Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2022 census gave the population of Kilkenny as 27,184, the thirteenth-largest urban centre in Ireland.
Kilkenny is a tourist destination, and its environs include historic buildings such as Kilkenny Castle, St Canice's Cathedral and round tower, Rothe House, Shee Alms House, Black Abbey, St. Mary's Cathedral, The Tholsel, St. Francis Abbey, Grace's Castle, and St. John's Priory. Kilkenny is also known for its craft and design workshops, the Watergate Theatre, public gardens and museums. Annual events include Kilkenny Arts Festival, the Cat Laughs comedy festival and music at the Kilkenny Roots Festival.
Kilkenny began with an early 6th-century ecclesiastical foundation within the Kingdom of Ossory. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ireland, Kilkenny Castle and a series of walls were built to protect the burghers of what became a Norman merchant town. William Marshall, Lord of Leinster, gave Kilkenny a charter as a town in 1207. By the late 13th century, Kilkenny was under Hiberno-Norman control. The Statutes of Kilkenny, passed at Kilkenny in 1367, aimed to curb the decline of the Hiberno-Norman Lordship of Ireland. In 1609, King James I of England granted Kilkenny a Royal Charter, giving it the status of a city. Following the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny", was based in Kilkenny and lasted until the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. From 1840 onwards, Kilkenny has not been administered as a city under local government law, but the Local Government Reform Act 2014 provides for "the continued use of the description city".
Kilkenny was a brewing centre from the late 17th century and still houses a number of breweries. The Heritage Council offices are at Church Lane in the former Bishop's Palace. The seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ossory is at St Mary's Cathedral and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cashel and Ossory is at St Canice's Cathedral.
Toponymy
Kilkenny is the anglicised version of the Irish Cill Chainnigh, meaning Cell/Church of Cainneach or Canice. This relates to a church built in honour of St. Canice, an Ulsterman, on the hill now containing St. Canice's Cathedral and the round tower. This seems to be the first major settlement. The early Christian origin of the round tower suggests an early ecclesiastical foundation at Kilkenny.The Annals of the Four Masters recorded Kilkenny in 1085. Prior to this time the early 6th-century territory was known as Osraighe, referring to the whole district or the capital. The Four Masters entry was the first instance where the capital was called Ceall-Cainnigh. Cill Chainnigh was a major monastic centre from at least the eighth century. There is no mention of Cill Chainnigh in the lives of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Ciarán of Saighir or any of the early annals of Ireland suggesting that Cill Chainnigh was not of ancient civil importance.
History
Kilkenny's foundation began with an early 6th-century ecclesiastical settlement, with a church built in honour of St. Canice. Now St. Canice's Cathedral, this was a major monastic centre from at least the 8th century. The Annals of the Four Masters recorded the first reference Cill Chainnigh in 1085. Prehistoric activity has been recorded, suggesting intermittent settlement activity in the area in the Mesolithic and Bronze Age. Information on the history of Kilkenny can be found in newspapers, photographs, letters, drawings, manuscripts and archaeology. Kilkenny is documented in manuscripts from the 13th century onwards and one of the most important of these is Liber Primus Kilkenniensis.The Kings of Ossory, O'Carrolls and Fitzpatricks, had residence around Cill Chainnigh. The seat of the diocese of Kingdom of Osraige was moved from Aghaboe to Cill Chainnigh. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, Richard Strongbow, as Lord of Leinster, established a castle near modern-day Kilkenny Castle. William Marshall began the development of the town of Kilkenny and a series of walls to protect the burghers. By the late 13th century, Kilkenny was under Norman-Irish control. The original ecclesiastical centre at St. Canice's Cathedral became known as Irishtown and the Anglo-Norman borough inside the wall came to be known as Hightown.
Kilkenny was the site of Ireland's earliest recorded witch trial. Occurring in 1324 and instigated by the Bishop of Ossory, Richard de Ledrede, the trial involved Dame Alice de Kyteler and her servant Petronella de Meath. Petronella would be the first person recorded in Ireland to be burned alive at the stake for witchcraft, after Dame Alice presumably fled the country. This trial was also one of the earliest recorded witch burnings in Europe and inspires much folklore about the possibility of the ghosts of Alice and Petronella haunting downtown Kilkenny. Alice's house, Kyteler's Inn, still stands and is now a pub.
