Meet the Legends of Kildare through virtual reality at Kildare Tourist and Heritage Centre

Greeted by a Black Knight of the crusades (aka Tom McCutcheon in full costume), the scene is set for a journey back to the times of na Fianna, Brigid the goddess, St Brigid and the arrival of the Normans.

It’s a bright Thursday morning as myself and photographer Aishling Conway arrive at Kildare Town Heritage Centre.

Despite two years of sporadic lockdown closures, centre manager, Tom explains the virtual reality adventure has proven hugely popular.

Having just launched prior to beginning of the pandemic, the new experience is now fully open for booking.

The centre, like many other businesses, has had to adapt to restrictions and has proved hugely resilient.

“What’s brilliant is, up to now we are only 300 people down on a good normal year,” he says.

Set in one of the oldest towns in Ireland, the centre has embraced the town’s history.

Up the stairs we go for the VR experience. The setting is very apt with a scale historic model of Kildare town in the centre of the room. Benches line the walls while beautiful imagery depicts times gone by.

Settling in on one of the benches, on goes the headset and headphones.

The scene opens on Goddess Brigid and her friends, the Tuatha Dé Danann sitting around a fire. One of the ladies breaks away and begins to tell the story of Kildare town.

The full 360 degree effect is fantastic — the sky, the grass, the imagery continues endlessly whether you look up, down, left or right. The journey moves forward through time with Rhian, the bird guiding the way, bringing you soaring through the skies to become immersed in na Fianna training on the Curragh.

From being a witness to St Brigid laying her cloak over the green land, you are transported to the streets of medieval Kildare town where the local bishop demands the flame of St Brigid be put out in the grounds of St Brigid’s Cathedral.

Cleverly put together to appeal to children and adults of any age, the experience is engaging and it’s easy to get lost in these new worlds. The level of detail is exceptional.

Lasting 30 minutes, the experience flies by. Afterwards, Tom shows us the timeline of the history of the town, compared to other events in Europe and Ireland.

He explains this is very helpful for tourists from abroad so they can get a more accurate picture of when these events occurred.

There is also an interactive video screen where you can find all about the three abbeys of Kildare town — The White Abbey, The Grey Abbey and The Black Abbey. The last tower of Strongbow’s castle is also included as well as St Brigid’s Cathedral.

Tom is eager to point out that the VR experience is hugely important in encouraging participants to go out around the town and find these historic landmarks themselves. He gives people maps and informs them of where to go.

“It’s hugely important how you tell that story and how people relate to it,” he says.

Reporter Niamh O'Donoghue in the Virtual Reality headset

The experience can be viewed in English, Irish, French, German and Chinese.

He is delighted to see people’s reaction after taking part in the VR experience.

“We had one man who was 92 years old and he loved it. When he went down the stairs afterwards, he was like a 60 year old,” he highlights.

“There was one boy who has seen it four times. He came with his family and his cousins from Germany. They were able to watch it in German and he could watch it in English. Then he came back with his mother and then his sister and then someone else. It’s been brilliant.”

Tom, who had been one of a number of people campaigning to make St Brigid’s Day a national holiday, was thrilled when the Government recently agreed to the proposal.

Although it won’t be official until next year, the centre still held its usual events to mark St Brigid’s Day on February 1. Giving out free plants and St Brigid’s postcards, they raised €625 in donations for the Women’s Refuge and The Hive youth hub. Planning is already underway for St Brigid’s Day in 2023 and also for her 1500 year anniversary in 2024.

Several guided walking tours were held with students from St Wolstan’s in Celbridge visiting the town on February 4 and 6.

Since Covid hit, the centre has put several health and safety measures in place. Hand sanitiser units and an air purifier have been installed.

“We also got a special UV clean box in from America which cleans the headsets and earphones. It’s hospital standard and is much more environmentally friendly than using individual wipes for every headset,” says Tom.

He is a huge advocate for people being able to experience history in a tactile manner. He points out a stone from Kildare castle, dating back from 1620.

Another Síle na Gig stone, which was discovered at the Black Abbey two years ago is also on display as is the 700 year old Castledillon stone from Straffan. People can drop into the tourist and heritage centre to see the artifacts for themselves. Tom is bursting with ideas for the coming months and has other events planned.

To find out more log on to www.kildareheritage.com.