an inland county, in the province of Leinster, in Ireland, is bounded on the N. by the Queen's county, on the E. by the counties of Carlow and Wexford, on the S. by the county of Waterford, and on the W. by that of Tipperary. According to the Ordnance Survey, the total area of the county is 509,732 acres; of which 470,102 are arable, 21,126 uncultivated land, 13,899 in plantations, 1549 occupied by towns and villages, and 3056 are under water. Of the 21,000 acres of coarse pasture or uncultivated land, it is calculated that about 7500 acres may be improved for cultivation, 6000 for pasture by draining, and 7500 acres may be considered as unimprovable.
According to Ptolemy, the county was inhabited by the Brigantes and the Caucoi. It afterwards formed part of the kingdom of Ossory, which was sometimes tributary to Leinster, sometimes to Munster. After the arrival of the English, it formed one of the counties into which King John divided that portion of the island which recognised his supremacy. At the termination of the sixteenth century it was chiefly occupied by the Graces, the O'Brenans, the Butlers, the O'Sheas, the Rooths, the Harpers, the Walshes of the mountains, the Shortals, and the Forstals. It is now divided into the ten baronies of Callan, Cramnagh, Fassadinin, Galnomy, Gowran, Ida, Iverk, Kells, Knocktopher, and Shillelogher; besides which, the county of the city of Kilkenny forms a separate jurisdiction. These baronies are subdivided into 140 parishes.
The parish of Durrow, forming an insulated portion surrounded by the Queen's county, was made part of the county of Kilkenny by an act of parliament, obtained through the influence of the Duke of Ormond. His object was to repress the outrages committed on his tenantry by the Fitzpatricks, who inhabited that district, and who, when tried in the Queen's county, which belonged to their own sept, were always acquitted, but when tried in Kilkenny, the Duke's county, were sure to be convicted.
According to the ecclesiastical arrangements of the country, Kilkenny is chiefly comprehended within the diocese of Ossory, which extends over 120 of its parishes; the remainder are in the diocese of Leighlin. The see of Ossory was first planted at Soilyran, near Birr, about the year 402; thence it was removed to Aguaboe, in the Queen's county, about 1052; and finally to Kilkenny, in the latter end of the reign of Henry II. Like Meath, it derives its name, not from the seat of the episcopal see, but from that of the district over which it extends. Besides nearly the whole part of the county of Kilkenny, the diocese also comprehends the entire barony of Upper Ossory, forming one-third of the Queen's county, and a small part of the King's county. The dean of the cathedral exercises a kind of episcopal jurisdiction over the vicars-choral, similar to that of the dean of St Patrick's, Dublin; and the archdeacon formerly exercised an ordinary prescriptive jurisdiction over the whole diocese. The annual value of the see was estimated at L3859 by the parliamentary return made in 1833. In conformity with the provisions of the Church Temporalities Act, this diocese has been united to the dioceses of Leighlin and Ferns.
The surface of the county is mostly level in the central baronies, but hilly in the northern, and still more so in the south-eastern districts. Very little ground is unfit for tillage, and that which is not productive of good grain throws up excellent herbage. The soil in the northern parts is chiefly a mossy turf a few inches deep, lying over a bed of stiff yellow or whitish clay. More southerly, the soil is light, covering an argillaceous schistus. To the W. there is a hungry clayey loam, over a bed of limestone. In general, the nearer the limestone is to the surface, the poorer the soil. A light soil covers all the vicinity of the city of Kilkenny, exhibiting the appearance of slaty hills and gravelly bottoms. Proceeding southwards, the fertility increases. The angle of the River Suir, which forms the parish of Portnascaully, is the richest land in the county. The quantity of bog is inconsiderable, amounting altogether to 3500 acres; the largest tract is in the north-western extremity. Marl has been found between two strata of black turf mould; three strata of bog have also been discovered, separated by intervening beds of marl, oak, and fir; sallow and birch have been found in the bogs. There are no loughs of any extent. In the parish of Cloghmanta there are some temporary lakes, produced by the water bursting up from the ground in November, and subsiding in spring. They are here named Loughans; in Connaught they are called Turloughs. The climate is less humid than that of Dublin or Wicklow.
