Maynooth is on the Royal Canal, navigable from central Dublin to this point, now used mostly for leisure purposes. It provided an important stopping point before Dublin in the period directly before the coming of the railways to Ireland in the first half of the 19th century. The harbour, known locally as Dukes Harbour is roughly triangular in shape and on the north side of the canal, opposite the railway station is a popular fishing area.
St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth was established in 1795 “for the better
education of persons professing the Popish or Roman Catholic religion”, to educate young men at home rather than force them to go to Europe. The
buildings are two squares of courts built around the original Stoyte House
and the architecture has been the subject of much criticism. At the gateway
to the college are the keep, gatehouse and the ruins Of a Norman Fitzgerald
castle; the former Fitzgerald chapel inside the grounds of the college is now
the Church of Ireland church.
Dublin Bus Information Route 66 or Route 67
Bus Eireann Information [135461]