Overview

St Brigid's Cathedral is a beautiful building which is open for worship throughout the year but only open daily to visitors between May and September. It is on a site of worship since 480. The current building was restored in late nineteenth century, and currently has no step free access.

Transport & Parking

The cathedral's entrance is in a corner of the main town square. Kildare Railway Station is a 15 minute walk away, mostly on the flat, with a slight hill as you approach the main square. The Railway Station has step free access. There are buses that stop in Kildare town centre.

Access

This is a beautiful, historic cathedral but disappointingly it has very poor disabled access, there is no step free access. Prior to visiting I found no access information on its website. The entrance gates into the cathedral grounds were open when I arrived and there is a short gravelled path to the entrance door. The entrance door is manual and had been left open. Immediately inside there are two quite deep steps with no handrail to enter the cathedral. I use a crutch and it was quite a struggle to get up and later back down the steps safely. There is no call bell to ring if you require assistance. The two steps have been painted white, so there is no colour contrast for people with a visual impairment. It would be helpful if the edge of the step could be painted in a contrasting colour or fitted with a metal strip. I was informed that there are currently no ramps as the cathedral was hired out and the ramps were damaged. They are in the process of looking to replace them. At the moment this is the only way visitors can enter the building, it is not safely accessible for many people with mobility disabilities, especially wheelchair users, and for people with a visual impairment. I hope ramps and handrails can be provided soon. There was one small wooden ramp leading from the museum area to the nave, see photo. This was quite narrow, and I am not sure how supportive it would be for a power wheelchair user, if the other access issues were resolved. Therefore I would suggest that consideration is give to also replacing it. Moving around the building there were other single steps mainly by the crossing. Again with no step free access. When I finally made it to the nave floor level, there were plenty of seats, with back support, laid out in rows.

Toilets

I am not aware that there are any toilets in the cathedral.

Staff

While I was visiting Very Revd. Isobel Jackson, Dean of Kildare, came past and said hello. We had a long discussion about disabled access and their commitment to improve it.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

This is a very special place to visit and I'm delighted I made the journey. However, I found negotiating the steps into and around the cathedral a challenge. In 2023, the Irish government introduced a new bank holiday for St Brigid's Day, which highlights the importance of Brigid in Ireland, and it is therefore disappointing that disabled visitors seeking to visit her cathedral in Kildare are currently faced with no step free access. If I had been a wheelchair user, unable to enter the cathedral, I would have just had to turn round and leave, and staff would not have been aware as there was no call button or way of reaching out for assistance. It gives a very negative first impression of lack of inclusivity. I hope that disabled access will be improved shortly, as I know the people connected with the cathedral are committed to improving this.

Photos