History
The Irish language name for Naas, Nás na Ríogh literally means Meeting Place of the Kings, as the place historically hosted meetings of pre-Norman Irish kings from the Kingdom of Leinster. After the Norman invasion in 1169-71, some meetings of the Irish parliament were held in the town. Many of the earlier settlers in Kildare were Cambro-Normans from Wales, and so the medieval church was dedicated to Saint David.
In the Middle Ages, Naas became a walled market town, occasionally raided by the O'Byrne and O'Toole clans based in the nearby area which became County Wicklow. Naas features on the 1598 map by Abraham Ortelius as "Nosse". (It is worth noticing the "O Byrne" and "O Tolo" (O'Toole) names appearing prominently on the map).
A mayor and council were selected by the richer merchants and landowners; the mayor was titled the "Sovereign of Naas" and carried a ceremonial mace until the post was abolished in 1840. Because of its importance as a place for trading, public meetings and local administration, with its law courts, racecourse and army barracks, it became known as the "county town" of County Kildare.
In the former Parliament of Ireland that was established in 1297 and ended in 1800, the constituency of Naas had 2 seats.
One of the first battles of the rebellion of 1798 took place in Naas on 24 May 1798 when a force of about 1,000 rebels were defeated in an unsuccessful attack on the town. A leader of the United Irishmen, Theobald Wolfe Tone, is buried just outside Naas, at Bodenstown.
In 1898, the Local Government Act established Naas Urban District Council (now Naas Town Council). Its jurisdiction had a circular boundary with a 2.4 km (1.5 mi) radius from the new town hall on the main street. Most of the rest of County Kildare is managed directly by Kildare County Council, also based in Naas since 1898, and which oversees the work of the Town Council.
Today, Naas is the 15th largest town in Ireland. The town is planning new housing developments during the next five years with a projected population of 30,000.
Read more about this topic: Naas
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