Major new exhibition to mark this Kildare town's 850th anniversary
Maynooth Now and Then Exhibition takes place in Maynooth University during Heritage Week 2026
A major new exhibition will take place this month in Kildare to mark the 850th anniversary of Maynooth.
Throughout 2026, Maynooth Local History Group is running the Maynooth 850 celebrations to mark this important anniversary for the town.
During Heritage Week 2026 (August 17 – August 23) Maynooth Local History Group are running a major exhibition in the John Paul II Library at Maynooth University to capture the story of Maynooth in words and photographs.
Maynooth Now and Then
In photos, fifteen sites in Maynooth are compared between images taken as part of the Lawerence Collection in the late 1800s, and how these sites look in 2026.
Down on Main Street
On eight storyboards, using images taken by drone, the story is told of the buildings on Main Street, what they were used for and who owned them since the 1770s, through maps, deeds, census and newspaper articles.
Maynooth Histories and Documents
A display books and pamphlets written about Maynooth telling formal and personal stories
The exhibition will be held on the following days during Heritage Week 2026 in John Paul II Library at Maynooth University:
- Monday August 17: 10.30am-4.45pm
- Tuesday August 18: 10.30am-4.45pm
- Wednesday August 19: 10.30am-4.45pm
- Thursday August 20: 10.30am-8.00pm
- Friday August 21: 10.30am-4.45pm