Portal:County Kilkenny

Kilkenny (Irish: Cill Chainnigh [ˌciːl̠ʲ ˈxan̠ʲəj], meaning 'church of Cainnech') 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 center 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". (Full article...)

Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation, was a period of Irish Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1652, during the Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristocrats, landed gentry, clergy and military leaders after the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the Confederates controlled up to two-thirds of Ireland from their base in Kilkenny; hence it is sometimes called the "Confederation of Kilkenny".

The Confederates included Catholics of Gaelic and Anglo-Norman descent. They wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination within the Kingdom of Ireland and greater Irish self-governance; many also wanted to roll back the plantations of Ireland. Most Confederates professed loyalty to Charles I of England in the belief they could reach a lasting settlement in return for helping defeat his opponents in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Its institutions included a legislative body known as the General Assembly, an executive or Supreme Council, and a military. It minted coins, levied taxes and set up a printing press. Confederate ambassadors were appointed and recognised in France, Spain and the Papal States, who supplied them with money and weapons. (Full article...)

St Mary's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory. It is situated on James's Street, Kilkenny, Ireland.

Saint Mary's was designed by William Deane Butler (c.1794-1857). He was chosen by Bishop William Kinsella (1793-1845) who instigated the building of St. Mary's in February 1842. Work began in April 1843 and finished in 1857. On Sunday 4 October 1857, St. Mary's had its grand opening, which consisted of a two-and-three-quarter hour ceremony that began at 6.15am. The cost of the building is estimated to have been £25,000.

St. Mary's is made from cut-limestone which was sourced locally. The cathedral has a cruciform plan and its style is described as ‘Early English Gothic’. The design is believed to have been based on Gloucester Cathedral in Gloucester, England. It is situated on the highest point in Kilkenny City and is a significant local landmark. (Full article...)

Iverk (Irish: Uíbh Eirc) is a barony in the south-west of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The size of the barony is 167.3 square kilometres (64.6 sq mi). There are 15 civil parishes in Iverk. The chief town today is Piltown. The N24 crosses the barony. (Full article...)

Shankill Castle, Paulstown

Paulstown (Irish: Baile Phóil) (also known as Poulstown or Polestown) is a small village in County Kilkenny in Ireland. (Full article...)

The River Nore (Irish: An Fheoir [ə ˈn̠ʲoːɾʲ]) is one of the principal rivers (along with the River Suir and River Barrow) in the South-East Region of Ireland. The 140-kilometre-long (87 mi) river drains approximately 2,530 square kilometres (977 sq mi) of Leinster and Munster, that encompasses parts of three counties (Tipperary, Laois, Kilkenny). Along with the River Suir and River Barrow, it is one of the constituent rivers of the group known as the Three Sisters. (Full article...)

Trail near Croaghaun, Blackstairs Mountains

The South Leinster Way is a long-distance trail in Ireland. It is 104 kilometres (65 miles) long and begins in Kildavin, County Carlow and runs through County Kilkenny before ending in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. It is typically completed in five days. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is jointly managed by Carlow County Council, Kilkenny County Council, Tipperary County Council, Carlow Local Sports Partnership, Kilkenny Trails and Coillte. It was opened on 30 November 1985 by Donal Creed, Minister of State for Sport. (Full article...)

• ... that the Church of Saint John the Evangelist (pictured) was built as the "O'Loughlin Memorial Church"?
• ...that Confederate Ireland or the Union of the Irish refers to the period of Irish self-government between 1642 and 1649, during the Eleven Years' War? (Full article...)

"Public Prosecutions"
The Earl of Desart as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, January 1902.

Hamilton John Agmondesham Cuffe, 5th Earl of Desart, KP, KCB, PC (30 August 1848 – 4 November 1934) was an Irish peer and barrister. (Full article...)

John O'Donovan (Irish: Seán Ó Donnabháin; 25 July 1806 – 10 December 1861), from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford, was an Irish language scholar from Ireland. (Full article...)

Portrait of W. G. Wills, c. 1898.

William Gorman Wills (28 January 1828 – 13 December 1891), usually known as W. G. Wills, was an Irish dramatist, novelist and painter. (Full article...)

Margaret Phelan (née Duggan, 22 December 1902 – 24 February 2000) was President of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society, given freedom of the city of Kilkenny and ensured the restoration of Rothe House in Kilkenny. She was also the first Ladies president of the Kilkenny Golf Club. (Full article...)

Mason, c. 1870

James Mason (19 November 1849 – 12 January 1905) was a British-American chess player, journalist and writer who became one of the world's best half-dozen players in the 1880s. Mason was ranked the number 1 player in the world by Chessmetrics during 11 separate months between August 1877 and June 1878. (Full article...)