"Private, clean, comfortable rooms, centrally located, better than competitive prices. What more could we ask for. See you next September!" Jean Nolan, Naas. September 26th 2010
"There is a tea station in each room which is nice to have after a long journey. The bathrooms are always spotless. Its rare to find a place like it. Very Good." Diarmuid Long, Tralee. August 16th 2010
"...liked Smiths very much. Nick the manager was very helpful when we needed to find local knowledge about fishing permits. ...not typical of our time in Ireland as Smiths was cheap!" Hans Uhlemann, Denmark. June 2010.
"...more comfortable than a B & B as its totally private and you can come and go freely without worrying about making excessive noise, (better than)... staying in someone's home." Kate Mc Cluskey, Donegal. August 2nd 2009.
Kells County Meath - A Visitors Guide
This is a page, written and compiled by people from Kells. We hope it will prove to be a useful tool for you in deciding where to go and what to do while you stay in Kells.
The aim is to try to provide you with some tips on what Kells is like and what activities are popular locally.
From eating in Kells, to takeaways, activities in Kells, to the local pub scene, festivals in Meath, to sport in Kells. From Kells history right through to modern day Kells, we hope you find this page to be a useful tool when it comes to deciding on things to do in Kells County Meath.
Eating in Kells
Formal Dining in Kells means one of three choices. The award winning Vanilla Pod at the foot of John Street. The long established Ground Floor in Bective Place, or The Cross Street Bistro. Booking in advance is advised for these popular restaurants.
Eating out in Kells.Pub Grub in Kells. If its something quick, tasty and casual The Kelltic Bar and The Round Tower will not disappoint. Outside the town, The Carnaross Inn will not fail to leave you feeling full with some superb home cooked offerings. The Carnaross Inn is located four miles out the old N3 Cavan road from Kells.
Kells Take Aways. If its a traditional fast food chipper you are looking for, look no further than The Tower Grill on Farrell Street.
Kells also has a selection of Asian Restaurants and Take Aways, the pick of which is the Wau Palace on Market Street.
Kells Nightlife
Smiths, The Blackwater Inn and The Kelltic Piano Bar are the three best venues for live music in Kells. Depending on the night and time of year, entertainment in these pubs includes, live traditional Irish music, live rock bands and DJ's. Other pubs where the craic is good are The Railway Bar, The Sheeney, Muldoons, J.J. Maguires and The Westway.
Festivals & Events in Meath
Moynalty Steam Threshing Held in August of each year, the Steam Threshing is a wonderful exhibition of machinery and trades from a bygone era. There are acres of free parking at the site.
Virginia Pumpkin Festival Since its inception in 2007, The Virginia Pumpkin Festival has quickly become a huge event in the region. Held each October Bank Holiday weekend, the festival includes a wide array of activities including a huge fancy dress marquee, fireworks displays, live music. If you're in the region when the Pumpkin Festival is on, it should be very high up your priority list. An excellent experience.
Le Cheile Arts and Music Festival This festival committee has a history of pulling in the big acts. This Festival is held on the August Bank Holiday Weekend each year in Oldcastle County Meath. Some acts that played here in 2010 included Mick Flannery and Fight Like Apes.
Kells Recording Studio A short journey from Kells, JAM recording studios can be found. More information on JAM studios can be found here.
Kells Road Races The Kells and District Motor Cycle Racing Club was founded in October 1992, by a group of dedicated road race enthusiasts. Their ambition at the time was to bring back Pure Road Racing to Co. Meath. They succeeded with their ambition and the races are held on a circuit around Crossakiel in July of each year.
Slane Concert What used to be an annual event seems to have recently become something bi annual. This is a superb venue for a concert. The stage is situated at the foot of a hill next to Slane Castle. The slope of the hill means that even if you're not in the front row, you are near the action. Traffic after the concert has a reputation to be awful, but when the show is good, it's a small price to pay.
Recording Studio Weekends
A short journey from Kells, JAM recording studios can be found. More information on JAM studios can be found here.
History of Kells
Kells, originally known in native Gaelic as Ceanannus Mor, was once one of the great centres of Celtic Christianity, it was here that the famous Book of Kells is believed to have been at least, partially composed.
The artefact, created by Celtic monks ca. 800, is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables.
One of Kells' High Crosses outside Kells Heritage Centre.It is believed that in 563 AD, St. Colmcille (St Columba) founded a monastery on the Hebridean island on Iona. When it was plundered in 802 by Viking raiders some of the monks fled to Kells, bringing with them their precious treasure, The Book of Kells.
Modern Day Kells
Since the opening of the M3 motorway in May 2010, Kells is 45 minutes away from Dublin Airport and hence is known as somewhat of a commuter town that serves Dublin. However, you only have to read about the attractions, the people and culture of Kells to know that there is a whole lot more to the Meath town than that.
While this page was being composed we came across what seemed like an endless list of things which we could not fit in. Here are just some of them. We hope they will provide you with inspiration for things to do in and around Kells County Meath. If you have spotted something that we have missed please mail us and we will include it here. If you found this information on Kells and County Meath usefull please feel free to link your website to this page.
