Most popular landmarks and natural wonders in Kildare
#1 Kilkea Castle is located 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of Castledermot, County Kildare, Ireland near the village of Kilkea on the R418 regional road from Athy to Tullow. It was a medieval stronghold, for over 700 years, of the Fitzgeralds, earls of Kildare.
#2 Barberstown Castle is a structure originally built in 1288 in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland, 25 km (15 miles) west of Dublin. It has been operating as a hotel since 1971 and is surrounded by 20 acres (8.1 ha) of gardens. Renovations in 1996 revealed a previously undiscovered tunnel that links the castle to the nearby church in Straffan and is thought to have been used under the Penal Laws.
#3 Carbury Castle is a castle situated in the townland of Carbury, near the border between County Kildare and County Offaly. Carbury Castle was built in the 13th century by Pierce St. Leger.
#4 White's Castle is a 16th-century tower house in Athy, County Kildare, Ireland. Built on the site of an earlier 15th-century castle, White's Castle was built to guard the main river crossing in Athy (Irish: Baile Átha Í, meaning 'town of the ford of Ae') and was extended over successive centuries.
#5 Woodstock Castle is a 13th-century stone castle located in Athy, Ireland.
#6 Bolton Abbey, Moone, County Kildare is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1965. It was established by monks from Mount St. Joseph Abbey, Roscrea, and became an independent monastery and abbey in 1977. The monastery works a dairy farm on its property. The farm and house were donated by Dr. Robert Farnan. The monastery was established by Fr Ambrose Farrington and Br Kieran Dooley from Roscrea and officially opened in 1965. In 2015 it celebrated its 50th anniversary.
#7 St. Mary's Church, Castlemartin, located in the broad Kilcullen area of County Kildare, Ireland, is the first medieval church in Ireland to have been restored to full working order. The small stone Roman Catholic church, with accompanying burial ground, lies within Castlemartin Estate, which belonged for many years to media magnate Tony O'Reilly; O'Reilly paid for the restoration in 1979–1980, after which the church was reconsecrated in August 1981 by Archbishop Dermot Ryan. There has been a church on this site for over 800 years.
#8 The Hill of Allen (Cnoc Alúine in Modern Irish, earlier Cnoc Almaine; also Hill of Almu ) is a volcanic hill situated in the west of County Kildare, Ireland, beside the village of Allen. According to Irish Mythology, it was the seat of the hunter-warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna. The site is currently part-owned by Roadstone Dublin Limited and extensive quarrying has noticeably changed the profile of the hill.
#9 Clane Friary, also called Clane Abbey, is a former friary of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual located in Clane, Ireland.
#10 The Black Abbey, or Tully Preceptory, is a ruined Knights Hospitaller preceptory/abbey in County Kildare, Ireland. It is located around 2 km south of Kildare town centre in Tully, County Kildare and next to the national stud.