ROAD CLOSURE AT CARNALWAY

A road closure will be in place from Carnalway Bridge, Brannockstown, back towards Carnalway Five Cross Roads, from Wednesday 9 September to Friday 11 September 2026, to facilitate road resurfacing. 

The diversion route will be signed, and local access will be provided. Road users are advised to expect some delays as a result of the works.

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CURRAGH TY STUDENTS IN 'PARACHUTE' ARTS PROJECT

A screening of The Parachute Project short film on Wednesday, 16 September, in the Riverbank Arts Centre, will take place with an artwork display from students of Curragh Community College. 

The Parachute Project was a six-week creative programme held in April and May 2026, involving TY students exploring photography’s origins, learning cyanotype printmaking, and studying the Curragh’s history and landscape. 

The collaboration was led by artist Brian Cregan, with associate artist Aideen Cross. The film was created by Richard Lennon of Darn Skippy. The project was commissioned by the Riverbank Arts Centre and Kildare County Council Arts Service.

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MATTRESS DISPOSAL DAY

A reminder that Kildare County Council, in collaboration with AES Recycling and the Circular Economy Fund, is hosting a Free Mattress Amnesty Day on Sunday, 6 September. The event will take place at AES Recycling, Silliot Hill, Kilcullen, from 8:30am to 3:00pm. 

Residents can bring up to six double, single, or triple mattresses for free disposal. The event is exclusive to household customers and does not accept commercial or charity entities, nor does it accept other waste or bulky items like divans, pillows, or couches. 

For more details, contact the Environment Department at 045 980588 or environ@kildarecoco.ie.

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COUNTY KILDARE CEO FOR CHAMBER LUNCH EVENT

Sonya Kavanagh, CEO of Kildare County Council, will present Driving Kildare Forward at Lawlor’s of Naas on 10 September at 1pm. The event is hosted by County Kildare Chamber. 

With nearly 30 years of local government experience, she will discuss Kildare’s future, focusing on economic, community, and infrastructure development. The event offers business leaders insights into strategic priorities for sustainable growth. 

Participants can enjoy a light lunch and networking from 12pm. Tickets are €30 + VAT for Chamber members and €70 + VAT for non-members.

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National Play Day 2026

National Play Day takes place at Áras Chill Dara, Naas on Saturday, 5 September, from 12pm to 5pm. 

Enjoy over 30 activities, live stage acts, and accessible features for a fun-filled, inclusive event.

All activities and parking are free. All are welcome.

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Old Kilcullen website officially launched

Michael O'Connell speaking about his research for the website.

People who live in the Old Kilcullen area are in an 'extraordinary place', County Kildare Heritage Officer Dara Wyer told many of them on Sunday, writes Brian Byrne. He was speaking at the annual Picnic on the Green, during which he participated in the official launch of a web resource about the heritage of Old Kilcullen.

KCC Heritage Officer Dara Wyer.

"The townland is between probably the most important prehistoric site in Leinster, Dún Ailinne, and one of the province's most important ecclesiastical sites as well," he said. "We often don't know enough about what's around us, and one of my jobs is to help increase that awareness. I'm delighted to see this resource online." He commended the initiative as showing the background to Old Kilcullen in a way that's understandable to all.

Earlier, retired doctor and local historian Michael O'Connell had spoken about how he had researched the information for the oldkilcullenheritage.ie portal, which includes commentary on the monastic site's early years, the Norman influence, the Eustace years, the 1798 Rebellion, and its possible inclusion on the traditional St Brigid’s Way.

The website, produced with support from Kildare County Council’s Heritage Department in association with the Old Kilcullen Area Community Association, was developed from an idea by area resident Dr Brendan O’Shea and Kilcullen-born Dr O’Connell, who has also extensively researched many other local places of historic significance, including New Abbey. 

The resource is designed for easy mobile phone access, so visitors to Old Kilcullen can, by scanning a QR code, quickly gain a sense of Old Kilcullen’s place through more than 1,300 years.

Cllr Ivan Keatley, beside Michael O'Connell's model of the Old Kilcullen monastic site.

Closing the proceedings, Cllr Ivan Keatley said the website was extremely useful for visitors to Old Kilcullen, and he was glad to hear that it can be added to with other information. "This can be a living resource," he said, suggesting it might include the geophysical surveys which had been carried out in recent years, and the biodiversity plan developed by the Old Kilcullen Area Community Association.

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Heritage Week event guides available free

Kildare Heritage Week Event Guides for the county are available in Kilcullen Library (while they last!).

Everyone is welcome to pick up a free copy.

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Concerns about proposed speed limits

Concerns that the proposed 30km/h speed limit for Kilcullen doesn't go far enough are being raised by Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer, writes Brian Byrne. The new speed limits in urban and residential areas across the county are currently open to public consultation.

On the map of Kilcullen in the proposal documents, the new limit runs from Conroy Park to the north end of the bridge, leaving the rest of the road at 50km/h. Cllr O'Dwyer says she's asking for it to include from the bridge to the Logstown junction, and along the Logstown road to the end of the housing estate. "It should take in the main road by Nicholastown, on the south, too," she adds.

The councillor will be making those proposals in her own submission to the consultation, and suggests that other Kilcullen people who feel similarly should send in their own observations. "Quantity is important in these things," she told the Diary, adding that she is happy to advise anyone who needs help with a submission.

The Supplementary Special Speed Limit Byelaws for Built-Up and Urban areas 2026, as proposed, are open to public view until 28 August. They can be accessed online or at the Council’s offices in Naas. 

After public consultation, councillors will consider adopting the byelaws, with any amendments, and they will take effect upon adoption. 

The byelaws are detailed in five volumes of maps, each covering a different Municipal District. Submissions can be made online in accordance with the Department of Transportation Guidelines 2025.