The principal rivers are the Nore, the Barrow, and the Suir; all of which rise in the range of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, and, taking a southern direction, discharge themselves by a common mouth into the estuary at Waterford. The Nore rises at the eastern base of the Devil's Bit Mountains, in the county of Tipperary, passes through the middle of this county, and by the city of Kilkenny. It is navigable for boats as far as Thomastown, and unites with the Barrow about 2 miles above Ross, in the county of Wexford. The salmon-peak, a fish resembling the salmon, is caught in this river. The King's River joins the Nore at Jerpoint, and the Argula, near Innistioge. The Barrow forms the eastern boundary of the country from near New Bridge to its junction with the Suir, which latter river is its boundary to the S. The Barrow is navigable for boats along the whole extent of the borders of the county of Kilkenny; and still farther, to Athy, in Kildare county. The Suir is navigable for sloops to Carrick, and for barges to Clonmel, in Tipperary.
The substrata of this county are granite, clay-slate, limestone, and sandstone. The granite hills form a very small part, being merely the extension of the Wicklow group. The rock is of various shades, but the best is of a light yellow tint, finely grained, and compact; black mica is found in it, together with specks of iron ore. In the western part of the county there is an extensive slate quarry, highly esteemed.
The collieries of Castlecomer, the most extensively worked of any in Ireland, are situated near the confluence of the small rivers Diman, Dian, Bruckagh, and Cloghoge, which join the Nore. They were discovered by accident, in working for iron ore. The depth of the beds varies from 2 feet 6 inches to 3 feet 1 inch. The workings extend over a tract of about 8 miles in length, and all the coal of the district is of that variety termed anthracite. It burns without flame or smoke, but, on account of its sulphureous exhalation, is unfit for domestic use. The excellent qualities of the Kilkenny coal for particular purposes occasion a great demand for it. It is heavy, burning with little flame, like charcoal in an ignited state, and throwing out a steady and violent heat. It dries malt well, and is excellent for the forge. The coal sill, or seat of the coal, which is sometimes raised with it, is a soft, black, brittle shale, full of shining impressions, exhibiting obscure traces of the stems of gramineae. It enters into the composition of excellent crucibles, which resist the strongest heat, as the more they are exposed to the fire, the harder they become. Fire-bricks are made from two parts of it and one part of clay. When analyzed, 100 grains appeared to contain 61 per cent. of silex, 36 Kilkenny, of argil, the remaining 3 grains were carbon and calcareous earth, with an almost imperceptible quantity of iron, being nearly identical in composition with pure Stourbridge clay when dried. It seems peculiarly calculated for cementing steel, and for potteries; but it has not been applied to either purpose, although materials for earthenware are to be found in the neighbourhood, and iron-mines of the best quality occur in upper strata of entire hills. Yellow ochre is found in various places; also pipe-clay of good quality. Manganese is seen on the banks of the Barrow, and near Freshford, and lead in small quantities between Inniskilling and Ross; a mine of the latter at Floodhall was worked for some time with considerable profit. Iron has also been raised. Jasper has been found near the extremity of the granite district, between the Nore and Barrow. Limestone is the base of the central part of the county; but the quality varies much in different places, all the varieties of it containing impressions of shells or corallines. The most important limestone quarry is that which produces the Kilkenny marble; it lies about half a mile from the city. The marble, when polished, presents a black ground, curiously varied with madreporic, bivalve, and other organic impressions, which appear more strongly when exposed to the air; but that approaching nearest to unmixed black is most esteemed. The blocks when raised, are finished at a marble-mill at some distance, remarkable for the ingenuity and simplicity of its mechanism. The marble is used for chimney-pieces all over the county, and in some other parts of Ireland.
