﻿403 



KILKENirr. 



KILKENNY. 



4M 



7* 88' W. loog^ lU gTt«t«it length from DOith to soath U 46 mUes ; 

 ita width u gre»t«st in the north, where it meMure* 21 milea from 

 «aet to west; aeroee the louthern diatriots the breadth ii only 

 16 milea. The uw b 796 aquare milea, or £09,733 aorea, of which 

 470,103 are arable, 31,126 unoulUratedi 13,899 in planUtiona, 1549 in 

 towna, and 3056 under water. The population in I8S1 waa 169,945, 

 exoloaiTe of the ci^ of Kilkenny; in 1841 it waa 183,349; in 1851 it 

 waa 138.773. 



Smrfaet, ffgdrofrapiy, a»d Cbmaiimaea'Mnu.— The narisable riven 

 Barrow and Soir form the greater part of the eaatem and the whole 

 of the aouthem boundary of Kilkenny, and the Nora travenea ita 

 cntii« length firom north to ■outh.eaat The northern part of the 

 county between the Nora and the Barrow ia hilly. The drainage of 

 thia dUstrict ia carried into the Nora by the Dinan River, which risee 

 in the north'^aatem extremity of the county, paaaea through the town 

 of Caatleoomer, and falU into the Nore five milea north of Kilkenny 

 city. The valley of the Nore, &om the northern extremity of the 

 county to thia point, ia confined between the dedivitiea of the Caatle- 

 comer hills on the eaat and two groups of aimilar formation on the 

 west. Between the two latter groupe the low ground spreads out 

 into a rich plain near the town of Freshford. Five milea south-east 

 of Ballyragget, near the road from CasUecomer to Kilkenny, is the 

 remarkable cave of Dunmore. The entrance is by a picturesque 

 hoUow clothed with brushwood, at the extremity of which the cavern 

 opens by a natural arch fifty feet high. There are several chambers 

 within encrusted with stalactites and traversed by a subterranean 

 stream. 



Southward from these hilly districts the valley of the Nore, which 

 to thia extent is confined to a narrow strip on each side of the river, 

 expands aeroaa the entire central part of the county, spreading into 

 Tipperaiy on one aide and Carlow on the other, with an open undu- 

 lating surface, characteristic of the great limestone field of which it 

 forma a part The banks of the Nore in the neighbourhood of Thomas- 

 town are steep and wooded, and the open country on each side to a 

 great extent is under demesne. The open district to the west is 

 tnvened by the Owenree, or King's River, running eastward from 

 the Tipperary boundary to the Nore, which it joiuH 34 miles above 

 Thomastown. The Mimster River, which joins the Owenree from the 

 north, forms the boundary between Tipperary and Kilkenny counties 

 for several miles. Beyond this central district the southern part of 

 the county is occupied with billy and mountainous tracts. On entering 

 this district the Nore changes its course from south to south-east, and 

 runs along a deep valley to the Barrow, which it joins about 15 miles 

 above the junction of their united streams with the Suir. The hilly 

 district included between the Nore and Barrow, and the open country 

 extending from Oowran to Thomastown, is bounded westward by the 

 (.'oppinagh hills, and towards the Barrow by a range of hills rising as 

 they go southward, and reaching their culminating point in Mount 

 Brandon, which attains a height of 1696 feet near the town of Qraigue- 

 na-managh on the Barrow. The scenery on both sides of the Nore 

 from Thomastown to the Barrow, a distance of 18 miles, is in the 

 highest degree picturesque. Between the ranges of Coppinagh and 

 Brandon are several extensive valleys opening towards the Nore, 

 which receives the Clodagh River from this side. A tongue of alluvial 

 land called the Roer, or Rower, extending above two nules in length, 

 spreads out near the junction of the Nore and Barrow ; with the 

 exception of this spot, the right bank of the Barrow from Graigue-na- 

 managh to the Nora is precipitous, and in some places clothed with 

 natunl wood. Southward from the Nore the banks of the Barrow 

 alope more gradually, and are highly cultivated. 



