Kilkenny

Kilkenny

*Cill Chainnigh*
Kilkenny Cill Chainnigh
City
	Clockwise from top: city skyline, St Canice's Cathedral, The Parade, Market Cross Shopping Centre, Kilkenny Castle
	Coat of arms
	Nickname: The Marble City
	Kilkenny Location in Ireland Kilkenny Kilkenny (Europe)
	Coordinates: 52°38′52″N 7°15′22″W / 52.6477°N 7.2561°W
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	Kilkenny
Government
• Local authority	Kilkenny County Council
• Dáil constituency	Carlow–Kilkenny
• European Parliament	South
Elevation	60 m (200 ft)
Population (2022)	27,184
• Rank	13th
Demonym	Cat
Time zone	UTC±0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (IST)
Eircode routing key	R95
Telephone area code	+353(0)56
Irish Grid Reference	S506563
Website	Official website

Kilkenny (Irish: Cill Chainnigh [ˌciːl̠ʲ ˈxan̠ʲəj], meaning 'church of Cainnech')^[2] is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland.^[3] 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 center in Ireland.^[1]

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,^[4] 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,^[5] the Cat Laughs comedy festival and music at the Kilkenny Roots Festival.^[6]

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.^[7] 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.

^ ^a ^b "F1015: Population and Average Age by Sex and List of Towns (number and percentages), 2022". Census 2022. Central Statistics Office. April 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
^ Room 2006.
^ "Local Government Act 2001, Section 10 (as revised)". Law Reform Commission. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
^ "Kilkenny". Kilkenny Famous Landmarks. Kilkenny County Council. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016.
^ "Kilkenny Living History, Loving Culture". Kilkenny Tourism. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
^ "Kilkenny Roots Festival". kilkennyroots.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
^ "historic towns publication" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.