County Kildare

County Kildare
*Contae Chill Dara*
map

Basic data
Country:	Ireland
Administrative headquarters:	Naas
Province:	Leinster
Irish name:	Cill Dara
Surface:	1694 km²
Residents:	222,130 (2016)
License Plate:	KE

Kildare ( Irish Cill Dara , dt. "Oak Church") is a county ( county ) in the east of the Republic of Ireland . The town of the same name is located in West Kildare .

geography

Apart from the volcanic area of the Chair of Kildare, the landscape is predominantly flat land, the appearance of which was shaped by the last Ice Age.

history

The area was conquered by the Anglo-Normans in 1171 ; in 1297 the county was established. The county is home to the Curragh Army Camp , where many Irish nationalists and foreign aircrews were interned during World War II. Kildare was also the scene of the Irish independence movement from 1919 to 1922. In the armed struggle for independence, 11 people died in Kildare, a less violent course compared to the urban centers. With its mass mobilizations, however, the agricultural labor movement in particular played a large part in the struggle for independence locally, even if this is hardly present in public memory. The historian Terence M. Dunne writes: "Although only a minor aspect in today's memory [...] the labor movement - especially the agricultural labor movement - was at the center of the revolution."

economy

Agriculture consists mainly of cattle breeding and horse and sheep farming; arable farming includes the cultivation of barley, wheat and sugar beet. There is a textile and paper industry as well as agricultural machinery. In the west, peat is still extracted for personal consumption. The northeast of the county is part of the Dublin economic catchment area .

politics

The distribution of seats in the county council following the local elections on May 23, 2014

Political party	Seats
Fianna Fáil	12
Fine Gael	9
Sinn Féin	5
Labor Party	5
Non-party	9

Kildare sends seven MEPs to the Irish Parliament ( Dáil Éireann ). The county is divided into two constituencies. In the 2016 election, Fianna Fáil won 4, Fine Gael 2 and the newly formed Social Democrats won 1 seat.

Cities

Attractions

Ardrass Church , church
Broadleas Commons stone circle
Castledermot , with two Celtic crosses , a round tower and the ruins of a Franciscan monastery
Dun Aillinne Hillfort
Longstone Rath (Kildare)
Menhir from Crehelp
Menhir of Punchestown
Moth from Ardscull
Basement of Killashee
Bolton Hill ( Bullauns in place)
Irish National Stud and Japanese Garden
Kildare, cathedral with high cross and climbable round tower
Kilgowan (Menhir)
Moone, church and high cross
Mullaghmast (Menhir)
Old Kilculeen, Hochkreuz and Round Tower
Oughterard, church and round tower
Rathcoffey, Castle
Taghadoe, round tower