KILKENNY CITY is situated on the River Nore, which divides it into two unequal portions, and nearly in the centre of the county. Its name is generally derived from Kilkenny, "The Church or Cell of St Canice;" though by some it is traced from the words Coil-ken-ui, "The Wooded Hill near the River." It formerly consisted of two separate jurisdictions,—the city of Kilkenny properly so called, and the borough of Irishtown, separated from each other by the small stream called the Breagh, a tributary of the Nore; but by the provisions of the Municipal Reform Act the two corporations were amalgamated. An English settlement was formed here shortly after the landing of Strongbow; a castle was also erected, and the seat of the see of Ossory removed thither. William, Lord Marshal, who married Strongbow's daughter, granted the town a charter of incorporation, which was confirmed by Gilbert, Earl of Clare. Elizabeth and James I. confirmed and enlarged its privileges. From the Anglo-Norman invasion in 1170, to the Parliamentary War in 1641, Kilkenny was one of the most important inland towns in Ireland. It was frequently the residence of the Lord-Lieutenant, and parliaments were sometimes held in it; amongst others, that which passed the celebrated statute of Kilkenny, which first notices the distinction of English by blood, and English by birth. During the wars of 1641, it was the place where the assembly of the confederate Catholics held their sittings; the room where they met is still shown. Cromwell afterwards took the city on terms highly honourable to its defenders, and subsequently held his high court of justice in it. The city is irregular, but presents a cheerful and busy aspect; the houses, built chiefly of stone, are large and respectable. "I found the city of Kilkenny," says Inglis, "a large, well-built, beautifully situated, and very interesting town. In fact, I scarcely know any town more interesting or more picturesque." The Nore, here a river of some breadth, though not navigable, is crossed by two modern bridges. On the two most elevated points of the united towns are the castle and the cathedral, the most marked and ornamental structures of both. The baronial castle, which is full of historic associations, comprehends the remains of the ancient fortress, combined with more modern buildings. It was built by Strongbow in the twelfth century, purchased by James, third Earl of Ormond, in 1391; it has ever since been the principal residence of the head of the Butler family. In 1399 he entertained Richard II. in it for fourteen days. King William dined here after the battle of the Boyne. The buildings now form the sides of a quadrangle, the large interior courtyard having been retained. Its principal apartments were the presence chamber, formed of a suite of rooms opening into one another, in the farthest of which was an elevated seat for the lord of the mansion; and the picture gallery, 150 feet in length, chiefly furnished with family portraits. Several of the rooms are hung with tapestry. The court-house is a large and elegant modern building, erected on the site of Grace's old castle, where the assizes used to be held. The tholset, or city court, is also large, but unornamented; it contains several apartments, one of which is used as a library. The market, well stocked with provisions of every kind, is held in one of the divisions of its inferior area. There are barracks both for cavalry and infantry. The county jail is at a short distance from the city. The environs of the town are very beautiful. The Duke's Walk, or Mall, extends
upwards of a mile along the banks of the Nore. The corporation consists of a mayor and aldermen, and other subordinate officers, who have the management of an income, arising from rents, of about £2000 per annum. The cathedral of St Canice is an extensive pile, on a commanding elevation, in Irishtown. It is cruciform, surmounted by a small tower, and of greater dimensions than any similar building in Ireland, except the cathedral of St Patrick in Dublin. In the north transept is a chapel used as the parish church, where also is a stone seat called the Chair of St Kevin. The choir and chancel are fitted up in a style of chaste simplicity. The aisle contains several sepulchral monuments; amongst them that of Pierce, eighth Earl of Ormond, and Margaret Fitzgerald, his wife. The burial-ground of the cathedral is entered by a flight of marble steps, and is planted with trees. The episcopal palace was originally erected in the time of Edward III., and was modernized and enlarged in 1735; it is now a commodious, though not a splendid residence. The church of St Mary is a spacious but plain structure. Several monastic institutions added much to the beauty and dignity of the city. The most ancient was the preceptory of St John, founded about 1211. The abbey church, remarkable for the singular structure of its windows, which procured it the name of "The Lanthorn of Kilkenny," has been converted into a parochial church under its old name. The extensive and noble ruins of the Dominican or Black Abbey, founded in 1225, have been repaired, and now form a Roman Catholic place of worship. The ruins of the Franciscan Abbey, situate on the banks of the Nore, are much admired. The grammar school, generally called the College, was founded by Pierce, Earl of Ormond, and re-endowed by the Duke of Ormond in 1684. James II. erected it into a royal college, but on his abdication it reverted to its former state, and is now a respectable place of elementary instruction, capable of accommodating eighty resident pupils. In it Dean Swift, Congreve, Farquhar, and Bishop Berkeley, acquired the rudiments of classical literature. Kilkenny has also a seminary for the education of students intended for the Roman Catholic priesthood. The city also contains several Roman Catholic chapels, the county gaol and infirmary, union workhouse, and district lunatic asylum. A neat range of buildings, called St James' Asylum, in the suburbs, was endowed in 1803 by Mr James Switzer, for the maintenance of twelve Protestant and eight Catholic widows. The population of the county and city of Kilkenny in 1851 was 19,973; of the city alone, 15,808. No other place in the county, except Callan (2368), contains more than 2000 inhabitants. (It. 8—K.)