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KILKENNY. 



KILKENNY. 



Hall ; and BaUyconra, the seat of the Earl of Kilkenny. Ten fairs 

 are held in the year. 



Freshford, a small town, situated within a mile of the right bank 

 of the Nore in a fertile country, 9 mUea N.W. from Kilkenny, had 

 2075 inhabitants in 1841, but only 1076 in 1851. The principal part 

 of the town is built in the form of a square around the fair green. 

 Fresbford has a fever hospital, a dispensary, a large Roman Catholic 

 chapel, and a very ancient church, which belonged to an abbey founded 

 here by St. Lactan in the 7th century. Fairs are held in August and 

 December. 



Qowran, before the Union a parliamentary borough, now a small 

 but improving town of 1000 inhabitants, is situated 7 miles E. from 

 Kilkenny. It was a place of importance for several centuries in 

 consequence of the strong castle of Qowran, built here by the 

 Butlers, dukes of Ormonde. The ruins of the old church, which 

 belonged to an ancient monastery, are interesting from their archi- 

 tecture and the monuments they contain. Five yearly fairs are held. 



Qraiyw-na^manaijh, or O'raigue, a town of 1710 inhabitants, is beau- 

 tifully situated on the right bank of the Barrow, and nearly environed 

 by offshoots from the Brandon Mountains, 13 miles S.E. from Kil- 

 kenny. The Earl of Pembroke founded a Cistercian abbey here in 

 1212, very interesting ruins of which still remain. The transept of 

 the abbey church has been fitted up as a Roman Catholic chapel. A 

 small church crowns a neighbouring hill. The ruined castle of 

 Tinnahinch, once a seat of the Butlers, is situated opposite the town 

 on the Carlow side of the river. Graigue has good weekly markets 

 and a considerable retail trade ; it is also much benefited by being a 

 station on the Barrow navigation. In the town is a dispensary. Several 

 fine seats are in the vicinity. Fairs are held seven times in the year. 



Jnniatiogiie, before the Union a parliamentary borough, now a small 

 but neat town of 725 inhabitants, stands on the left bank of the 

 Nore, 18 miles S. by E. from Kilkenny. It is built in the form of a 

 square, in the centre of which is part of an ancient stone cross. The 

 houses are slated and have lime-trees planted before them. Here are 

 the ruins of a large Augustinian priory. A handsome bridge of 

 10 arches spans the Nore. Near the town is the demesne and mansion 

 of 'Woodstock. Ten fairs are held yearly. 



Johnttoum, a neat little town, 16 miles N.VT. from Kilkenny, popu- 

 lation 876, contains a church and a Roman Catholic chapel. East of 

 the town is the range of the Culla hills, which near the chalybeate 

 ■pa of Ballyspellau attain a height of 1156 feet. West of Johnstown 

 the country is flat, dreary, and in many parts boggy. 



PilUown, population 606, a pretty Uttle town half a mile long, 

 mtuated in the centre of the richest part of the valley of the Suir, 

 and about a mile from the left bank of that river, 20 miles S. from 

 Kilkenny. It is watered by a little stream, up which the tide-water 

 of the Suir ascends : all such little aestnaries are locally called ' pills,' 

 hence the name of the town. The houses are neatly built, and each 

 has in front a small flower-garden inclosed with evergreens and other 

 shrubs. The village contains a church, a Roman Catholic chapel, 

 school-house, market-house, dispensary, and police station. Vessels 

 of 70 tons come ap to the quay. In the upper part of the market- 

 house is a small museum. 



