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Kildare
Town.
Churches | Schools
KILDARE, an incorporated market and post-town, a parish,
and the seat of a diocese, in the barony of EAST OPHALY , county of KILDARE
, and province of LEINSTER , 9¼ miles (W. S. W.) from Naas, and
25 miles (W. S. W.) from Dublin , on the mail coach road to Limerick ;
containing 2541 inhabitants, of which number, 1753 are in the town. This
place derived its name either from Chille-dara, “the wood of oaks,”
or from Kill-dara, “the cell or church of the oaks,” from
the situation of the first Christian church founded here among trees of
that kind.
The source of its ancient importance
appears to have been the foundation of a monastery by St. Bridget, the
daughter of a native Irish chieftain, who in the fifth century is said
to have received the veil from the hands of St. Patrick. This monastery,
which was both for monks and nuns under the same roof, and had only one
church, soon caused other habitations to be erected in the neighbourhood,
which, on its being subsequently made the seat of an episcopal see, became
a town of importance.
It is recorded that, in 638, Aed Dubh,
or Black Hugh, King of Leinster, resigned his authority, and took the
habit of the Augustine order in this monastery, of which he afterwards
became abbot and bishop. The town and monastery were consumed by fire
in 770, and again about four years after ; and in 830 they suffered greatly
from the depredation of Ceallach Mac Brann, who slew many of the clergy
in their own house.
Farannan, abbot of Armagh , attended
by a retinue of his clergy, visited the abbey in 835 ; and during his
stay, Fethlemid, at the head of an armed force, seized the church and
carried off the clergy prisoners.
In the following year, a Danish fleet
of thirty ships arrived in ‘the river Liffey, and another also in
the Boyne, and, making an irruption into the country, not only plundered
every church and abbey within the territories of Magh-Liffe and Magh-Breagh,
but also destroyed the town with fire and sword, and carried away the
shrines of St. Bridget and St. Conlaeth.
From this period till the commencement
of the 11th century, the annals of Kildare present only a continued series
of Danish rapine and massacre; and scarcely had the ravages of these invaders
ceased, when the town was plundered by the people of Hyfaolan.
It was either wholly or in part destroyed
by fire in 1038, 1040, 1071, 1088, and 1089; and, in 1135, the abbess
of the monastery was forcibly taken from her cloister by Dermod Mac Murrough,
King of Leinster, who compelled her to marry one of his followers ; on
which occasion not less than 170 inhabitants of the town and inmates of
the abbey were slaughtered.
Till the time of the English invasion,
the town and monastery were continually exposed to depredation by fire
and sword ; but shortly after that event, one of the English adventurers
who had obtained possession of this territory erected a castle for its
defence. in 1220, the sacred fire, which had been maintained here from
the time of St. Bridget, was extinguished by Henry de Londres, archbishop
of Dublin ; it was, however, soon afterwards rekindled, and continued
to burn till the Reformation.
In 1260, a monastery was founded here
by William de Vescy, for Grey friars, which was completed by Gerald Fitzmaurice,
Lord Offaly; the same William also founded a convent for Carmelite friars
in 1290; and in 1294, Calbhach O’Connor of Offaly took the town
and castle by force, and destroyed all the rolls of the Earl of Kildare.
A parliament was held here in 1309,
or the beginning of the following year; and in 1316, the castle and town
were granted to John Fitzgerald, who was at that time created Earl of
Kildare; but in the wars during the reign of Elizabeth , the town was
reduced to a state of entire ruin and depopulation.
In 1641, the castle was garrisoned
by the Earl of Castlehaven, but in 1647 it was taken by Col. Jones for
the parliament ; it fell again into the hands of the Irish, but Was finally
re-taken by the Lord- Lieutenant in 1649.
During the disturbances of 1798, 2000
of the insurgents, under a leader named Perkins, having agreed to surrender
themselves on the 28th of March, on condition of being allowed to return
unmolested to their several homes, and of the liberation of Perkins’
brother from the gaol of Naas, Major-Gen. Sir James Duffe advanced at
the head of 600 men to the Gibbetrath on the Curragh, where they had assembled
for that purpose; but some imprudent firing taking place on their part,
they were charged by the troops, and more than 200 of them were killed.
