Maynooth (Ireland)

Maynooth is a town in County Kildare, 30 km west of Dublin. Maigh Nuad means the plain of Nuadha, the mythical king who lost his arm in battle, was fitted with a silver one, then grew back his own. The town is best known for its religious seminary, and with a population in 2016 of 14,585, it's the most interesting of the strip of towns along the northern boundary of the county. These all stand astride the historic Dublin-Galway road, nowadays M4, and are part of the Dublin commuter belt.

Celbridge with a population of 20,288 is the largest, with 18th century Castletown House nearby.

Leixlip (population 15,504) is mostly residential and runs into Lucan within the Dublin city limits.

Understand
"Maynooth" to generations of Catholics has signified St Patrick's College, established in 1795 as Ireland's national seminary for RC priests. Remarkably, it was funded by the British government, who with good reason were more scared of anti-clerical revolutionary France than they were of Rome. A bid by Peel in 1845 to triple the funding convulsed British politics, but he carried the day. From 1896 the college became a Pontifical university, conferring its own degrees in canon law, philosophy and theology. Secular faculties also developed, which in 1997 were hived off to create Maynooth University, academically separate but sharing the Old Campus, and growing around a New Campus just north. Maynooth was already expanding rapidly as a commuter town but this transformed it into a university town, with some 14,000 students and 500 academic staff. Students for the priesthood have dwindled to some 250 but St Patrick's seminary keeps going as those elsewhere in Ireland have folded and transferred into Maynooth.

By plane
Fly into Dublin Airport and take the frequent Hopper bus (below) direct to Maynooth.

Weston Airport between Leixlip and Lucan has no commercial flights, but extensive aviation facilities and it handles private and business flights.

By train
Commuter trains from Dublin Connolly run twice an hour from 5:30AM to 11:30PM and take 40 min to Maynooth, with 9 stops including Drumcondra and Leixlip; a single ticket might be €5. Six trains a day are intercity services which continue to Mullingar, Longford, Dromod, Carrick-on-Shannon, Boyle, Ballymote and Sligo. Connolly station also has trains from Belfast via Drogheda, from Rosslare via Wexford and Wicklow, and the other Dublin commuter lines. For trains from Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Mayo you need to travel via Dublin Heuston, a 5-km cross-town transfer. See Irish Rail for timetables, fares and online tickets.

Maynooth is 200 m south of town centre. The ticket office is open M-Sa 6AM-11PM, Su 10AM-10PM and there are machines; no toilets.

By bus
Dublin Bus C3 / C4 runs every 30 min from Ringsend, the Quays and Heuston Station in Dublin via Chapelizod, Lucan and Leixlip / Celbridge, taking 50 min to Maynooth. The last bus leaves Heuston around 11:30PM but then Bus C5 / C6 runs every 30 min hourly through the night.

Airport Hopper 767 runs every 30 min 5AM-10PM from the airport via Lucan and Leixlip to Maynooth, taking 50 min.

Aircoach 706 runs every hour or two from Dublin Airport via Dublin Aston Quay to Maynooth, and continues west to Athlone, Ballinasloe and Galway.

Expressway Bus 22 / 23 runs six times a day from Dublin Busáras, taking 50 min via Dublin Airport and Lucan. These continue to Mullingar and Longford whence Bus 23 runs to Dromod, Carrick-on-Shannon, Boyle and Sligo, while Bus 22 heads west to Ballina. Bus X20 from Dublin via Maynooth to Galway was axed in 2021.

Bus Éireann 115 runs every 30 min from Dublin Connolly and Heuston stations to Lucan, Maynooth and Kilcock; alternate services continue to Enfield, Kinnegad and Mullingar. GoAhead Commuter Bus 120 runs every 30 min from Dublin Connolly and Heuston stations to Celbridge, 40 min. It doesn't come into Maynooth but continues to Straffan, Clane, Prosperous, Carbury and Edenderry.

JJ Kavanagh Bus 139 runs every couple of hours M-Sa from Naas to Sallins, Clane and Maynooth, and continues to Leixlip, Castaheaney, Blanchardstown and Corduff at the northwest edge of Dublin city.

Buses stop on Maynooth Main St and elsewhere, there isn't a bus station.

By road
By road from Dublin follow M4 to Exit 7. Cyclists can follow the towpath of the Royal Canal, see below.

Get around
Maynooth town is compact and walkable. Bus 67 runs near Castletown House in Celbridge, while Bus 66 flanks the Royal Canal to Leixlip.

