The origin of the name Kildare (Holiday Apartments, Kildare, Ireland) is from the Gaelic, Cill Dara, meaning Church of the Oak Tree, referring to St. Brigids church beneath an oak tree. St. Brigid was one of the three patron saints of Ireland. St. Brigids church was built on the same location as a shrine to the Celtic goddess Brigda, with which the legend of St. Brigid is suspected to be tied.
Kildare was an important military strategic area in the time of the Anglo-Norman occupation. British military outposts came into being in Kildare in the 1700s. The Curragh, in Kildare, has been the training base for the national army since Ireland became an independant country in the early 20th century.