The town, though consisting only
of 346 houses, and carrying on but little trade, has an appearance of
importance, from its commanding situation on boldly rising ground, and
from the numerous remains of its ancient religious edifices. It is badly
supplied with water, raised from a very deep well near the market-house,
by a forcing pump, into a public cistern.
The principal streets are portions
of the public roads, and are kept in repair by the county. It is a place
of great resort during the races, which are held on the Curragh in the
last week of April, the second Monday in June, and the second Monday in
October, when the king’s plates are contested.
A gift of two annual plates of £100
each was obtained through Sir W. Temple , and, in 1821, Geo. IV. attended
a meeting at this place. The jockey club have a house in the town, for
the use of the members during the races, which are well attended and under
good regulations.
The Curragh is under the care of a
ranger appointed by the Crown, and is distinguished as the “ Newmarket
” of Ireland , not only as the principal race-meeting, but as a
central spot for the breeding and training of the best horses in the country.
No manufactures are carried on here,
nor any trade except what arises from its public situation and for the
supply of the neighbourhood. The market is on Thursday, and fairs are
held on Feb. 12th, April 5th and 26th, May 12th, June 29th, and Sept.
19th.
The market-house is a neat building.
There is a constabulary police station in the town. By charter of Jas.
II. the town was governed by a corporation consisting of a sovereign (who
was a justice of the peace), two portreeves, 20 burgesses, and an indefinite
number of freemen, assisted by a recorder, town-clerk, two sergeants-at-mace,
and other officers.
The corporation returned two members
to the Irish parliament till the Union , when the borough was disfranchised,
and the £15,000 awarded as compensation was paid to William, Duke
of Leinster. The borough court had jurisdiction to the extent of five
marks, but no proceedings have issued from it for several years; and since
1828 neither sovereign nor any other officer has been elected, and the
corporation is virtually extinct. The quarter sessions for the county
are held here in April and October, and petty sessions every alternate
Thursday.
Church.
The DIOCESE of KILDARE appears to
have been founded towards the close of the 5th or about the commencement
of the 6th century, by St. Conlaeth or Conlaid who, with the assistance
of St. Bridget, then presiding over the monastery, erected the cathedral
and became first bishop.
The first English bishop was Ralph
of Bristol, consecrated in 1223,who was at great expense in repairing
and beautifying the cathedral.
The first bishop after the Reformation
was William Miagh, whom, in opposition to the Pope’s appointment,
and in vindication of his own supremacy, Hen. VIII. advanced to the see,
in 1540. During the prelacy of Alexander Craik, who succeeded in 1560,
the see was reduced to great poverty by the alienation of several valuable
manors, which that bishop exchanged with Patrick Sarsfield for some tithes
of very inconsiderable value ; and it was further impoverished by Bishop
Pilsworth, in 1604, after a fruitless attempt to recover the alienated
property.
The estates which had been alienated
to Sarsfield became forfeited to the king during the prelacy of bishop
Price, who succeeded in 1660, and might have been recovered by a clause
in the act of Settlement ; but the bishop could not be prevailed upon
to take the necessary measures at the time, and all the subsequent efforts
of his successors were unavailing.
Anthony Dopping, who succeeded in
1678, in consideration of the poverty of the see, procured the annexation
of the preceptory of Tully, and several rectories in the diocese of Meath,
to be held in commendam with the bishoprick; and William, Dean of Christchurch,
Dublin, who was advanced to the prelacy in 1681, was for the same reason
allowed to retain his deanery, which has also been held ever since by
the bishops of Kildare, who rank next to the bishops of Meath, the other
bishops taking precedency according to the dates of their consecration.
Under the provisions of the Church
Tempo ralities act of the 3d and 4th of Win. IV., the see, on its next
avoidance, will be annexed to the archiepiscopal see of Dublin, and its
temporalities, together with those held in commendam, will be vested in
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It is one of the five dioceses which
constitute the ecclesiastical province of Dublin, and comprehends part
of Queen’s county, a large portion of King’s county, and the
greater part of the county of Kildare ; it is 36 miles in length and 23
in breadth, and comprises an estimated superficies of 332,200 acres, of
which 49,000 are in Queen’s county, 121,000 in King’s county,
and 161,000 in Kildare.
