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Straffan
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Straffan is a small
village close to Celbridge and Maynooth in County Kildare. It
situated on the banks of the River Liffey, 25 km upstream of Dublin
City.
Owing to its proximity to the capital Straffan became an exclusive
area of great country estates. Today many of these estates have been
converted to hotels, golf courses and all kinds of other leisure
activities, from flying to canoeing, from horses to vintage cars.
One of these estates contained the magnificent Straffan House,
modelled on a French chateau. The Jefferson Smurfit Group purchased
it in 1988 and developed the world renowned K Club. This entailed
extensive building as a conference, sporting and leisure centre and
the creation of two magnificent 18 hole championship golf courses,
designed by the legendary Arnold Palmer. The venue for the annual
Smurfit European Open and for the 2006 Ryder Cup, they provide
world-class golfing. Nearby Barberstown Castle provides more in the
way of unique hotel experience in the form of a medieval castle with
Elizabethan and 19th century additions.
The village of Straffan itself is a delightful, old-world location
with a remarkable ancient church tower. A number of other exciting
attractions are based in and around the village. The Guinness Steam
Museum is a mecca for transport buffs, presenting a power hall with
full size steam engines, a walled garden, a teahouse, a multi-media
information channel and a hands-on area. Straffan Butterfly Farm is
a wonderland of these exotic insects and, for good measure,
reptiles, tarantulas and big furry spiders. The Morell Farm displays
a collection of friendly rare and endangered breeds of livestock and
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Straffan Holiday Homes - County Kildare, Ireland