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National Stud and Japanese Gardens via Portlaoise, Ballybrittas and Monasterevin
Portlaoise was established by Queen Mary in 1555 as a walled fort to protect the southern end of the pale (the area south of Dublin under English control) The first English court and jail in Ireland were set up in Portlaoise (then named "Maryborough").
The Great Heath of Maryborough, under the shadow of the Rock of Dunamaise, retains features of the Celtic environment - ring barrows, ring forts and plough ridges - which lasted into the 1600's, while the English militia did its military exercises there too. Driving on from here the English influence increases in evidence. Emo Court along with Coolbanagher Church was designed by James Gandon for the first Earl of Portarlington. James Gandon also designed the Four Courts and the Custom House in Dublin.
Emo Court Gardens (75ac.) consist of sweeping formal lawns, statuary and tree lined walks. Capability Brown designed the formal gardens. The informal are by William Robinson. Winston Churchill spent summers in Emo Court, and the Duke of Wellington went to school in Portarlington, famous for its French or Huguenot settlement.
Monasterevin has remnants of former grandeur. It is the gateway to Laois. Road, rail and canal here cross the River Barrow. There is a fine terrace of three storey Georgian houses along the riverfront with their gardens running down to the river. Count John McCormack lived in Moore Abbey.
Kildare is a historic town from pagan Celtic times. The legendary home of St Bridget ("Mary of the Gaels") and her famous monastery. There is a fine cathedral and round tower as well as the 'eternal flame' in the town square. The Silken Thomas Bar & Restaurant is named after one of the Earls of Kildare.
While in Kildare visit Kildare Village, the most impressive designer outlet shopping village in Ireland.
Now visit the National Stud, just outside Kildare, home of the Irish Bloodstock industry. Horses have been bred here since the Middle Ages when the Knights of Malta bred horses for the crusades. Modern development took off when William Hall Walker, of Scottish descent, bought a farm at Tully and then commissioned the designing of the Japanese Gardens, one of the ten most visited sites in Ireland and the finest example of such gardens in Europe.
A short way from Kildare is Newbridge home to the Whitewater Centre, Ireland's largest shopping mall outside Dublin
Portlaoise was established by Queen Mary in 1555 as a walled fort to protect the southern end of the pale (the area south of Dublin under English control) The first English court and jail in Ireland were set up in Portlaoise (then named "Maryborough").
The Great Heath of Maryborough, under the shadow of the Rock of Dunamaise, retains features of the Celtic environment - ring barrows, ring forts and plough ridges - which lasted into the 1600's, while the English militia did its military exercises there too. Driving on from here the English influence increases in evidence. Emo Court along with Coolbanagher Church was designed by James Gandon for the first Earl of Portarlington. James Gandon also designed the Four Courts and the Custom House in Dublin.
Emo Court Gardens (75ac.) consist of sweeping formal lawns, statuary and tree lined walks. Capability Brown designed the formal gardens. The informal are by William Robinson. Winston Churchill spent summers in Emo Court, and the Duke of Wellington went to school in Portarlington, famous for its French or Huguenot settlement.
Monasterevin has remnants of former grandeur. It is the gateway to Laois. Road, rail and canal here cross the River Barrow. There is a fine terrace of three storey Georgian houses along the riverfront with their gardens running down to the river. Count John McCormack lived in Moore Abbey.
Kildare is a historic town from pagan Celtic times. The legendary home of St Bridget ("Mary of the Gaels") and her famous monastery. There is a fine cathedral and round tower as well as the 'eternal flame' in the town square. The Silken Thomas Bar & Restaurant is named after one of the Earls of Kildare.
While in Kildare visit Kildare Village, the most impressive designer outlet shopping village in Ireland.
Now visit the National Stud, just outside Kildare, home of the Irish Bloodstock industry. Horses have been bred here since the Middle Ages when the Knights of Malta bred horses for the crusades. Modern development took off when William Hall Walker, of Scottish descent, bought a farm at Tully and then commissioned the designing of the Japanese Gardens, one of the ten most visited sites in Ireland and the finest example of such gardens in Europe.
A short way from Kildare is Newbridge home to the Whitewater Centre, Ireland's largest shopping mall outside Dublin
