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heritage · Monday 17 August 2026 · Various 
National Heritage Week 2026 - Kildare Events
At Multiple venues across Kildare · Kildare, Co. Kildare
At Multiple venues across Kildare · Kildare, Co. Kildare
Every August, National Heritage Week gives communities across Ireland a chance to open doors that usually stay shut - the back rooms of local museums, the gates of private demesnes, the local knowledge of historians who spend the rest of the year writing rather than talking. Kildare takes it seriously. With over 80 events spread across the county in recent years, there is a genuine range here, from drop-in craft workshops in local libraries to guided archaeological walks at sites that rarely see a visitor outside of summer. This suits anyone curious about history at any level - families with children on school holidays, adults who want more than a plaque on a wall, and anyone who has driven past Castledermot or Maynooth Castle and wondered what was actually going on inside.
The 2026 theme is Heritage at Risk - an invitation to look at what is fragile about the county’s past and what is still being done to protect it. Built heritage under pressure from the climate, traditional craft skills that are holding on by a thread, oral histories that depend on one generation passing stories to the next. Events during the week reflect this framing without it becoming a lecture.
Kildare’s programme typically runs across the full seven days, with events at different venues each day rather than everything concentrated in one place. Past years have included guided walks through Kildare town uncovering its early Christian monastic roots, archaeological tours of Castledermot’s high crosses and Franciscan Friary led by local archaeologist Sharon Greene, and hands-on workshops in traditional crafts like Irish crochet lace at Celbridge Library. Maynooth Castle has hosted family-friendly quiz and art days, and Carton House - the former seat of the Earls of Kildare - has opened for guided and self-guided tours during the week.
Talks and lectures are a regular feature, often run by local history groups in community halls, and tend to fill up fast. Advance booking is advised for anything ticketed; a good number of events are free.
The full 2026 programme for Kildare will be published on the Heritage Week website closer to August. Check heritageweek.ie from late June onwards.
Kildare town sits on the main Dublin to Cork / Limerick rail line, roughly 50 minutes by train from Heuston Station. It is also on the M7, about 50km from Dublin city centre - straightforward to reach by car. If you are attending events further into the county, places like Maynooth (on the Dublin commuter rail line) or Naas are well served by Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus routes. Individual events will have their own venue details, so check the Heritage Week listing for parking and access information specific to each site.
The county has more heritage per square mile than most people expect - the Japanese Gardens, the Irish National Stud, the Curragh, and a stretch of Grand Canal walking that rewards a slow afternoon. There is more to see in Kildare and across Co. Kildare.
Heading to Multiple venues across Kildare in Kildare? Kildare has plenty more to see. Read the Kildare area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.