council (later called Naas Town Council). Naas Town Council was abolished in June 2014, when the

Local Government Reform Act 2014 The Local Government Reform Act 2014 (No. 1) is an act of the Oireachtas which provided for a major restructuring of local government in Ireland with effect from the 2014 local elections. It merged some first-tier county and city councils, ...

dissolved town councils and designated Kildare County Council as the administrative local authority for the entire county.

Amenities

Naas has a hospital Naas General Hospital, Naas Racecourse, Mondello Park International Motor Racing Circuit, a library, the 200-seat Moat Theatre, five-screen 3D Odeon cinema, RSA driving test centre, tax office, a district court, local authority offices, five supermarkets, several pubs, and a number of schools, hotels and nightclubs.

Economy

Local industrial enterprises include Kerry Group's Global Technology and Innovation Centre, and International Fund Services (a State Street company). The town centre of Naas includes shops, restaurants, nightclubs, boutiques and shops. Other retail outlets have been developed in new retail parks and shopping centres on the outskirts of the town. A shopping centre on Monread Road was completed in 2010 with Ireland's largest

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues an ...

Superstore as the anchor tenant. Other retail parks serve the town on both ends - northern and southern - with outlets such as

Harvey Norman Harvey Norman is a large Australian-based, multi-national retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned ...

, PC World, B&Q, Smyths Toys, and Halfords. The Naas/Sallins area is served by two

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...

supermarkets, two Lidl stores, two Supervalu supermarkets, a Tesco Extra supermarket, a smaller Tesco Metro in the town centre, and (as of August 2019) a new

Dunnes Stores Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain, and formerly in England and Scotland. The fo ...

food hall. Danish home retail group JYSK, a competitor for Sweden's

IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been ...

, opened their first Irish store Newhall Retail Park in Naas during April 2019. Several smaller foodstores are scattered around the town. Aldi has a distribution center in Jigginstown, Naas.

Religion

The town has two

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

churches, one

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the sec ...

church, and one

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

church. The original parish church, St David's Church, is Church of Ireland. The Roman Catholic parish church, the Church of Our Lady and St. David, dates from 1827. The Augustinian Friary was founded in the late 14th century. In 1997, the second Catholic Church opened in Ballycane on the east side of town and is dedicated to the

Irish Martyrs Irish Catholic Martyrs () were 24 Irish men and women who have been beatified or canonized for dying for their Catholic faith between 1537 and 1681 in Ireland. The canonisation of Oliver Plunkett in 1975 brought an awareness of the others who d ...

. Naas is part of the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin which is run by Bishop

Denis Nulty Denis Nulty KC*HS (born 7 June 1963) is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin since 2013. Early life Nulty was born in Slane, County Meath, on 7 June 1963, the youngest of five children to Den Nulty a ...

since August 4, 2013. Naas Presbyterian Church was built in the Victorian period on the site of the old tholsel. Maudlin's Cemetery, a Church of Ireland graveyard near the town, is noted for its two Victorian-era

pyramids A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...

Media

County Kildare's local radio station Kfm 97.3FM – 97.6FM is based in Naas. '' The Leinster Leader'', regional newspaper, and Kildare TV, a local station, are also based in the area.

Transport

The nearby N7 Naas Road connects Naas with Dublin and the M50 motorway (Ireland). Additionally, the M7 Motorway connects Naas with the South and South West. Naas railway station, which opened on 22 June 1855, closed for passenger traffic on 27 January 1947 to be re-purposed for goods trains. It reopened on 10 March 1947, but was closed 12 years later on 1 April 1959. The

Sallins and Naas railway station Sallins and Naas railway station is located in the centre of the village of Sallins, County Kildare and also serves Naas, 3 km (2 miles) away. The station is in Dublin Short Hop Zone and as a result is the busiest station on the Kildar ...

, located in nearby Sallins, is used by residents of the Naas area who commute to Dublin. The main bus transportation companies serving the area are Go-Ahead Ireland ,

JJ Kavanagh and Sons JJ Kavanagh and Sons is Ireland's largest private coach operator. It was founded in 1919 by J.J. Kavanagh with the operation of a service connecting Urlingford with Kilkenny City. The company has expanded greatly since the 1990s with the ta ...

and Dublin Coach. Naas's main bus routes include the Go-Ahead Ireland route 126 from Kildare to Dublin city centre (which passes through Naas), a JJ Kavanagh route to Blanchardstown, and Dublin Coach and JJ Kavanagh services to Dublin Airport. The N7 Naas Road was upgraded in 2006 to a six-lane carriageway with grade-separated interchanges. As of April 2021, Junction 9a of the M7, a new junction for Clane, Millennium Park, and the Sallins Bypass, has been completed and is now open for public use. * M7 Motorway – Connects Naas with

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

, as well as

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

(via M8) and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

(via M9) * N7 (R448 N From Monread Boulevard to Maudlins Interchange) – Connects Naas with

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. * R410 – Connects Naas with Blessington * R411 – Connects Naas with

Ballymore Eustace Ballymore Eustace () is a small town situated in County Kildare in Ireland, although until 1836 it lay within an exclave (a detached "pocket") of County Dublin. It lies close to the border with County Wicklow. The town's name, which is frequen ...

