Nás na Riogh is the Irish form of the name now used. The last King of Naas to be recognised as King of Leinster was Cearbhall who died in 989 AD. In the mid second century AD the King of Leinster married one of the two beautiful daughters of the King of Ireland. When the Leinster King grew tired of his wife he decided to pretend that she was dead, and so arranged to marry her sister. He succeeded, but the new queen soon discovered the truth. Both of the women died of grief, and their father looked for revenge on the Leinster King. The territory of Leinster was ravaged, the King was beheaded and there was endless trouble for several hundreds of years.

In the royal meeting place of Naas, the people assembled for special occasions, games were held, laws made and tributes paid. While there is now no physical evidence of this great gathering place the name of the town keeps that distant glory alive.

Tradition tells us that during his ministry St. Patrick made several visits to Naas. He established himself on the green of the Dun and there the first church in Naas was built. St. David’s Church now occupies the site and the ancient baptismal font preserved there is from early Christian times. During one of his visits here, Patrick baptised the children of the King and the well in Oldtown where the ceremony was performed was afterwards termed holy and named after the saint. He also baptised at Sunday’s Well near Millbrook.

The town was burned down on two occasions. The first time was during the 2nd century by Cormac Mac Art and the second time during the 14 century by Edward Bruce. The town was attacked once again during the 1798 rebellion

The Town Hall which exists in Naas today was, until 1833, a jail. It became the Town Hall in 1858 when it was purchased from the Grand Jury by the Town Commissioners.

OTHER SOURCE

Kildare's county town, Naas, meaning "Meeting Place of Kings" because of its location on the way to Dublin, is situated 17 miles south west of the Nation's Capital on the main Cork-Dublin road. Naas was once the home of Leinster kings. It is reputed that St. Patrick visited the town and baptised King Dunlang's (King of Leinster) two sons. The Anglo-Norman invaders erected a wall around the city after their invasion during the 12th century.

The town was burned down on two occasions. The first time was during the 2nd century by Cormac Mac Art and the second time during the 14 century by Edward Bruce. The town was attacked once again during the 1798 rebellion.

Many of the visitors come to Naas for horse racing. Other racecourses are located in nearby Curragh and at Punchestown, which hosts the Heineken International Three Day Eventing Championships and the Punchestown National Hunt Festival. There is also a motor circuit located near the town. Fishing for trout and salmon is reputed to be quite good in the Liffey River.

Due to its proximity to Dublin, Naas, with a population of over 15,000 inhabitants is now largely a dormitory town of Dublin.

When in Naas, you should visit St. David's Church, which was first mentioned in the 13th century, when it was the parish church of Naas. A ruin around Naas worth viewing is Jigginstown. It was built by a man called Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford and Lord Deputy of Ireland from around 1632 to 1641. It never reached completion with the death of the Earl.