Naas


Naas is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge.

History

Naas has been recorded in three forms which are written in Irish: Nás na Ríogh, translating as Place of Assembly of the Kings, An Nás translating to the Place of Assembly and Nás Laighean translating to Place of assembly of the Leinster Men.
In the Middle Ages, Naas became a walled market town and was occasionally raided by the O'Byrne and O'Toole clans from the nearby area which became County Wicklow. Naas features on the 1598 map by Abraham Ortelius as "Nosse".
A mayor and council were selected by local merchants and landowners. Naas became known as the "county town" of County Kildare because of its use as a place for trading, public meetings, local administration including law courts, racecourses and the army's Devoy Barracks.
Saint David's Castle, a 13th-century Norman castle, was first built c. 1210, although the present structure is a fortified house of the 18th century.
One of the first battles of the rebellion of 1798 took place in Naas on 24 May 1798. During the Battle of Naas, a force of about 1,000 rebels were defeated in an unsuccessful attack on the town.
In 1898, the Local Government Act established Naas Urban District Council. Naas Town Council was abolished in June 2014, when the Local Government Reform Act 2014 dissolved town councils and designated Kildare County Council as the administrative authority for the entire county.

Amenities

Naas has a hospital Naas General Hospital, Naas Racecourse, Mondello Park International Motor Racing Circuit, a library, the 200-seat Moat Theatre, five-screen 3D Odeon cinema, RSA driving test centre, tax office, local authority offices, five supermarkets, several pubs, and a number of schools, hotels and nightclubs.

Economy

Local industrial enterprises include Kerry Group's Global Technology and Innovation Centre, and International Fund Services.
The town centre of Naas includes shops, restaurants, nightclubs, boutiques and shops. Other retail outlets have been developed in new retail parks and shopping centres on the outskirts of the town.
A shopping centre on Monread Road was completed in 2010 with Ireland's largest Tesco Superstore as the anchor tenant. Other retail parks serve the town on both ends - northern and southern - with outlets such as Harvey Norman, PC World, B&Q, Smyths Toys, and Halfords.
The Naas/Sallins area is served by two Aldi supermarkets, two Lidl stores, two Supervalu supermarkets, a Tesco Extra supermarket, a smaller Tesco Metro in the town centre, and a new Dunnes Stores food hall. Danish home retail group JYSK, a competitor for Sweden's IKEA, opened their first Irish store Newhall Retail Park in Naas during April 2019. Several smaller foodstores are scattered around the town.

Religion

The town has two Roman Catholic churches, one Church of Ireland church, and one Presbyterian church. The original parish church, St David's Church, is Church of Ireland. The Roman Catholic parish church, the Church of Our Lady and St. David, dates from 1827. In 1997, the second Catholic Church opened in Ballycane on the east side of town and is dedicated to the Irish Martyrs. Naas is part of the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin which is run by Bishop Denis Nulty since August 4, 2013.

Media

County Kildare's local radio station Kfm 97.3FM – 97.6FM is based in Naas. The Leinster Leader, regional newspaper, and Kildare TV, a local station, are also based in the area.

Transport

The nearby N7 Naas Road connects Naas with Dublin and the M50 motorway. Additionally, the M7 Motorway connects Naas with the South and South West.
Naas railway station, which opened on 22 June 1855, closed for passenger traffic on 27 January 1947 to be re-purposed for goods trains. It reopened on 10 March 1947, but was closed 12 years later on 1 April 1959. The Sallins and Naas railway station, located in nearby Sallins, is now used by many residents of Naas and the surrounding area for the daily commute to Dublin, with travel times averaging around 30 minutes to Dublin's city centre.
The main bus transportation companies serving the area are Bus Éireann, JJ Kavanagh and Sons and Dublin Coach. Naas's main bus routes include Bus Éireann's service from Kildare to Dublin city centre, a JJ Kavanagh route to Blanchardstown, and Dublin Coach and JJ Kavanagh services to Dublin Airport.
The N7 Naas Road was upgraded in 2006 to a six-lane carriageway with grade-separated interchanges. Additional plans have been laid out to construct a large interchange at Osberstown-Millenium Park as part of the M7 upgrade. A ring road is also being constructed and several sections of the project have already been completed.

Roads

Naas has five secondary schools, St. Mary's College Naas, a girls' convent school, Meanscoil Iognáid Rís Nás na Riogh, for boys, Piper's Hill College, Naas Community College and Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara, a mixed Irish speaking Secondary School. Naas has many primary schools, including the Convent of Mercy, a girls' school, St. Corban's Boys National School, a school for boys, Scoil Bhríde, a mixed school, Ballycane, another mixed school teaching classes from Junior Infants to 2nd class, St. David's, a mixed school, Gaelsoil Nás na Ríogh, Kilashee National School and Naas Community National School is located at Cradockstown.
Naas has a public library which is located in the canal harbour area.

Sport and leisure

The Moat Theatre is a 200-seat performance and visual arts centre in Naas, which hosts local and national stage productions, live music and other events.
The local Gaelic Athletic Association club is Naas GAA, and the club has won several senior county football and hurling championships.
Local association football clubs include Naas AFC Soccer Club, Redwood Naas FC, Monread FC Soccer Club, and Naas United FC Soccer Club, several of which play in the Kildare and District Football League.
Other sports clubs include Naas Rugby Club, Naas Hockey Club, Naas Cycling Club, Naas Panthers Gymnastics Academy, Naas Lawn Tennis Club and Naas Athletic Club on the Caragh Road.
Naas Golf Club, one of three local golf clubs, is actually located in Sallins.
There are several equestrian facilities in the area, with Naas Racecourse, and Punchestown Racecourse. Osborne Stables is also based at Craddockstown, Naas. The annual Punchestown Race Festival is a major event for a full week in April. The Oxegen music festival was held at Punchestown during the summer for a number of years but hasn't been rescheduled since it were cancelled in 2014.
There are also a number of swimming pools and leisure centres in the area.

People

Naas is twinned with the following places: