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Photo: Gordon Flood from Trim, Ireland, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This is a National Hunt (jumps) track with a two mile right-hand circuit. The main meetings are in Oct—Nov, and Apr—May with the Punchestown Festival. Music concerts are occasionally held here. Note the two tall standing stones near the entrance.
Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National Hunt Festival. The racecourse itself is right-handed with an undulating hurdle and steeplechase track. The hurdle course is one mile six furlongs in distance while the chase course is 2 miles. Punchestown Racecourse also has the only cross country banks course in Ireland.
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It hosts National Hunt (jumps and chases) in winter and flat-racing in summer. It's walking distance from town.
There was probably a wooden church here from the 6th century, dedicated to St Patrick. The Normans who built a stone church in the 12th century were Welsh and re-dedicated it to their patron saint; it was owned by the Knights Hospitaller of St John. In 1620 it was rebuilt, incorporating much of the Norman church; the baptismal font is believed to be 11th century. The steeple became tottery and had to be removed in 1767, and its replacement somehow never happened. The church became Church of Ireland (Anglican) and is still active, with major restoration in the 1990s.
This is Ireland's only international motor-racing circuit, a 3.5-km track established in 1968 and awarded international status in 2001. There are car and bike races and rallies, an off-road circuit, track days where you can bring your own car, and real and simulated driving experiences. There's a small motor racing museum, open free whenever the circuit is open.