* R448 – Connects Naas with Kilcullen * R445 – Connects Naas with Newbridge * R409 – Connects Naas with Caragh * R407 – Connects Naas with Sallins, Maynooth, Clane and

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

. * (South Outer Ring) – Connects

Road at Primrose (West Naas) with Blessington Road at Mountain View (East Naas) * (Millennium Blvd Ring Road) – Connects

Road at Newhall Interchange M7 with Monread Road at Millennium Roundabout

Education

Naas has five secondary schools, St. Mary's College Naas, a girls' convent school, ( Naas CBS) for boys, Piper's Hill College (formerly St. Patrick's Community College), Naas Community College and , a mixed Irish speaking Secondary School. Naas has several primary schools, including the Convent of Mercy (a girls' school), St. Corban's Boys National School (a school for boys), , Ballycane, and St. David's (each mixed schools), (located at the Piper's Hill campus), Kilashee National School and Naas Community National School is located at Cradockstown. Naas has a public library which is located in the canal harbour area. With plans to move to the town centre.

Sport and leisure

The Moat Theatre is a 200-seat performance and visual arts centre in Naas, which hosts local and national stage productions, live music and other events. The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

club is

Naas GAA Naas is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, winner of ten Kildare county senior football championships, ten senior hurling championships, four senior camogie championships and Kildare club of the year in 1 ...

, and the club has won several senior county football and hurling championships. Local

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

(soccer) clubs include Naas AFC Soccer Club, Redwood Naas FC, Monread FC Soccer Club, and Naas United FC Soccer Club, several of which play in the Kildare and District Football League. Other sports clubs include Naas Rugby Club, Naas Hockey Club, Naas Cycling Club, Naas Panthers Gymnastics Academy, Naas Lawn Tennis Club (with 11 courts) and Naas Athletic Club on the Caragh Road. Naas Golf Club, one of three local golf clubs, is actually located in Sallins. There are several equestrian facilities in the area, with

Naas Racecourse Naas Racecourse is a horse racing venue in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, approximately 18 miles from Dublin. The course stages both Flat racing and National Hunt racing and in 2010 fifteen race meetings were held there. The Naas Races Company w ...

(about 1 km from the town centre), and Punchestown Racecourse (just to the south west of the town at Eadestown). Osborne Stables is also based at Craddockstown, Naas. The annual Punchestown Race Festival is a major event for a full week in April. The Oxegen music festival was held at Punchestown during the summer for a number of years but has not been rescheduled since it was cancelled in 2014. There are also a number of swimming pools and leisure centres in the area.

People

Gormflaith ingen Murchada Gormlaith ingen Murchada (960–1030), sometimes spelled Gormflaith, was an Irish queen. Life Gormlaith was born in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland. Her father was Murchad mac Finn, King of Leinster, and her brother was Máel Mórda mac Murchada. A ...

(c.960–1030), third wife of

Brian Ború Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domination of Ireland. Bri ...

* Mother Teresa Ellen Dease (1820–1889), foundress of the

Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The cong ...

(Loretto Sisters) in North America (at Toronto) * Major Leonard Greenham Star Molloy (1861–1937), Harley Street doctor and politician * Thomas Burgh (1670–1730), architect and Member of Parliament for Naas * Hubert de Burgh (1879–1960), cricketer * John Lyons (1824–1867), a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

recipient, was originally from Carlow and died at Naas in 1867 *

Michael Roe Michael Roe (born October 12, 1954) is an American, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is a founding member of the band the 77s and the Lost Dogs and has recorded several solo albums. Career Although he has released several solo album ...

(b.1955), racing driver * James Roe Jr. (b. 1998), racing driver *

Larry Tompkins Larry Tompkins (born 13 June 1963) is a former Irish Gaelic football manager and player. Throughout his 20-year club career, he played for his adopted club Castlehaven, winning three Munster Club Championship titles during a golden age for the ...

, (b.1963), Gaelic football manager *

Andrew Strong Andrew Strong (born 14 November 1973) is an Irish singer and the son of Irish musician and singing coach Robert (Rob) Strong. He grew up in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, (where his father lived while performing with showbands), and Naa ...

(b.1973), singer and actor, famous for his role in '' The Commitments'', was brought up in Naas *

Geordan Murphy Geordan Edward Andrew Murphy (born 19 April 1978) is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. He played as fullback or wing both for the Irish international team and the English club Leicester Tigers. Youth Murphy was born in Dublin, Irel ...

(b.1978), rugby union player, Ireland and Leicester Tigers *

Jamie Heaslip James Peter Richard Heaslip (born 15 December 1983) is an Irish rugby union former player who played for Leinster and Ireland. He played as a number 8. Heaslip earned 95 caps for Ireland during his international career from 2006 to 2017, ma ...

(b.1983), rugby union player, Ireland, Naas and Leinster * Joseph Bourke (c.1740–1794), 3rd Earl of Mayo * Sir John de Robeck (1862–1928), Admiral of the Fleet, Royal Navy, 1925-1928 * Jenny McCudden, journalist and television producer *

Marian Finucane Marian Finucane ( ; 21 May 1950 – 2 January 2020) was an Irish broadcaster with Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). She began working with the national broadcaster in 1974, starting as a continuity announcer. She was the first presenter of '' ...

(1950 - 2020), radio presenter and television host, lived in Naas

Twinning

Naas is twinned with the following places: * Allaire, Brittany, France * Casalattico, Lazio region, Italy * Dillingen an der Donau, Bavaria, Germany *

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

, United States * St David's, Pembrokeshire, Wales, United Kingdom

References

Sources

* Nolan W. & McGrath T. (eds.) ''Kildare History and Society'' (Geography, Dublin 2006)

External links

Official Naas website

Naas community website
{{Authority control County towns in the Republic of Ireland