- Buildings of Ireland
- Kells Heritage Centre - 00353 46924 7840
- Kells Swimming Pool - 00353 46924 0551
- Kells Tennis Club - 00353 46924 0793
- Gaeil Colmcille Pitch 'n' Putt Club - 00353 4694 20319
- Kells Farmers Market takes place on Saturday from 10am - 2pm
- Kells Pink Ribbon Walk
- Newgrange - The 5000 year old Passage Tomb.
- Moynalty Cycling Club - contact Kieran 00353 8720 77624
- St Ciarans Well in Carnaross
- Touring Meath
Things to do in and near Kells
Activities for the Kids Mykidstime Meath has great ideas for things to do, places to go, rainy day ideas, local events and more for families and children in Meath.
The Zone - Navan Only a short trip up the M3 you will find The Zone. If you love Karting, Paintballing or Archery then you'll love The Zone. Their Extreme Activity Centre provides 58,000sq.ft of fun over 2 floors. With an Indoor Karting Track, an indoor paintballing arena, a dedicated archery centre and a wide range of other activities. For more information on karting, paintballing or archery in Meath, click here. As their tag line says: "the fun starts when you're in THE ZONE!"
Drivers on their marks at The Zone, Navan County Meath.
The Causey Farm Experience Only a short distance outside the town of Kells is the family run Causey Experience. It is much more than just a farm. The Murtagh family specialise in family or corporate days out. Activities include Ceili Dancing class, Brown Bread Making, Forest Nature Walk, Clay Modeling, Treasure Hunting, Graffiti Art, Tractor and Trailer Riding and even more.
The Peoples Park Using a 200 year old, 30 meter high "Inland Lighthouse" as its centre point, the peoples park offers stunning views of the Meath countryside. The heart of Meath may seem like a strange place for a Lighthouse, but it is widely believed the tower was built as a viewing point for Horse Racing in the area. Today, a children's park is located at the site which will provide an excellent day out as entry to the park is free.
Tower of Lloyd, Peoples Park, Kells County Meath.
Grove Gardens and Open Farm Located in Fordstown, just outside Kells is the enchanting Grove Gardens. The gardens are famed for their colour, tranquility and excellence.
Petting Farm in Kells.
Grove Gardens also operate an open farm. From their website:
"The tropical bird garden and mini zoo is a recent addition to the Grove Gardens. A large variety of exotic and rare breeds of birds are housed in purpose built aviaries designed to become part of the gardens and create a unique setting for such a facility. Come and feed the lambs, talk to the donkey, ask Joey the Parrott a question all in the surroundings of the Meath countryside."
Sport in Kells
Fishing in Kells County Meath Kells and the surrounding area boast some excellent fishing spots. The fishing season takes place from March 1st to September 30th. Dropping water levels on the River Blackwater in the Kells area result in superb fishing conditions. Angling in Kells is controlled by The Kells Angling Club. Permits can be obtained from The Flying Sportsman on Carrick Street.
Gaelic Games in Kells
Gael Colmcille is the name of the G.A.A. club in Kells. However, clubs operating within a five mile radius of Kells include:
- Carnaross G.F.C.
- St. Ultans G.F.C.
- Moynalty G.F.C.
- Cortown G.F.C.
- Drumbaragh G.F.C.
- Kilmainham G.F.C.
Rugby
Formed only a few years ago, North Meath R.F.C. have already been hugely successful. New players are always welcome at North Meath. For more information see their website by clicking here.
Kells Soccer
Like most things synonymous with Kells, Soccer has a long and distinguished history in the town. Formed in 1929, Kells Celtic F.C. is historically the biggest club in the area. However, the recent formation of Kells Blackwater F. C. has seen this position challenged. Kells-Blackwater has a huge number of underage teams and annually hosts a number of underage tournaments.
Mark Butler of Kells Celtic in action.Other teams in the area include Fordrew Rovers F.C. and Castle Villa A. F. C. Castle Villa are located about 5 miles from Kells near the tidy town award winning village of Moynalty. They have excellent all weather astro turf facilities which can be booked for groups.
Golf in Kells County Meath When it comes to golf, few towns in Ireland, let alone Meath can boast such wonderful facilities as Headfort Golf Club. Headfort has, what are generally considered to be, two of the finest parkland courses in Ireland. Headfort Golf Club pre-dates the boom in white-elephant type Golf Club construction that remains as a legacy of Celtic Tiger Ireland.
The Old Course, originally constructed in 1929, is one of the finest examples of a long established and mature parkland course. The Old Course offers a superb experience in authentic Irish golf.
View of the 12th green on the new course at Headfort Golf Club.
The New Course, designed by Christy O' Connor Junior, was officially opened in 2001. Aesthetically awesome, tremendously challenging and definitely energy sapping, the New Course at Headfort is something any golfer coming to Ireland should experience.
Other Sports in Meath Being in the heart of Meath, Kells naturally has a huge affinity with all things equine. Kells Equestrian Centre, stands on 10 acres of land two miles outside Kells. Kells Equestrian Centre accommodates competitive and pleasure riding with indoor and outdoor facilities. More details can be found on their website.
For the equine enthusiast that would rather watch than participate, Navan Racecourse is less than ten minutes away from Kells.
Kells Equistrian Centre.
Successful Kells Sports People Damian Mc Grane, a holder of a European Tour Card since 2003 is from Kells.
Munster Rugby Player, 2008 Heineken Cup and 2009 Magners League Winner Dennis Hurley was born in, and went to primary school in Kells County Meath