The following villages may be mentioned : the populations are 

 those of the Census of 1851. Bmnett'i Bridge, population 274, is 

 situated on the river Nore, 5 miles S.W. by S. from Oowran, and has 

 'its name from a bridge over the Nore at this placa Several ruined 

 castles and modem mansions are in the vicinity. Four fairs are held 

 yearly. Clogh, population 486, is situated about 4 miles N.N.E. from 

 Castlecomer, of which pariah it forms a part. The Roman Catholics 

 have a chapel. Brewing is carried on. Otanmore, 6 miles from New 

 Ross on the road to Waterford, is a small place, containing a large 

 Roman Catholic chapel and a dispensary. Gorabridge, population 921 

 in 1841, reduced to 419 in 1851, is 10 miles E. from Kilkenny; it 

 stands on the right bank of the Barrow. Fairs are held here four 

 times in the course of the year. In the town is a Roman Catholic 

 chapel. Kellt, a poor place of 419 inhabitants, was formerly a town 

 of importance, and stUl attracts notice for the ruins of its abbey. 

 It is situated 7 miles S. from Kilkenny, on the banks of the King's 

 River, which flows through a fertile and beautiful valley between 

 Callan and the Nore. The abbey was founded in 1193, and flourished 

 till the reign of Henry VIII. The ruins comprise two large squares, 

 with portions of several towers, and the cloisters, which are in a state 

 of good preservation ; the area is still inclosed. The abbot of Kells 

 was a lord of parliament. A fair is held at Kells on July 13th. 

 KUmacuio, population 157, is a small hamlet on the Blackwater, a 

 feoder of the Suir. Near the Waterford and Carrick-onSuir road, 

 are the extensive ruins of Qrandison, or as they are now called Oraney 

 Castle, which was built by the 8th earl of Ormonde, and taken by 

 the parliamentary forces in the great civil war. Kilmaganny, popu- 

 lation 462, is 12 miles S.3.W. from Kilkenny, on the road to Carrick- 

 on-Suir ; it is situated at the foot of a range of hills which attain a 

 height of 963 feet. It is a neat village, and contains a church, a 

 Roman Catholic chapel, and a dispensary. In its vicinity are the 

 ruins of Clone Castle, Castlehill, and Kerehill, which were originally 

 fortified residences of the Walshes. KnocklopKer, a poor village of 

 847 inhabitants, situated 10 miles S. from Kilkenny on the road to 

 Limerick, was formerly a parliamentary borough. The town and 



neighbourhood anciently belonged to the Ormonde family, who built 

 here one of their strongholds called Knocktopher Castle. This castle 

 was besieged, taken, and demolished in 1649 in Cromwell's invasion, 

 and is now a heap of ruins. There are some remains of a Carmelito 

 convent, founded by the second earl of Ormonde in 1356 ; and one of 

 those ancient mounds locally called moats, or duns. The village 

 contains a neat parish church, a Roman Catholic chapel, and a school. 

 Mooncoin, population 664, situated n^r the river Suir, about 4 miles 

 S.E. from Pilltown, has a Roman Catholic chapel, a cemetery, and a 

 National school. MuUinavat, population 552, on the road to Water- 

 ford, 18 miles S. from Kilkenny, contains a Roman Catholic chapel. 

 A little south-east of it is a remarkable conical elevation, called Tory 

 Hill, which is a conspicuous object in this pai-t of the county, and 

 serves for a landmark to sailors. Six fairs are held yeai'ly. Rmhercon, 

 a village of 276 inhabitants, is situated on the left bank of the 

 Barrow, opposite New Ross. It has extensive stores and quays along 

 the river, and occupies a favourable situation for trade. Adjacent to 

 it are the picturesque remains of Roabercon Abbey, the restored 

 chancel of which serves for the parish church. The abbey was a 

 united foundation of the Walshes and Graces in 1267. The tower of 

 the abbey church and part of the wall of the south aisle still remain. 

 The village contains a Roman Catholic chapel, a police barrack, a 

 large distillery, and several schools. Rosbercon is connected with 

 New Ross by a wooden bridge 358 feet long, and a causeway of 

 150 feet ; in the centre of the bridge is a small draw-bridge for tha 

 convenience of vessels navigating the river. Six fairs are held in tha 

 course of the year. Stoneyford, population 500, 8 miles S. from 

 Kilkenny on the King's River, contains a dispensary, a Roman 

 Catholic chapel, and a police barrack. Near Stoneyford is Mount 

 Juliet, the fine seat and demesne of the Earl of Cairick ; in the 

 grounds are the ruins of Ballyliuch Castle, the old residence of the 

 earls of Carrick. 