The Hiberno-Norman presence in Kilkenny was deeply shaken by the Black Death, which arrived in 1348. The Statutes of Kilkenny passed at Kilkenny in 1367, aimed to curb the decline of the Hiberno-Norman Lordship of Ireland. In 1609, King James I of England granted Kilkenny a Royal Charter giving it the status of a city. Following the Rebellion of 1641, the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny", was based in Kilkenny and lasted until the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. James II of England spent most of the winter months from November 1689 until January 1690 at Kilkenny, residing in the castle.
Stephens Barracks, built in the years following the 1798 Rebellion, was completed between 1800 and 1803.
The Kilkenny Design Workshops were opened in 1965 and in 1967 the Marquess of Ormonde presented Kilkenny Castle to the people of Kilkenny. Today, it has a lively cultural scene, with annual events including the Kilkenny Arts Week Festival in the last two weeks of August, and the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival at the beginning of June. Kilkenny is also where Smithwick's, an Irish ale, was first brewed. Kilkenny is referred to as the Marble City, and people from Kilkenny are often referred to as 'Cats'. The seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ossory is at St. Mary's Cathedral and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cashel and Ossory is at St. Canice's Cathedral.
Geography
Location and topography
Kilkenny is situated in the Nore Valley on both banks of the River Nore, at the centre of County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is away the capital Dublin and north from the nearest city Waterford. Wexford is to the south-east and Limerick is to the west. The elevation is above mean sea level. The area of Kilkenny borough is. The first edition of the Ordnance Survey map for Kilkenny was in 1837 and is held by the County Library.Climate
The climate of Kilkenny, like the climate of Ireland, is a changeable oceanic climate with few extremes. It is defined as a temperate oceanic climate, or Cfb on the Köppen climate classification system. Kilkenny lies in plant. At the centre of the county, Kilkenny is in a sheltered location, inland and is surrounded by hills over, which ensures that it is not a windy location. The highest wind gust of, from a south-west direction, was recorded on.Kilkenny is generally representative of wide river valleys in the region with low temperatures on cloudless nights, and is significant in that it records some of the highest summer and lowest winter temperatures in Ireland. The highest air temperature ever recorded in Ireland was, at Kilkenny Castle on.
The Met Éireann Kilkenny Weather Observing Station, north-west of the centre of Kilkenny, on the Duningstown Road, opened in, and observations ceased in. A climatological station is currently in operation within of the old site, and as of, was providing live weather data to the general public and climate data to Met Éireann. Extremes recorded at the station include the highest air temperature of on, the lowest air temperature of on and the lowest ground temperature of on.
The warmest and sunniest month on record in Kilkenny was with a total of sunshine and very high temperatures throughout. The maximum daily sunshine was on. The overall trend in temperatures has been on the rise with a marked increase from 1988 onwards. Annual temperatures are running over or above 20th century levels.
The maximum daily rainfall recorded at Kilkenny station was on. The late 1950s and early 1960s were wet but rainfall had been steady throughout the century. 2002 was a very wet year and since 2005 annual rainfall has been increasing steadily, with 2009 being the wettest year since records commenced in 1958.
Demographics
Population
The majority of the population of Kilkenny live outside the borough's boundary. The urban centre of Kilkenny, as defined by the census, had a population of 27,184 in 2022.Changes as of the 2006 census, by the Central Statistics Office, Kilkenny Town Borough had a population of 8,661 which was an increase of 70 persons over the 2002 figure of 8,591 or 0.8%. The Town Environs had a population of 13,518 which was an increase of 1347 persons over the 2002 figure of 12,144 or 11.3%. Overall both the Borough & Environs had a population of 22,179 in 2006 which was an increase of 1444 persons over the 2002 figure of 20,735 or 7.0%. People from Kilkenny are often referred to as 'Cats'.
Disposable household income per person as of 2005 was €18,032 and the index of disposable household was 89.4.
Languages and religions
Kilkenny is multilingual but predominantly English-speaking, with Irish being the second most commonly spoken language. In recent decades, with the increase of immigration on an all-Ireland basis, many more languages have been introduced into Kilkenny.The main religion is Catholicism, however, there are adherents of the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, Methodist, Jewish and other religious traditions living in Kilkenny.