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KCC Education Bursaries open for application

Kildare County Council's Education Bursary Schemes for 2026, invite applications from students in County Kildare who encounter significant challenges in pursuing third-level education. The available bursaries are:

- The William G. Carroll Bursary (Community)

- The Kildare Education Bursary for People with Disabilities

- The Kildare County Council Memorial Bursary for DEIS School Students

The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Friday, 18 September 2026. More details and the online application process can be accessed at this link. 

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30km/h speed limits proposed by Council

Image: KCC.

All Kilcullen housing estates that are taken in charge by KCC, and the main street from Conroy Park to the Market Square entrance north of the bridge, will be subject to a 30km/h speed limit under proposals being considered by Kildare County Council, writes Brian Byrne. The limit would also apply on the R413 west as far as Castlemartin gates and east as far as the top entrance of the Valley Park.

The Supplementary Special Speed Limit Byelaws for Built-Up and Urban areas 2026, as proposed, are now open to public view until 28 August, as part of a consultation process. They can be accessed online or at the Council’s offices in Naas. 

After public consultation, the Elected Members will consider adopting the byelaws, possibly with amendments, and they will take effect upon adoption. 

The byelaws are detailed in five volumes of maps, each covering a different Municipal District. Submissions can be made online in accordance with the Department of Transportation Guidelines 2025.

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KCC launches Biodiversity Action Plan

Cathaoirleach of Kildare CC, Cllr Tim Durkan, with Dr Méabh Boylan, KCC Biodiversity Officer, and Catherine Casey, Head of Climate Change, The Heritage Council.

Kildare County Council has launched its Biodiversity Action Plan 2026–2031, setting out a five-year framework to protect habitats, restore ecosystems and support nature recovery across the county.

The plan follows wide consultation with council staff, community groups, farmers, landowners, environmental organisations, state agencies, schools and the public. Its priorities include protecting biodiversity-rich habitats, restoring wetlands, peatlands, grasslands and river corridors, supporting threatened native species, improving ecological networks and strengthening biodiversity monitoring.

The Council says the plan reflects the urgency of biodiversity loss and aims to embed nature protection into everyday policy and land management. 

The full plan is now available on the KCC website.

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M7 night-time closures next week

Image: Google Maps.

Night-time closures of the eastbound M7, between junctions 9a and 9, will take place from Tuesday 4 August to Monday 10 August, to facilitate resurfacing works.

The closures will be between 10pm and 6am. Diversions will be signposted. 

Emergency access and restricted Local Access will be maintained

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Placenames workshop for Heritage Week

A free drop-in workshop on local placenames will take place at Teach Diarmada, Main Street, Castledermot, on 19 August from 2pm to 7pm. The event focuses on recording minor local placenames – such as field names and crossroads – on the Meitheal Logainm website, helping to preserve valuable insights into the local landscape and its past. 

Visitors can call in at any time during the afternoon for a chat and a cup of tea, learn how to register placenames, and contribute entries on the day. 

Organised by Kildare County Council as part of National Heritage Week 2026, under the theme “Heritage at Risk”, the workshop offers a practical response to the loss of unrecorded placenames. No experience is necessary. 

For further information, contact Kildare County Council, 045 980200 or email heritage@kildarecoco.ie.

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Positive council responses to Kilcullen road safety issues

Cllr Tracey O’Dwyer has welcomed positive responses from Kildare County Council to two local safety and infrastructure issues, writes Brian Byrne. They relate to repairing a speed bump outside Scoil Bhride and a poor surface at St Brigid's Avenue.

Following her representations at today's Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meeting, the Council has agreed to assess a damaged speed bump outside Scoil Bhríde on the busy Newbridge–Kilcullen Road (R413), with a view to carrying out urgent repairs. The critical traffic-calming measure, which slows vehicles directly outside the school gates, has developed a dangerously sharp edge, a concern for local motorists, due to heavy wear and tear. Cllr O’Dwyer has asked that works be prioritised and, where possible, completed during school holidays to minimise disruption.

Separately, the Council has committed to interim pothole repairs on the rear access road serving residents of St Brigid’s Avenue, Kilcullen, following another motion from Cllr O’Dwyer. The heavily deteriorated surface, which has not been fully resurfaced since the estate was built, will receive patch repairs to tackle the worst potholes. At the same time, officials continue to seek funding for full resurfacing. 

Cllr O’Dwyer said the commitments will provide immediate relief for residents and road users while longer-term solutions are pursued.

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Call for 'urgent measures' at 'lethal' Kinneagh junction

Image: Tracey O'Dwyer.

Following a serious crash today that makes three in just a few months at Kinneagh Cross, Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer says she is seeking urgent interim measures to make the junction safer, writes Brian Byrne. Kinneagh Cross is notorious for its blind approach — particularly for drivers pulling out or approaching from the Newbridge side.

The councillor says the junction approaches are high speed and therefore a crash results in high impact. "It’s lethal, and the speed at which an impact happens is a real worry," she told the Diary, adding that the issue is similar to that at Thompson's Cross, near Kilcullen. "High speed, huge impact."

She says that she has been consistently raising the Kinneagh issue with the Council. "It is now on the list for upgrade works, and I would hope those works can start as soon as possible," she said after today's incident, which held up traffic in the area for some time. "The speed review is also currently underway, and if possible, I will be looking for the speed to be reduced at the approach to this junction."

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Road closure Mile Mill-Grangemore on Monday

A reminder that the R‑413 will be closed TODAY, Monday, 13 July 2026, between Mile Mill Cross and Grangemore, Brannockstown, during the day for surface dressing works. 

A signed diversion will be in place, local access maintained, and motorists should expect some delays.

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