Newbridge, County Kildare

Newbridge, also called Droichead Nua in Irish, is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. The area around Newbridge has a long history. The Great Connell Priory nearby dates back to the 13th century. The town itself started to grow in the 18th century. It became more important when a military barracks opened in the early 19th century.

Over time, Newbridge grew to support local people and those traveling to work in Dublin. The town grew quickly. Its population doubled between 1991 and 2011. By 2022, Newbridge had about 24,366 people. It is the second largest town in County Kildare and the sixteenth-largest town in all of Ireland.

Name

The official name of Newbridge is "An Droichead Nua" in the Irish language, which means "The New Bridge". This name was introduced in the 1930s. An old map from 1752 shows a place called "The New Bridge" near another area named 'Old Connel'. Some names from that map are still used today.

History

Settlement in the area began in the 13th century with the building of Great Connell Abbey. The town of Newbridge grew from six old local areas.

The modern town started to form in the late 1700s. A chapel and an inn appeared, and a bridge was built. A big change came with the building of Cavalry Barracks in the early 1800s. This brought many people and business to the town. New streets, schools, and churches opened as the town grew. Newbridge stayed busy until the cavalry left in 1922. Since the 1960s, the town has grown again, becoming a place for shopping and for people who travel to work in Dublin.

Location

Map of Newbridge

The town is next to the River Liffey. Up the river are places like Athgarvan, Kilcullen, and Blessington. Down the river are Caragh, Clane, and Celbridge.

Newbridge is next to the Curragh Plains to the west, Pollardstown Fen, the Bog of Allen, and Moulds Bog to the northwest. Many stud farms are close by, especially around the Curragh and to the east. The motorway is at the town's southern edge.

Economy

Newbridge has a history of making things like ropes and carpets, but some of those factories are closed now. Today, the town is famous for making silverware at the Newbridge Silverware plant. Big companies like Oral-B and Pfizer also have offices there. Chocolate maker Lily O'Brien's and Bord na Móna are in Newbridge, and there is a Department of Defence base too.

People in Newbridge like to shop at places like Marks & Spencer and Zara in the town's shopping centre. The Whitewater Shopping Centre has a cinema run by Odeon Cinemas, with stores like Penneys and TK Maxx. Many people from Newbridge go to Dublin to work.

Transport

Rail

Newbridge is on the main Dublin–Cork railway line. This line connects the town to cities like Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, and Westport. Trains run regularly between Newbridge and Dublin. The Newbridge railway station opened on August 4, 1846. It stopped handling goods traffic on September 6, 1976.

Road

The M7 motorway passes near the town. The R445 road links Newbridge to the motorway at Junctions 10 and 12. The M9 motorway, which goes to Kilcullen, Carlow, Kilkenny, and Waterford, leaves the M7 west of Naas at Junction 11.

Religion

Newbridge has many places of worship for different faiths. It is part of St. Conleth's Parish in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin. This parish has three churches: St Conleth's Parish Church, Cill Mhuire, and Dominican St. Eustace's Church. There is also a Church of Ireland church in the Moorefield area.

St Conleth's Parish Church in Newbridge

Other faith groups in Newbridge include a group that meets at Newbridge Sports Centre, and a Kingdom Hall for Jehovah's Witnesses near Milltown. There is also Open Arms Church in the Newbridge Industrial Estate, and Newbridge Bible Fellowship Church in the Roseberry part of town.

Education

Newbridge has many schools for children. There are several primary schools, including Scoil Mhuire, Gaelscoil Chill Dara which teaches in the Irish language, The Patrician Primary School, and others nearby.

Newbridge College

For older students, there are secondary schools such as the Patrician Secondary School, the Holy Family Secondary School, St. Conleth's Community College, and Newbridge College. There is also a special school that teaches only in Irish, called Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara. Some adult students can take classes at the Kildare VTOS adult education centre in the town.

Sport and recreation

Newbridge Town Hall

Newbridge has many places for fun and games. It is home to the main grounds for Gaelic Athletic Association sports and two local teams, Sarsfield's GAA and Moorefield GAA. There are also association football clubs like Newbridge Town F.C and Newbridge Colts Football Club. The town has a rugby club called Newbridge RFC, which started in 1996.

The town has a public library and an arts centre named the Riverbank Arts Centre. There is a big park called the Liffey Linear Park next to the River Liffey, with space for walking and playing. Newbridge also has sports centres, gyms, swimming pools, and playgrounds. There are golf courses, places for fishing, and a racecourse nearby.

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

Newbridge has special friendships with three places in other countries. It is twinned with Bad Lippspringe in Germany, Ocala in Florida, United States (since 2008), and Argentré-du-Plessis in France (since 2017). These friendships help the towns learn from each other and work together.