The hilly district west of the Nore and the Barrow rises into moun- 

 tains of consiilerable height and extent, of which the principal group, 

 called the Wahih Mountains, lies between the Argula Kivcr, running 

 northward into the Nore above Innistioge, and the Kilmacow River, 

 which runs southward into the Suir above Waterford. This district 

 is chiefly occupied by dairy-farmers. The space between the southern 

 declivities of the Walsh Mountains and the other groups ranging 

 towards Tipperary and the Suir, is occupied to a breadth of from two 

 to five milea by a level tract of rich land. Several fine modem 

 mansions, and ruins of ancient caitlea and seats, are in this district 



The Sun: is navigable for v e sse l s of 120 tons up to the bridge of 

 Carrick, which is situated in Tipperaiy close to the western limits of 

 this county. At the bridge of Waterford it is in some places eight 

 fathoms deep at low water. Ships of 800 tons ascend the Barrow to 

 New Ross, and small vessels can ply as high as St Mullins, where the 

 tide ends, and the Barrow navigation for lighters commences. The 

 Nora throughout the upper part of its course from Durrow to Thomas- 

 town runa rapidly, and is subject to violent floods, having a fall of 

 about 13 feet in a mile. From Thomastown to the Barrow it is 

 navigable for boats carrying 16 tons. Vessels of 80 tons and upwards 

 have been built at and below Innistioge, at which town the influence 

 of the tide ends. 



The county is tnvened by • gnat number of roads, the prindpal 

 of which are — the Dublin and ushel mail-coach road, which passes 

 through Uriingford in the north-west of this county ; and the mail- 

 coach roads which connect the city of Kilkenny with Dublin, Waterford, 

 Carrick-on-Suir, and ClonmeL A branch railway to Carlow from the 

 Great Southern and Western Hue has been continued to Kilkenny, a 



distance of 25 miles ; the Waterford and Kilkenny railway, 284 miles, 

 has been in operation for some time past 



Gtoloffy. — With the exception of the mountain groups of the south, 

 the entire sur&oe of Kilkenny is occupied by the stratified limestone 

 of the central plain of Ireland, overlaid in the hilly districts north of 

 Kilkenny city by ths shale and sandstone of the Caatleoomer and 

 Killanaide ooal-traota. The coal-formations are nearly co-extensive 

 with the hilly distriota. The strata oom|>osing the coal-distiicts 

 consist of alternations of shale with ai;gillaoeou* ironstone, compact 

 qnartxose sandstone, and sandstone slate. Each district constitutes a 

 separate basin, the strata in that of CasUecomer dipping from the 

 edge towards the otntre, so that the imdermost strata appear on the 

 outer edge and the uppermost in the interior of the district The 

 coal raised from these beds is anthracite. It is accompanied with 

 culm, which is used extensively for burning lime ; the coal itself is 

 used for domestic purposes and malting. The principal works an at 

 CasUecomer, Clough, and Newtown. The limestone border generally 

 follows the foot of these hills, but in some places it rises haU way up 

 the acclivity, and in one or two instances forms considerable hilu on 

 the exterior. The general colour of the limestone is a bluish-gray : 

