Seeing Maynooth? Begin at Maynooth Castle
Maynooth’s list takes in 2 castles, 2 museums and 2 attractions. There are 3 places to visit inside Maynooth’s urban area, and 8 more within 5 km of its edge. Here, one place is kept up by the Office of Public Works. The middle of town keeps 3 within 1 km. Dublin Castle lies 22 km out, the pick for a day trip.
Leading places in Maynooth
Following Maynooth Castle are a museum, an attraction and a historic house.
CastleMaynooth Castlein town
MuseumNational Science Museum at Maynoothin townAttractionAttractionRussell Libraryin town
Historic house · Office of Public WorksCastletown House3.7 km outside town, to the southeast
CastleBarberstown Castle4.8 km outside town, to the southVisitor farmVisitor farmClonfert Farm4.4 km outside town, to the westEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
The lie of the land
Furthest out is Barberstown Castle, at 6.6 km.
The dashed line is Maynooth’s urban area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · CSO 2022 outline
Kind by kind
5 are castles or historic places; museums or galleries come next with 2.
Green: inside Maynooth. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
1 place is cared for by the Office of Public Works (Castletown House).
Everything to see
3 in town lead, with 8 more within 5 km of its edge after them.
National Science Museum at Maynooth
Science museum, Ecclesiology museum in County Kildare , Ireland.
Castletown House
18th century Palladian country home in Celbridge, Co. Kildare.
The 3 inside Maynooth come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches, protected structures and monuments belong to the History page, not here.
Monuments and historic buildings in Maynooth → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Maynooth →
Out of town
The 12 days out are led by Dublin Castle, 22 km away.
CathedralSt Patrick's Cathedral22 km east
Big drawMuseumNational Museum of Ireland23 km east · 783K visitors a year
Big drawZooDublin Zoo19 km east · 1.3M visitors a year (2022)
MuseumNational Library of Ireland23 km east
Museum · Office of Public WorksKilmainham Gaol19 km east
Historic houseLeinster House23 km east
CathedralChrist Church Cathedral22 km east
Garden · Office of Public WorksSaint Stephen's Green23 km east
Museum · Office of Public WorksChester Beatty22 km east
Art galleryNational Gallery of Ireland23 km east
MuseumIrish Museum of Modern Art20 km eastPlaces well known beyond Maynooth (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a Office of Public Works or National Parks and Wildlife Service property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Good to know in Maynooth
What are the main attractions in Maynooth?
The best known inside Maynooth’s urban area are Maynooth Castle, National Science Museum at Maynooth and Russell Library. In all, 3 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 8 more within 5 km.
Does Maynooth have a museum?
2 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Maynooth: National Science Museum at Maynooth and Berkeley Costume and Toy Collection.
Is there a Heritage Ireland (OPW) or national park property near Maynooth?
Yes. In or within 5 km of Maynooth, 1 place is cared for by the Office of Public Works (Castletown House).
What are the best-known days out near Maynooth?
Within 40 km: Dublin Castle (22 km), St Patrick's Cathedral (22 km), National Museum of Ireland (23 km), Dublin Zoo (19 km).
How is this list made?
From Fáilte Ireland’s open data on attractions (museums, castles, historic houses, abbeys, gardens, national parks, landscapes, islands, zoos and visitor farms: restaurants, pubs, shops and tour operators are left out), OpenStreetMap (places open to visitors; a ruined castle on farmland needs a sign it can be visited) and Wikidata (what each place is, who looks after it, its Wikipedia articles), merged into one list and placed in the town’s CSO 2022 outline or within 5 km of its edge.
Places to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in each town’s CSO 2022 outline. Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (15)
- Maynooth Castle: William Murphy from Dublin, Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Science Museum at Maynooth: AugusteBlanqui, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Castletown House: LoriStrang, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Barberstown Castle: Harold Strong, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Patrick's Cathedral: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Museum of Ireland: Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net )., CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dublin Zoo: Harold Strong, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Library of Ireland: YvonneM, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kilmainham Gaol: Nol Aders, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Leinster House: Jean Housen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christ Church Cathedral: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Saint Stephen's Green: Dronepicr (edited by King of Hearts ) Edit corrects CA and sharpens image, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chester Beatty: Aligatorek, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Gallery of Ireland: Copyright © 2006 Kaihsu Tai, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Irish Museum of Modern Art: self, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).