Cill Dara Historical Society will launch
'Hearth and home.
The history of social housing in Kildare Town 1889-2009'
by James Durney, Mario Corrigan and Joseph Connelly,
at 11.30 a.m. on Saturday 22 December in Kildare Library.
All welcome.
In 1900 Kildare was a small market town with a population of over 2,800. However, most of the population lived in substandard houses, poorly built in plaster and slate, which comprised one room and a kitchen with no running water or toilets. Some of these houses accommodated up to ten persons. The first labouerers' cottages were built in the town in 1889, but it was not until 1939 when Kildare Co. Council built the first social housing scheme – ‘Rowanville.’ This ground-breaking book reveals the story of the ordinary men and women who struggled to built the town that we live in today. Peopled with rich characters and lively interviews 'Hearth and home,' is a must for anyone living in Kildare Town.