Narraghmore sits on a long, gentle rise in south County Kildare — An Fhorrach Mhór, the great ridge. It's about seven kilometres from Athy and about the same again from Kilcullen, which puts it square in the middle of nowhere by most reckonings. The population at the last count was 375. What the count doesn't capture is that people here built a community tearoom out of an old hardware shop because they didn't want the village centre to go dark.
The ridge has history. The Hill of Carmen, a short distance out, was where the Naasteighan — the assembly of the states of South Leinster — met in ancient times. Sixteen conical mounds around a high rath where elders sat in council. In the 3rd century, the men of South Leinster fought off Carmar Cas, King of Munster, at Narraghmore and chased him south to the bloody ford that is now Athy. In 1798, nine Crown yeomen held the courthouse against a United Irishmen attack for two hours. The ruins of a gateway are what remain of Colonel Keatinge's house, burned by British forces that same month because Keatinge was suspected of rebel sympathies. South Kildare does not have a simple history.
St Laurence's GAA club, based at Oldgrange, draws from Narraghmore, Kilmead, Calverstown, and several surrounding townlands. Formed in 1957 from two older clubs. In 2009 they won the Kildare Senior Football Championship — their first — beating Moorefield by 1-13 to 0-06. That's the kind of win a small community refers to for a long time.
None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:
Melanie Treacy runs the pub at the heart of the village. Planning is in for glamping pods and an art workshop next door — watch that space.
| Place | Type | € | Local note |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Old Hardware | Community tearoom and grocer | € | Opened in 2019 by Narraghmore Development CLG from a disused hardware shop. Barista coffee (Bell Lane, roasted in Mullingar), homemade baked goods, Kathleen's Corner grocery section. Wednesday to Friday 10:30am–5pm, weekends 10:30am–1:30pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Men's Club Wednesdays at 3pm, seniors' coffee Thursday mornings — walk in. |
The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.
Narraghmore is on the R418, 7km northeast of Athy and roughly 10km southeast of Kilcullen. The M9 motorway runs nearby — exit at junction 5 (Carlow/Athy) or junction 6.
Bus Éireann serves the Athy corridor. The village is not on a direct scheduled route — Athy (7km) is the nearest interchange point.