BREAKING: Historic Kildare castle is bought by county council
Kildare County Council didn't say how much it cost
The historic St David’s Castle in Naas town centre has been bought by Kildare County Council.
As reported in Kildare Live over three months ago, the Department of Housing was assessing the merits of sanctioning approval to acquire it.
According to historians the castle is very much part of the town's history dating back to the original building in the time of King John of England when two parliaments were held there.
It was a central feature during the 13th and 14th centuries as a Norman stronghold.
Kildare County Council declined to indicate the future use of the castle.
However, it’s thought unlikely that the castle will be used for housing and could instead be redeveloped as offices to be used by private interests or, perhaps, KCC itself or a public body associated with heritage protection.
There are longer term suggestions that some of the land between the castle and Corban’s Lane would be developed for housing.
However, a proposal for a large scale apartment complex in roughly the same area and adjacent to Naas CBS was rejected on appeal by An Coimisiún Pleanála - after KCC had approved it.
It is not known how much KCC paid for the property but it was thought to have been offered to the council for in the region of €1m by a previous owner about 25 years ago.
The castle has been extensively renovated since it was acquired about five years ago and some of the work was funded through conservation grants made available by the state.
Naas mayor Seamie Moore welcomed the news and said that the acquisition is good news for the town.
“It’s great for Naas. The castle is one of oldest historic buildings in Naas and there is really nothing else to match it in terms of its historical importance.”
Cllr Moore also said that the castle could accommodate some KCC staff.
He added that a nearby site could be developed for housing - with the possibility of little additional car parking being provided because of the opening of car park spaces at the adjacent shopping centre building.