At Ballyspellan, in Galmoy barony, is a very celebrated mineral spring. It is a chalybeate, and contains carbolic acid gas, which soon evaporates on exposure to the air. Its medicinal qualities have long been highly esteemed in the neighbouring country. Chalybeate springs, but not of much strength, exist in other places. This county also abounds with springs of very pure transparent water, most of them dedicated to some saint, whose patron-day is annually celebrated on their verge.
The census of population, taken at different periods, presents the following results:
| Year | Boys | Girls | Total | |------|------|-------|-------| | 1760 | De Burgo, 62,832 | Census, 169,945 | | 1792 | Beaufort, 100,000 | Ditto, 183,349 | | 1812 | Census, 134,664 | Ditto, 138,779 | | 1821 | Ditto, 158,716 |
Exclusive of 20,000 inhabitants in the city of Kilkenny.
The parliamentary returns of the number of children receiving education in the public schools, in the years 1821, and 1824-26, give the following results:
| Year | Boys | Girls | Total | |------|------|-------|-------| | 1821 | 10,191 | 4,420 | 14,611 | | 1824-26 | 12,398 | 7,000 | 19,672 |
Out of the total number of children, according to the latter of these returns, upwards of 18,000 were Catholics; the Protestants amounting only to 1376, of which number but 13 were dissenters. The number of schools maintained by public money was 19, in which 1515 pupils were instructed; of those maintained by private subscriptions, the number was the same, the pupils in them being 1281; all the other schools, 346 in number, in which 16,876 children were instructed, were maintained wholly by the fees of the pupils. The number of schools, and of pupils attending them, in 1851 was ascertained to be—
| Schools | No. of Schools | No. of Children | |---------|---------------|----------------| | City of Kilkenny—National | 3 | 231 | | Boarding | 4 | 135 | | Private | 12 | 250 | | Free | 1 | 216 | | Regimental | 1 | 129 | | Workhouse | 2 | 526 | | Gaol | 2 | 101 | | Total | 25 | 1372 |
| County of Kilkenny—National | 91 | 3347 | | Church Education | 11 | 130 | | Boarding | 2 | 26 | | Private | 68 | 1016 | | Parochial | 15 | 284 | | Free | 7 | 108 | | Boarding, Charitable | 1 | 31 | | Workhouse | 4 | 336 | | Total | 199 | 5278 |
The county returned 16 members to the Irish parliament—2 for the county at large, 2 for the city of Kilkenny, 2 for the adjoining borough of Irishtown, and 2 each for the boroughs of Callan, Gowran, Inniskilling, Knocktopher, and Thomastown. All these, except Kilkenny, were close boroughs, the elective franchise being vested in the burgesses, whose number seldom exceeded 20, and who were elected through the influence of the proprietor of the land.
Very little land in the county is unfit for tillage; the central parts are peculiarly adapted for wheat, to the growth of which the best ground, most of which has a limestone sub-stratum, is devoted. The more mountainous tracts are exclusively appropriated to oats or pasture. Wheat is sown either on a fallow or after potatoes. Wheat here suffers from what is called the red or yellow worm; but as often this disease appears only in dry seasons, when the crop is better and more abundant, the evil is not extensive. Barley is usually sown after wheat. The extent of land under each description of crop, and the total extent in cultivation since 1847, is stated in the agricultural returns collected by the Irish government to have been as follows:
