KILKENNY

In 1868, the parish of Kilkenny contained the following places:

"KILKENNY, {comprises the parishes of St. Mary, St. Patrick, St. John, and St. Canice; it is a market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, a county of a city, and the capital of the county of Kilkenny, in the province of Leinster, Ireland, 73 miles S.W. of Dublin. It has stations on the Kilkenny branch of the Great Southern and Western and on the Waterford and Kilkenny railways. It comprises an area of 26½ square miles, or 17,012 acres, and contains a population, by the census of 1861, of 17,441 within the parliamentary, and 13,019 within the municipal limits, having decreased above 6,000 since 1851. It returns one member to Parliament, and had in 1859 a constituency of 585. Its name is derived by some from the word Kyle-ken-ni, "the wooded head or hill near the river;" and by others, with more probability, from the dedication of its church to St. Canice, on the removal of the ancient see of Ossory to this town, in 1052. Little is known of its history till the invasion of Strongbow in 1172, when he and his followers erected here a fortress which was attacked and destroyed in 1193, by Donald O'Brien, king of Thormond. On the marriage of Strongbow with the daughter of Dermot Macmurrough, king of Leinster, this portion of the territory was granted to him, and so descended to his successor, William Le Mareschal, who founded the present castle, and also restored the town, which became one of the principal residences of his descendants, and the head of the palatinate of Kilkenny. At this time arose that part of the present city called Kilkenny, in contradistinction to the original town on the opposite bank, called Irishtown; each had its separate government, the former under the lords of the castle, and the latter under the bishops of Ossory. It became soon important as a place of assembly. In 1294 here was held a great council of the barons of the English pale, and in 1309 a parliament assembled in the town, enacting severe laws against the English settlers who adopted the Irish customs. The celebrated Statute of Kilkenny, by which the Brehon law was abolished, was passed in the parliament held herein 1367. In 1399 Richard II., on his journey through the S. of Ireland, was received here and entertained by the Earl of Ormond, to whose family Kilkenny had passed by purchase. In 1400 the town was encompassed by a wall, and the townsmen received a grant of tolls for murage. In the contest between the houses of York and Lancaster, it was besieged and taken by the Earl of Desmond, a Lancastrian. At the outbreak of the parliamentary war, in 1641, parliaments and vice-royal courts were no longer assembled here, but it became instead the chief quarters of the Roman Catholic party appointed to manage affairs. In 1.650 it was attacked by Cromwell, and after a brave defence succumbed, the parliamentary general complimenting the citizens on their skill and gallantry. The town is well built, and has a prosperous and cheerful appearance. It is divided into two unequal portions by the river Nore. The larger portion containing the castle is on the western bank, and near the northern extremity is that part called Irishtown, where stands the cathedral. The streets are irregular, but its castle, cathedral, and other remains of ancient edifices, give it a venerable and imposing magnificence. Kilkenny proper is by far the most handsome and modern part of this city. The houses are large and built mostly of stone. Its chief buildings are the cathedral, two parish churches, seven Roman Catholic chapels, two monasteries, a convent, Presbyterian, and Methodist meeting houses, two colleges, the county-court house, the county and city prisons, county infirmary, fever hospital, the Tholsel barracks, workhouse, and Kilkenny Castle, the residence of the Marquis of Ormonde. The Horticultural Society holds here two meetings a year. The Kilkenny hunt is considered the most celebrated in Ireland. Along the bank of the Nore is a promenade called the Mall, extending above a mile in length, and which has recently been much improved. The river is spanned by two bridges, called St. John's Bridge and Green's Bridge. Here is the headquarters of a military district, which embraces Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, and Queen's County, with parts of Wicklow, and Tipperary. It is also the headquarters of the district police, and the station of a resident magistrate. The net annual value of property under the Tenement Valuation Act is £17,488. There were until recently two municipal corporations, that of the English town or city of Kilkenny, first incorporated by William Le Mareschal the elder, and that of Irishtown, or St. Canice, incorporated