Kilkenny returns three members to the House of Commons — two 

 for the county and one for the city of Kilkenny. The assizes are held 

 in Kilkenny, and quarter sessions in Kilkenny, Callan, Castlecomer, 

 Pilltown, Thomastown, and Urlingford. The county court-house and 

 jail are in Kilkenny, and there are bridewells in Callan, Graigue 

 Thomastown, and Urlingford. Petty sessions are held in 19 places. 

 The police force, consisting of 500 men and officers, is distributed 

 over 8 districts, comprising 61 stations, of which Kilkenny is head- 

 quarters. The district lunatic asylum, to which the county is entitled 

 to send 31 patients, is at Carlow. The county infirmary is at Kil- 

 kenny, and there are fever hospitals at Kilkenny, Castlecomer, Callan, 

 Ida, Freshford, Kilmaganny, Rosbercon, and Stoneyford, with 20 

 dispensaries in the towns and chief villages. A savings bank is 

 established in Kilkenny ; the total amount owing to depositors on 

 November 20th 1852 was 17,850i. 1*. The Union workhouses are at 

 Kilkenny, Callan, Castlecomer, Thomastown, and Urlingford. Kil- 

 kenny is head-quarters of a military district which comprises parts of 

 Tipperary, Wicklow, Waterford, Wexford, Queen's County, and 

 Carlow. There are barrack stations at Callan and Castlecomer. lu 

 September 1852, there were 138 National schools in operation, 

 attended by 8125 male and 7579 female children. 



Uittory and A nliquitiet. — On the partition of Leinster amonp the 

 daughters of William earl of Pembroke, 1247, Kilkenny was allotted 

 to Isabella, the third daughter, who married Gilbert de Clare, earl of 

 Gloucester and Hertford ; by him she had issue, among other children, 

 Eleanor, who married Hugh le Despenser the younger, whose grand- 

 son Thomas le Spenser sold his castle and manor of Kilkenny to 

 James Butler, third earl of Ormonde, in 1391. The other great pro- 

 prietors were the families of Grace and Walsh, who lost their estates 

 in the war of the Revolution of 1688. The early history of tho 

 county is chiefly occupied with the feuds of the Ormondes, the house 

 of Desmond, and the Graces. On the breaking out of the rebellion 

 of 1641 the county of Kilkenny fell into the hands of the Irish with 

 Uttle opposition. Lord Mountgarret, an influential member of the 

 Butler family, taking the lead among the insurgents. The defection 

 in this county on the accession of king William III. was very generah 



Circular stone inclosures of the Pagan era remain on the summits 

 of the hills near Freshford and Kilmacow, and there are various crom- 

 lechs and cairns in the county. The remains of raths and earthen 

 tumuli are also of frequent occurrence. There are five roimd towers, 

 one adjoining the cathedral church of St. Conice in Kilkenny, the 

 others at Kilree, TuUocherin, Fertagh, and Aghaviller. Of tho 

 monastic ruins, the most extensive and interesting are those of Jer- 

 point Abbey on the Nore, two miles from Thomastown. This abbey 

 was founded by Donogb, king of Ossory, in 1180, for Cistercian monks, 

 and was liberally endowed. The ruins occupy three acres, and are 

 a fine specimen of Anglo-Norman architecture. The more modem 

 portions of the building are in the pointed style of the 13th century, 

 and are distingished by their elegance and lightness. The tombs of 

 the founder and of several ecclesiastics still remain. The remains of 

 a Cistercian abbey at Graigue have been already noticed. There are 

 considerable remains of a Dominican convent at Thomastown, of an 

 Augustinian monastery at Innistioge, and of Augustinian priories at 

 Kells and Callan. Of the numerous castles founded by the Anglo- 

 Norman lords, the most considerable is Grandiaon Coatlo in Irerk, an 

 ancient seat of the Botlets. It has three round towers towards the 



