County Kildare is one of the administrative counties of the Republic of Ireland and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is located in the province of Leinster and is part of the Mid-East Region of the Republic. It was named after the town of Kildare. The population of the county is 186,335 according to the 2006 census. Kildare is the 24th largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and seventh largest in terms of population. It is the eighth largest of Leinster’s twelve counties in size, and second largest in terms of population.More
Economy
Kildare currently (2010) contains the European base of electronics firms, Intel and Hewlett Packard, two of the largest employers in this sector in the entire island. Pharmaceutical giant Wyeth has its European Manufacturing base in Newbridge, with another plant in nearby Newcactle in County Dublin. Major pizza-making, soft drinks, and frozen food enterprises are located in Naas. Large supermarket distribution centres are located in Naas, Newbridge and Kilcock. Some of Ireland's most glamorous boutiques are in Naas such as the Emporium Kalu on Main Street Naas which is the most expensive boutique in Ireland. The county has numerous shopping malls in the main towns such as Manor Shopping centre in Maynooth, Kildare Village Outlet Shopping Centre in Kildare Town, Naas Shopping Mall under construction and the Whitewater Centre in Newbridge.
The Irish Army's largest military base, its command headquarters, and its training centre at the Curragh. Allenwood and Timahoe are also the location of large peat burning power stations operated by the state, and Kildare has historically be an employment centre in this sector.More
Education
Two third-level educational institutions -- St. Patrick's College founded by King George III in 1795 to educate Ireland's Catholics and the National University of Ireland, Maynooth founded in 1997—are located in Maynooth. They share campus space and many facilities. The two institutions were formally separated in 1997. NUI Maynooth is the only university in the Republic of Ireland not situated in a city.
Clongowes Wood College is a private secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane. Founded by the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits) in 1814, it is one of Ireland's oldest Catholic schools.More