| Years | No. of Holdings above 1 acre | Corn, Beans, and Pease | Other Crops | |-------|-----------------------------|------------------------|------------| | | | Wheat | Oats | Barley, Bere, Rye, Beans, and Pease | Total | Potatoes | Turnips | Green Crops | Total | Flax | Meadow and Clover | Total extent under crops | | 1847 | 18,147 | 50,112 | 52,088 | 13,038 | 115,258 | 9,403 | 10,083 | 2538 | 22,074 | 90 | 43,082 | 180,504 | | 1848 | 17,386 | 49,411 | 46,425 | 14,035 | 109,871 | 27,002 | 6,335 | 1458 | 34,790 | 47 | 42,893 | 187,601 | | 1849 | 17,635 | 59,466 | 45,811 | 12,359 | 108,636 | 25,762 | 9,175 | 2,588 | 37,563 | 16 | 39,613 | 185,828 | | 1850 | 17,600 | 47,343 | 62,236 | 12,641 | 112,228 | 25,321 | 11,615 | 4,395 | 41,898 | 29 | 42,482 | 185,925 | | 1851 | 15,129 | 47,571 | 67,436 | 11,413 | 122,416 | 25,972 | 9,934 | 4,073 | 39,979 | 25 | 45,462 | 182,096 | | 1852 | 14,510 | 33,198 | 62,588 | 10,774 | 106,560 | 25,667 | 11,270 | 3027 | 40,864 | 54 | 44,485 | 183,928 | | 1853 | 14,053 | 25,005 | 63,906 | 11,623 | 100,624 | 22,055 | 13,126 | 3560 | 38,741 | 78 | 44,485 | 181,914 | | 1854 | 13,955 | 34,958 | 54,205 | 8,552 | 97,755 | 25,667 | 11,270 | 3027 | 40,864 | 54 | 44,485 | 181,914 | | 1855 | ... | 37,297 | 53,162 | 8,639 | 99,038 | 22,812 | 12,689 | 3195 | 48,697 | 45 | 47,437 | 185,237 | The use of green food for cattle is not so general as might be desired. Many of the cattle graze out during the winter; some are housed from Christmas to April. The only green food used in winter is furze-tops pounded, on which the cattle soon become sleek and fine skinned; for this purpose the large French furze is preferred. Little attention is paid to improve the pasturages. The mountain pastures are left in a state of nature, and the land produces little but heath. Much land on the borders of the Nore and Suir is embanked and used for meadowing. The most considerable dairies are in the Walsh Mountains; a name supposed to be derived from the family to which a large tract of land Kilkenny, formerly belonged.
Few horses are bred in the county, most are brought in from Munster to the fair of Callan, the most esteemed fair for this description of stock. The common stock of black cattle is a cross of the Irish breed on the long-horned English. The Kerry cow is much in demand in dairies, for its low price and quantity of milk. The breed of sheep has improved very much. The number of holdings above one acre, and the quantity of live stock in the county since 1847, is shown in the following table:
| Year | No. of Holdings above 1 acre | Horses | Cattle | Sheep | Pigs | Goats | Poultry | |------|-----------------------------|--------|--------|-------|-----|------|---------| | | | | | | | | | | 1847 | 18,147 | 17,318 | 1489 | 54,263| 16,276| 24,748| 15,072 | | 1848 | 17,286 | 16,068 | 1150 | 1077 | 681 | 2247 | 46,575 | | 1849 | 17,033 | 15,424 | 892 | 1116 | 671 | 3271 | 43,378 | | 1850 | 16,700 | 14,957 | 1089 | 1115 | 687 | 3355 | 45,314 | | 1851 | 16,123 | 14,480 | 965 | 1092 | 692 | 3361 | 45,746 | | 1852 | 14,671 | 13,677 | 963 | 1092 | 692 | 4066 | 45,082 | | 1853 | 14,053 | 13,028 | 1181 | 1087 | 636 | 4198 | 50,326 | | 1854 | 13,955 | 13,076 | 1490 | 2057 | 619 | 4354 | 55,963 |
Bees were more attended to formerly than now, yet the soil and climate are well suited to them. The dry hills, covered with heath and scented herbs, produce honey celebrated for its flavour, and for the depth of its combs.
Within the last century, many parts of the county were covered with woods. Now there are but few, not covering more than 2000 acres. Attempts to raise plantations from the seed have not been successful; the seeds in this mild climate being liable to destruction from vermin. Orchards are much neglected. There are some eozeries on the banks of the Nore and Suir.
