Castledermot

Bus

The main bus route serving Castledermot is J.J. Kavanagh & Sons route 736 providing a limited number of daily services to Carlow, Waterford, Dublin and Dublin Airport inter alia. South Kildare Community Transport operate a route from Castledermot to Athy twice a day each way Mondays to Fridays inclusive. Bus Éireann used to serve Castledermot frequently but the solitary route 7 Sunday evening journey at 19.15hrs to Dublin was withdrawn in 2015. Castledermot is also served by bus route 880 operated by Kildare Local Link on behalf of the National Transport Authority. There are several buses each day including Sunday linking the town to Carlow and Naas as well as villages such as Moone in the area.

Rail

Carlow railway station is approximately 11 kilometres distant. Athy railway station is around 14 kilometres distant.

Demographics

The population of the town was 887 at the time of the (January 2006) census, a 22% increase over the figure recorded in 2002. The settlement is growing due to its proximity to Dublin.

Natural features

The River Lerr (a tributary of the larger River Barrow, the second longest river in Ireland) flows through the town.

Places of interest

In the town there are various remains including Castledermot Round Tower, Saint John's Tower and two well-preserved granite high crosses and the ruins of Castledermot Abbey, a Franciscan friary. 5 km (3.1 mi) away is Kilkea Castle, once the residence of the Duke of Leinster, but now a hotel and health farm. The castle was built by the English Norman Hugh de Lacy in 1180, and later passed to the Fitzgeralds. Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, is said to have practised magic in Kilkea Castle which earned him the nickname "the Wizard Earl".

History

The earliest known Irish Parliament met at Castledermot on 18 June 1264. Also, the oldest intact window in Western Europe can be found in the town, being part of the ruins of a Franciscan Monastery. The window, although large, is only stone work. The glass, if ever there, is long gone. St. Laurence O'Toole, (1128 - 1180) or Lorcán Ua Tuathail, was born at Castledermot.

In July 1903 the Gordon Bennett Cup passed through Castledermot.

Education

There are two schools in the town. The national school, Scoil Diarmada, is newly built on the Athy road out of Castledermot and opened January 2009. It has two floors, and an elevator for easier access for disabled people. The secondary school, Colaiste Lorcain, is located on the main street.

Sport

In terms of sports, Castledermot has achieved plenty of success: Gaelic football, through Castledermot GAA, (men's and women's), hurling, Gaelic handball, basketball, soccer and cricket all experience success from under-age to senior level. Castle Villa, whose grounds are at Mullarney Park, have been Kildare senior league soccer champions on several occasions.