Kildare (county)

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COUNTY KILDARE

Official blazon

Argent on a saltire gules between in chief a Saint Brigid's cross vert, in base a sprig of oak of the last fructed proper and in fess in the dexter a harp and in the sinister a horse's head erased, both of the last, two swords in saltire points upwards gold. Motto : Meanma agus Misneach.

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on July 19, 1991.

The red diagonal cross symbolises the ancient aristocratic family of the Kildare area, the Fitzgeralds, who used a red diagonal cross on a white background as their coat-of-arms.

The harp is the symbol for the fianna, a legendary group of warriors from Celtic mythology who supposedly had their headquarters in Kildare.The cross is the saint Bridget's cross; saint Brigid lived in a monastery in county Kildare.

The horse's head symbolises the horse-breeding tradition of Kildare. The acorns are taken from the Irish for Kildare (cill dara) which means the church of the oak tree.