The woollen manufacture was introduced by the Earl of Ormond in the early part of the fourteenth century. He brought over workmen from Flanders, whose manufacture is still to be seen in the castle of Kilkenny. James Duke of Ormond went to great expense to introduce the linen manufacture in the seventeenth century. Latterly an attempt was made to manufacture superfine broad cloths in the neighbourhood of Kilkenny, but it soon failed. Friezes and ratteens are still made; the women spin the wool. The manufacture of woollen cloth was succeeded by that of blankets, which is still carried on. The linen trade, after a continuance of 50 or 60 years, has so died away that not a vestige of it now remains, beyond the making of coarse linen and sacking for domestic use. Paper is manufactured in several places. The principal part of the grain raised in the county is sent to Dublin in the form of flour, malt, and meal, the manufacturing of which is another source of wealth.
The number of resident gentry is considerable. Amongst the mansions remarkable for splendour or for architectural beauty are—the castle of Kilkenny; Mount Juliet, the seat of the Earl of Carrick; Desart, an Italian structure, the seat of the Earl of Desart; Kilfane, that of Sir John Power, Bart.; Flood Hall, the residence of the head of the Flood family; Hesborough, the seat of the Earl of Beshborough; and Woolstock, the seat of the Right Hon. Wm. Frederick Tighe, which has the reputation of being one of the most beautiful domains in the south of Ireland. The mansion is large, and the woods very extensive, stretching for 2 miles along the right bank of the River Nore, and reaching to the summit of the bank, a height of 800 feet. The farmhouses are of stone, more generally cemented with clay than with mortar, the offices usually forming an irregular yard in front of the house. The people in the hilly parts, who hold land at will, live in scattered villages. The usual food of the peasantry is potatoes, to which milk and salt are generally added, and occasionally a herring. Turf is the general fuel, except in the neighbourhood of the collieries, where coal is burned, or else culm made up in balls with one third of clay. The clothing of the peasantry is frieze, ratteen, and flannel.
Amongst the remains of antiquity may be noticed a circle formed of stones on the summit of Slieve Grian, "The Hill of the Sun," called also Tory Hill, on one of which is an inscription that has given rise to much controversy. There is another circular group of stones on the Hill of Cloghnaght, which signifies "The Rock of God." The most remarkable cromlech is at Kilmogue; its upper stone is 45 feet in circumference. The country people call it Lachan Schal, or "The Great Altar Stone." Near the Spa of Ballyspellon is a large stone, formerly supported by others; it is called Clogh-bannah, or "The Stone of Blessing." Raths are numerous, particularly in Galway and near the Nore. At Earlsrath are the remains of a very large fort enclosed by a fosse. A moat near Rathbeath is pointed out as the place where Heremon, son of Milesius, built his palace and was buried. There are five pillar towers in the county. One is in Kilkenny, close to, and almost forms part of the cathedral; it is 100 feet high, and 48 feet in circumference at the base; the others are at Tullohoherin, Kilree, Fertagh, and Aghaviller, of which last the lower part only remains. All are in the vicinity of places of worship. Besides the remains of monasteries in the city of Kilkenny, there are vestiges of some others, once of great note, particularly one at Jerpoint, about one mile from Thomastown, and one of the most interesting ecclesiastical ruins in Ireland, founded by Domnough, King of Ossory, and affords a fine example of the mixed Anglo-Norman and English styles of architecture. Another at Graig was founded under the auspices of the Earl of Pembroke in 1212, for Cistercian monks, and is still a venerable and interesting ruin. The Dominicans had abbeys at Rosbercon, founded in 1267, and at Thomastown, five beautiful pointed arches of which still remain. The Carmelites had one at Knocktopher, and there was a nunnery at Kilcullihen.
The number of castles is very great; most of them consist of a single square tower, which formed the keep. Graney or Grandison Castle, in Iverk, is among the most celebrated, as having been the residence of Margaret Fitzgerald, Kilkenny, the great Countess of Ormond; it is supposed to have been built by the eighth Earl of Ormond, Lord-Deputy of Ireland, in 1521, and was taken by the parliamentary forces, under Colonel Axel. From the towers and walls which remain some idea can be formed of the importance of the place when entire and garrisoned as a fortress. King John built a castle at Tybrachny, where there are the remains of a Danish town.
Kilkenny City is situate 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 tholact, 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 interior 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 1755; it is now 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 Lantern 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 Swizer, 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.