In the 18th and 19th centuries many Irish country towns had a significant Quaker community, often involved in milling and other local industry. Rathangan Meeting was established in 1728 and laid down in 1918.

By 1960 the small meeting house was a ruin but it has since been converted into a garage.

The last interment in the adjacent burial ground was in 1909.

Totally neglected and overgrown with trees and brambles, it was taken in hand by the local Tidy Towns some years ago and has been beautifully restored and is now both a wonderful enclosed space in the town and a reminder of the importance of the town’s Quaker heritage.

A small number of headstones survive but, with the assistance of the Quaker Historical Library Dublin, it has been possible to establish the names of those buried there and these names are now recorded on limestone tablets attached to the walls.

This last has been possible thanks to generous local contributions and to help from the Historical Library and Dublin Monthly Meeting.

Rathangan is 6 miles North West of Kildare Town.  The Burial Ground is at the south-east corner of the village where the R414 takes a sharp left turn towards the north.