See

 * St Patrick's College aka Maynooth College or Old Campus faces the castle. It was established in 1795 as a seminary for RC priests, as described above. Since 1997 it shares the Old Campus with the secular Maynooth University. You can stroll the campus exteriors but the only interior that is routinely accessible is the beautiful College Chapel, Tu Th 10:30AM-12:30PM in term time. College tours may also take in the Great Hall, St Mary's Oratory and Stoyte House.
 * National Science Museum has a branch within Old Campus, with a collection of scientic instruments. It's open Jun-Aug: W 2-4PM, Su 2-6PM.
 * Celbridge Abbey in that town's centre is a 17th-century mansion, converted in 1951 into a facility for people with learning difficulties and run by a religious brotherhood. You can stroll the gardens M-F 9AM-16:00.
 * Tea Lane Graveyard 500 m west of Celbridge town centre is an atmospheric graveyard with a ruined medieval church and 1860s chapel. It's open M-F 10AM-5PM, Sa Su 11AM-1PM. The lane was Church Road until 19th century millworkers were brought over from England, to drink copious volumes of tea and carpet the lane with their discarded tea-leaves.
 * Celbridge Abbey in that town's centre is a 17th-century mansion, converted in 1951 into a facility for people with learning difficulties and run by a religious brotherhood. You can stroll the gardens M-F 9AM-16:00.
 * Tea Lane Graveyard 500 m west of Celbridge town centre is an atmospheric graveyard with a ruined medieval church and 1860s chapel. It's open M-F 10AM-5PM, Sa Su 11AM-1PM. The lane was Church Road until 19th century millworkers were brought over from England, to drink copious volumes of tea and carpet the lane with their discarded tea-leaves.
 * was built in 1743 at the north end of the Castletown Estate. It's nowadays severed from the estate by M4, so you flash past it between Exits 5 and 6. It was primarily a Folly, a work creation project, but also served as a granary. It's a strange conical tower with an exterior stairway spiralling up: it would make one helluva helter-skelter but there's no public access. The Bottle Tower in Rathfarnham, Dublin is modelled on it. Another that you can ascend is in Samarra 125 km north of Baghdad, but this is inconvenient to reach from Maynooth.
 * was likewise a work creation project of 1740, designed by Cassels. It closed off the vista from Castletown House and its confection of arches, mock gatehouse, pineapples and eagles is generally abbreviated as "The Obelisk". See it free from the public lane, you can't go "inside" even if it had one.
 * is only worth a look if you're passing. In 1793 the Royal Canal was being excavated when the workers broke in upon a warm spring, bubbling up through a fault line from the Hadean depths. The landowner developed it into a spa and it had a brief vogue. Its waters tumble into the River Rye, but they're a drop in the ocean compared to the ruinous drainage of funds in constructing the canal across the river valley. The spa became derelict, vandalised and trash-strewn: it's been cleaned up several times only to fill up again like an unattended skip.
 * 5 km south of Maynooth has a truncated Round Tower, the main remnant of an early medieval monastery. The adjacent C of I church was built in 1831 and fell derelict in the 1870s.
 * Straffan village is also near the K golf club, see below. Its other amusements make a sorry catalogue: the butterfly farm has closed down, Castledillon is just a few stone scraps, and the monastic site was described as "not worth the services of chaplains" as early as 1294 and hasn't visibly improved since.
 * Straffan village is also near the K golf club, see below. Its other amusements make a sorry catalogue: the butterfly farm has closed down, Castledillon is just a few stone scraps, and the monastic site was described as "not worth the services of chaplains" as early as 1294 and hasn't visibly improved since.
 * Straffan village is also near the K golf club, see below. Its other amusements make a sorry catalogue: the butterfly farm has closed down, Castledillon is just a few stone scraps, and the monastic site was described as "not worth the services of chaplains" as early as 1294 and hasn't visibly improved since.

Do

 * Campus tours walk around the old and new college campuses.
 * The Royal Canal stretches 146 km from the Liffey in Dublin to the Shannon near Longford. It's navigable throughout and has a good towpath, so you could cycle from Dublin via the north suburbs and Leixlip to Maynooth. It continues west across the county to Kilcock and Enfield, then onward across Meath and Westmeath. Check Waterways Ireland for current status of locks, moorings, towpaths and other facilities.
 * Golf: the big name is The K Club or Royal Kildare, 2 km southwest of Straffan. It has an upscale resort and spa hotel, and two championship golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer. There are several more courses around Maynooth, Leixlip and the leafy edges of Dublin.

Buy

 * Carton Retail Park east side of town is the main shopping area, with Tesco Extra open daily 7AM-11PM.
 * West end of Main St near the University is Manor Mills shopping centre, with Aldi and Dunne's Stores.
 * SuperValu is on Straffan Rd next to Glenroyal Hotel.

Eat

 * Main Street in Maynooth also has Stone Haven, Red Torch Ginger, Bistro 53, Picaderos, and a slew of fast-food outlets.
 * Main Street in Maynooth also has Stone Haven, Red Torch Ginger, Bistro 53, Picaderos, and a slew of fast-food outlets.
 * Main Street in Maynooth also has Stone Haven, Red Torch Ginger, Bistro 53, Picaderos, and a slew of fast-food outlets.

Drink

 * Along Main Street find The Roost, The Duke & Coachman, O'Neills, McMahon's, Brady's Clockhouse and Oak Alley.
 * Rye River Brewing Company is in Celbridge, no tours.

Sleep

 * Maynooth Campus has student accommodation in various locations which out-of-term is used for conference groups but is also available to individual travellers.
 * B&Bs are dotted around the area but didn't open in 2021.
 * Leixlip has mid-price business-type accommodation handy for the M4, such as Courtyard Hotel, Leixlip House, and Leixlip Manor. There's plenty more south of the river in Lucan the western burb of Dublin.
 * Leixlip has mid-price business-type accommodation handy for the M4, such as Courtyard Hotel, Leixlip House, and Leixlip Manor. There's plenty more south of the river in Lucan the western burb of Dublin.
 * Leixlip has mid-price business-type accommodation handy for the M4, such as Courtyard Hotel, Leixlip House, and Leixlip Manor. There's plenty more south of the river in Lucan the western burb of Dublin.

Connect
As of July 2021, Maynooth and its surrounds have 4G from Three, and 5G from Eir and Vodafone.

Go next

 * Kildare has a fine cathedral and is near the National Stud and Japanese Gardens.
 * Trim has a well-preserved Norman castle and is near the Hill of Tara.
 * Dublin: just about everyone else in town will be heading there of a weekday morning, so it would be churlish not to explore it.