by King Edward IV. The corporation of the city of Kilkenny was styled "the mayor and citizens of the city of Kilkenny," and had a revenue of upwards of £2,000 per annum. That of Irishtown bore the style of "the portreeve, burgesses, and commons of the borough of Irishtown," and had an income of £15. By the Municipal Reform Act they have been formed into one borough. The corporation consists of a mayor, 2 sheriffs, 18 aldermen, 36 common-councilmen, and a number of freemen. The mayor is chosen annually, and is custos rotulorum, and holds a court of conscience weekly, in which debts not exceeding £2 maybe recovered. Assizes for the county are held in the new court-house; quarter and petty sessions are also held in the town. The ancient castle of Kilkenny is situated on an eminence overlooking the Nore. It forms two sides of a quadrangle containing three of the round towers of the ancient castle. It has been greatly improved by the Ormonde family latterly. Several of its rooms are hung with rich tapestry, and it contains a fine collection of paintings. Next to the castle in interest is the cathedral church of St. Canice. It is situated on a gentle elevation at the western extremity of the town, and is a spacious cruciform building, in the early English style of architecture, with a low, massy tower supported on columns of black marble, and lofty pointed arches. The exterior walls are embattled, and at the W. end the pinnacles form two spires. The length is 226 feet, and breadth 123 feet. The interior is very imposing: the nave is separated from the aisles by a range of five clustered columns, and lighted by a large W. window and five clerestory windows. The choir has a groined ceiling, and, with the chancel, is 77 feet long; it has oak fittings and a fine E. window. At the end of the S. transept is the consistory court; and to the N. of it is the chapter house. The principal monument is that of Bishop David, much defaced; in the transept is a stone seat called the chair of St. Kieran. Near the cathedral is the episcopal palace, a large handsome residence; also the deanery. The diocese, which is one of the five constituting the ecclesiastical province of Dublin, comprehends the county of the city of Kilkenny, the whole of the barony of Ossory, the parish of Seir-Kyran, and most of the county of Kilkenny. The annual revenue is £3,859. The number of parishes in the diocese is 146. The chapter consists of a dean, precentor, chancellor, treasurer, archdeacon, and seven prebendaries. In the Roman Catholic arrangement this diocese is a separate bishopric, and comprises 32 parochial benefices. The county of the city comprehends the parishes of St. Mary, St. Patrick, St. John, and St. Canice, comprising 17,012 acres, of which 921 are in the city, and 16,091 in the rural district. The parish of St. Mary is a perpetual curacy, its church a cruciform structure with a spire; the parish of St. Patrick is a rectory; that of St. John a vicarage; and that of St. Canice a vicarage and rectory In the Roman Catholic divisions the parish of St. Mary is the head of a district, and close to its church is the residence of the Roman Catholic bishop; here also are situated the Presentation Convent, the Capuchin Friary, and Dominican Abbey. Here is a grammar school called the College of Kilkenny, founded by the Earl of Ormonde; it has had the honour of educating, amongst others, Swift, Congreve, Farquhar, &c. There is also a Roman Catholic college, for the education of young men for the priesthood. The manufactures of blankets, coarse woollens, and linen have greatly declined, but there are breweries, tanneries, and flourmills in the city and its vicinity. The Kilkenny marble quarries are extensively worked, yielding a black marble for chimney-pieces and ornamental purposes, which is largely exported. Coal is also raised in the neighbourhood for local consumption, and burns without smoke or flame. The Bank of Ireland, and the Provincial and National banks have branches in Kilkenny, and there is a savings-bank. The local charities include an almshouse for eight poor women, the Ormonde poorhouse, St. James's Asylum, and the county infirmary and fever hospital, mentioned above. The remains of the abbey church are extensive; there are also remains of a Franciscan abbey, built in the 12th century. Two newspapers are published in the town, the Kilkenny Moderator and the Kilkenny Journal. The chief seats in the immediate vicinity are Kilcreen, Castle Blunden, Rose Hill, Orchardton, Bonnetstown, &c. Annual races take place in September. Market days are Wednesday and Saturday. Fairs are held on the 5th and 28th March, 8th June, 22nd October, and on the first Thursday in each month."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018