The chapter consists of a dean, precentor,
chancellor, treasurer, and four canons, and there are an archdeacon and
the eight prebendaries of Lulliamore, Rathangan, Nurney, Ballysonan, Castropetre,
Geashill, Harristown, and Donadea, who are not of the chapter, but have
a vote in the election of the dean.
The consistorial court consists of
a vicar-general, two surrogates, and two registrars ; the last are keepers
of the records, which consist of modern documents, those prior to 1641
having been lost during the insurrection. The total number of parishes
in the diocese is 85, comprised in 41 benefices, of which 20 are unions
of two or more parishes, and 21 single parishes: of these, 12 are in the
patronage of the Crown, 10 in lay and corporation patronage, 4 in joint
or alternate presentation, and the remainder in the patronage of the Bishop
or Incumbents.
The total number of churches is 35,
and of other places of Protestant worship, 4; and the number of glebe-houses
is 19. The quantity of land belonging to the see is 911 acres, and the
gross revenue of the bishop, including the preceptory of Tully and the
deanery of Christchurch , on an average of three years ending Dec. 31st,
1831 , amounted to £6451. 13. 3.
The cathedral, dedicated to St. Bridget,
was nearly destroyed in the parliamentary war, and the choir is now the
only part kept in repair. The walls of the nave are still remaining, and
present some plain pointed arches, and those of the south transept are
entire; but the north side of the tower, which rose between the nave and
choir, is levelled with the ground. The choir, which is also the parochial
church, has no interesting details: it contains the sepulchral vault of
the Earls of Kildare.
In the churchyard is the lofty pedestal
of an ancient stone cross, and in the surrounding walls are numerous fragments
of sculptured monuments, removed from the interior of the cathedral, of
which several are remarkable both for their subjects and their execution.
A few yards distant is a remaining portion of the chapel of St. Bridget,
called “the fire house,” a low and narrow stone cell in which
the sacred fire was preserved.
There is neither chapter-house nor
episcopal palace, nor are there residences for any of the dignitaries.
In the R. C. divisions the diocese is united with that of Leighlin, together
forming one of the three suffragan dioceses to the archiepiscopal see
of Dublin : it comprises 46 parochial benefices or unions, containing
110 chapels served by 108 clergymen, of whom 46, including the bishop,
are parish priests, and 62 coadjutors or curates.
The parochial benefice of the bishop
is Carlow, near which is his residence, Braganza House. The cathedral
in Carlow, built during the prelacy of the Right Rev. Dr. Doyle, and chiefly
through his exertions, is an edifice of much architectural elegance.
The parish comprises 4759 statute
acres, as applotted under the tithe act. It is a rectory, appropriate
to the dean and chapter : the tithes amount to £323. 1. 6. In the
R. C. divisions it is the head of a union or district, called Kildare
and Rathangan, comprising the parishes of Kildare, Rathangan, Carne, Dunmurry,
Pollardstown, Thomastown, Tully, Lackagh, and Knavenstown.
There is a chapel in the town, and
also one at Rathangan. Near the R. C. chapel is a convent of nuns of the
order of the Presentation, the sisters of which devote their time to the
gratuitous instruction of poor girls ; and near the ruins of the monastery
of St. Bridget is a Carmelite friary, a neat modern building recently
erected on the site of the ancient house of that order, attached to which
is a chapel.
Schools.
There are three public schools, in
which about 800 children are taught, and a private school, in which are
about 70 children.
The county infirmary is situated in
the town. About thirty yards from the church is the ancient round tower,
132 feet high, which within the last century has been crowned with graduated
battlements; and part of the ancient castle is still remaining.
On the Curragh, according to Giraldus
Cambrensis, was formerly a circle of large stones, of which no traces
remain; but there are numerous earthworks, most of which appear to have
been sepulchral. On this plain, Richard Marshall, Earl of Pembroke and
Earl Palatine of Leinster , who had been invited by De Burgo, De Lacy,
and other lords to negotiate a truce, was betrayed by Geoffrey de Marisco,
his attendant, into the power of his enemies, and put to death, in 1234.
David O’Buge, who, in the early part of the 14th century, was eminently
distinguished as a philosopher, rhetorician, and divine, was a native
of this town; he was provincial of the Carmelites in Ireland , and was
interred in the monastery of that order at this place, of which he had
been a friar. Kildare gives the inferior titles of Earl and Marquess to
the Duke of Leinster.
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