market and garrison town (urban district) and county seat of County Kildare, Ireland. Naas was one of the royal seats of the ancient province of Leinster, and St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is said to have visited it. After the Anglo-Norman invasion (12th century and following), a castle (the north moat of which survives) was built there. Naas was an important town in the medieval period and is now the administrative centre of County Kildare. Pop. (2006) 20,044.