Maynooth: a select bibliography of printed sources
To mark the bicentenary of the foundation of St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, there is presented here a select bibliography of printed material pertaining to aspects of the history of the college itself and also of Maynooth town and district.Maynooth emerged as an important settlement by virtue of its association with the Anglo-Norman family of Fitzgerald in the late twelfth century. In 1176 Maurice Fitzgerald, founder of the Geraldine dynasty in Ireland, received confirmation of a grant of lands in the O’Byrne district of Uí Fáeláin, including the lordships of Maynooth and Naas, and Maynooth castle (the ruins of which stand adjacent to the entrance to the college) was subsequently constructed at the junction between two streams, the Lyreen and the Joan Slade. His grandson, Maurice, second baron of Offaly, was instrumental in having Maynooth elevated in ecclesiastical status: in 1248, at Maurice’s request, Archbishop Luke of Dublin erected Maynooth as prebend of St Patrick’s cathedral, and the perpetual right of presentation was entrusted to Fitzgerald and his successors.