 the best for burning is of a blackish colour, and is found near Kilkenny 

 and Thomastown. Iron, manganese, and silex are generally diffused 

 through the limestone rock towards the bordera of the coal tract, and 

 prevent it from burning. Near Kilkenny it passes into a fine black 

 marble, containing a great variety of impressions of madrepores and 

 of bivalve and turbinate shells. These beds are extensively quarried, 

 and the blocks dressed on the spot by a saw-mill driven by the water 

 of the Nore. The marble is manufactured into chimney-pieces, 

 tombstones, &c ; it bean a vei^ high polish, and can be raised in 

 large blocks. Black primitive limestone slso occun at Ballyra^t 

 The tract of limestone skirting the northern bank of the Suir is 

 decomposed along its northern boundary for a distance of several 

 miles into a friable marly rubble, which is extensively used for 

 manure. Marl is found in large deposits in various other parts of the 

 county. The mountain tract occupying the south of Kilkenny oon- 

 sists, with the exception of the primitive group of Bnmdon, of day-alate 

 surrounded by sandstone. There are chalybeate springs at Bally- 

 spellin, Kilkenny city, CasUecomer, and several other places in the 

 county. The BallyBpellin spa was celebrated in the last century, and 

 is still used with benefit in cutaneous diseases. 



Climatt, Soil, and Produce. — The general slope of the surface is to 

 the south-east Surface watera run off rapidly, and there is very 

 little bog ; the air is consequently dry and healthy. MyrUes and the 

 arbutus grow luxuriantly in the southern parts of the county. Only 

 a small portion of Kilkenny is unfit for tillage. In the northern part 

 of the CasUecomer coal-tract the soil is a moory turf lying over a stiff 

 whitish clay. From CasUecomer southward the soil is light and 

 friable as far as Kilkenny, and becomes deep, rich, and capable of any 

 tillage towards Oowran and thence to Thomastown. The neighbour- 

 hoods of Durrow and Johnstown contain good tillage lauds, and the 

 valley of Freshford has some of the best ground in the county. The 

 soil of the hilly tract south of Freshford ia fitter for pasture, and this 

 is also the character of the right bank of the Nore from Kilkenny to 

 Bennett's Bridge. The district watered by the Owenree has an excel- 

 lent soil, and yields great crops of wheat The soil of the hilly countnr 

 on the south is dry and easily cultivated, but it is badly inclosed, 

 and destitute of shelter. Some of the best wheat and meadow 

 lands in the south of Ireland are situated in the level tract along 

 the Suir. 



In 1353 there were 24,988 acres producing wheat; 64,002 oats; 

 11,622 barley, here, rye, peas, and beans; 22,045 potatoes; 13,136 

 turnips ; 3561 mangels, carrots, parsnips, and other green crops ; 81 

 flax ; and 44,479 meadow and clover; making a total of 183,913 acres 

 under crops. The plantaUons, including an equivalent for detached 

 trees, cover about 18,000 acres, yielding oak, ash, elm, beech, fir, &c. 

 In 1852 on 14,510 holdings there were 15,871 horses, 4758 mules and 

 asses, 78,278 head of catUe, 61,922 ahcep, 48,077 pigs, 8876 goats, and 

 241,176 head of poultry; the total value of the live stock was esUniated 

 at 783,016(. 



The occupations of the people are chiefly agricultural Flour and 

 leather are the only industrial products of importance. There are 

 breweries and distilleries in the county. The woollen manufactures 

 which formerly flourished in the city of Kilkenny are now extinct A 

 coarse frieze for home consumption is made among the peasantry, 



Diviiiom cmd Towns. — Kilkenny is divided into 10 baronies: — 

 CalUm south-west, Crannagh west, Fsssadinin north-east, Qalmoy 

 north-west, Gowran east, Ida souUi-esst, Iverk south, Kells south- 

 west, Knocktopher south and central, and Shillelogher west The 

 principal towns are Caluln, Qraigue-na-managb, Tbomastowx, Fresh- 

 ford, Castlecomer, Uruhoford, and Ballyragget Callan, Castle- 

 comer, Thomastown, and Uriingford are elsewhere described; the 

 othon we notice hero. The county of the city of Kilkenny forms a 

 separate division. 



BaUyraggd, population 1170 in 1851, a small town on the left bank 

 of the >'ore, 11 miles N. from Kilkenny, has a barrack and a 

 dispensary. The town owes its origin to Ballyragget CasUe, the 

 ancient fortified residence of the Viscounts Mountgarrct, the niins of 

 which are of considerable extent Near the town are Ballyragget 



