Kilkenny

“ From James II. the citizens received a new charter, constituting the city and liberties a distinct county, to be styled the county of the city of Kilkenny, the burgesses of Irishtown continuing, however, to elect a portreeve until the passing of the Muncipal Reform Act. Frequent parliaments were held at Kilkenny from the 14th to the 16th century, and so late as the reign of Henry VIII. it was the occasional residence of the lord-lieutenant. In 1642 it was the meeting-place of the assembly of confederate Catholics. ”

“ The greater part of Kilkenny forms the south-eastern extremity of the great central plain of Ireland, but in the south-east occurs an extension of the mountains of Wicklow and Carlow, and the plain is interrupted in the north by a hilly region forming part of the Castlecomer coal-field, which extends also into Queen’s County and Tipperary. ”

“ In Kilkenny itself—though, for that matter, the castle abuts upon the Market Place—is the Cathedral of St. Canice, founded about 1180, which is the gem of Kilkenny’s architectural remains. It is a cruciform church in plain, simple Gothic style, small but stately, and has in its collection of monuments the most varied and rich in Ireland. It also possesses the “Chair of St. Kieran.” Both the east and the west windows are notable, and there is a well-preserved round tower over one hundred feet high at the corner of the south transept. ”

“ In the temporal order, as we have seen, the policy of hatred brought its own punishment. "The Pale," which may be said to date from the passing of the Statute of Kilkenny (1367) , was already abridged more than one-half. The Parliament of Kilkenny had defined it as embracing "Louth, Meath, Dublin, Kildare, Catherlough, Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford, and Tipperary," each governed by Seneschals or Sheriffs. In 1422 Dunlavan and Ballymore are mentioned as the chief keys of Dublin and Kildare—and in the succeeding reign Callan in Oriel is set down as the chief key of that part. ”

“ THE MAN THAT DIED AT ALMA The man who died at Alma had a Kilkenny brogue that you could not cut with a knife, but he was called Kilquhanity, a name as Scotch as McGregor. Kilquhanity was a retired soldier, on pension, and Pontiac was a place of peace and poverty. The only gentry were the Cure, the Avocat, and the young Seigneur, but of the three the only one with a private income was the young Seigneur.
What should such a common man as Kilquhanity do with a private income! ”

“ It consists of Englishtown (or Kilkenny proper) and Irishtown, which are separated by a small rivulet, but although Irishtown retains its name, it is now included in the borough of Kilkenny. The city is irregularly built, possesses several spacious streets with many good houses, while its beautiful environs and imposing ancient buildings give it an unusual interest and picturesque appearance. The Nore is crossed by two handsome bridges. The cathedral of St Canice, from whom the town takes its name, dates in its present form from about 1255. ”

“ In Carlow and Kilkenny one sees prosperity too on every side, while Louth disputes the palm with Wexford. Only on the richest land of all, through Meath into Kildare, is there the lamentable spectacle of depopulation—a rich wilderness. ”

“ Edgeworth's when he lived in the county of Longford, and she had been, when Miss Rothwell, a Dublin acquaintance of mine. This visit to Kilkenny was rich in recollections for Maria: the incomparable acting, the number of celebrated people there assembled, the supper in the great gallery of old grand Kilkenny Castle, the superb hospitality, the number of beautiful women and witty men, the gaiety, the spirit, and the brilliancy of the whole, could have been seen nowhere else. ”

“ There is splendid water-power above the town, and it was the first place in Ireland that was lighted with electricity. Kilkenny, the marble city, easily induces the visitor to linger within its walls and enjoy fully the attractions of the river Nore. ”

“ Dillon promised to join him with about 3000 men, but they never came, and all he could do was to provision Kilkenny and leave it with a garrison of 1000 foot and 200 horse. Soon afterwards an Ulster regiment, which was nearly half his army, deserted on account of the plague, saying that they were ready to fight against men but not against God. Having tried to relieve Kilkenny in vain he gave orders to the governors of the town and castle to make the best terms they could, and not to attempt to hold the latter after the former had surrendered. ”

“ Without doubt a southern ramble will prove the best remedy you can take to recover your flesh; and I do not know, except in one stage, where you can choose a road so suited to your circumstances, as from Dublin hither. You have to Kilkenny a turnpike and good inns, at every ten or twelve miles end. From Kilkenny hither is twenty long miles, bad road, and no inn at all: but, I have an expedient for you. At the foot of a very high hill, just midway, there lives in a neat thatched cabin, a parson, who is not poor; his wife is allowed to be the best little woman in the world. ”

“ During the last period of his administration, he held the memorable Parliament at Kilkenny, wherein the famous "Statute of Kilkenny" was enacted. This statute is another proof of the fatal policy pursued towards the Irish, and of the almost judicial blindness which appears to have prevented the framers of it, and the rulers of that unfortunate nation, from perceiving the folly or the wickedness of such enactments.
It was a continuance of the old policy. The natives of the country were to be trampled down, if they could not be trampled out ”

“ A synod was held at Kilkenny (1627) which was attended by bishops from Leinster and Munster; another very important one, the decrees of which were confirmed by the Holy See, was held for the province of Tuam in 1632, and a third attended by the Leinster bishops was held in the County Kilkenny in 1640. [48] The Irish colleges on the Continent continued to pour able and zealous young priests into the country, while the colleges for the education of the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Jesuits supplied new recruits to replenish the ranks of the religious orders. ”

“ Kilkenny, is one of the most beautiful now existing in Ireland; it is ‘almost classical,’ says Brash, ‘in the symmetry and chasteness of its details.’ The original church was erected in the seventh century; and,317 in Petrie’s opinion, it was rebuilt about the close of the eleventh or the beginning of the twelfth century. The doorway consists of a series of recessed arches richly decorated, in which the bead and chevron mouldings are conspicuous. On each side of the spring of the external arch is a piece of sculpture, much worn ”

“ Graves and Prim helped to establish the Kilkenny Archæological Society for the preservation, examination, and illustration of ancient monuments of Irish history, manners, customs, and arts, especially as connected with the county and city of Kilkenny. ”

“ WHITE, Sir NICHOLAS (d. 1593) , master of the rolls in Ireland, described as of Whites Hall, near Knocktopher, co. Kilkenny, a descendant of one of the early Pale settlers, was a relative apparently, perhaps the son, of James White of Waterford, gentleman, to whom Henry VIII in 1540 granted a lease of the rectory of Dunkitt in co. Kilkenny (Cal. Fiants, Hen. VIII, p. 154) . ”

“ Beginning at Kilkenny, where a jury of the inhabitants gave evidence as to the nature of the disorders prevailing among them and of the grievances they suffered at the hands of the neighbouring native Irish and of the degenerate Anglo-Norman gentry, the commissioners proceeded systematically in like manner through Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford, Dublin, Meath, and Louth. ”

“ Ormond, who was at Kilkenny at the critical moment of the breach, did his utmost to sustain the resolution of those who were stigmatized by his name; while the Nuncio, suspicious of Preston, wrote urgently to O'Neil to lead his army into Leinster, and remove the remnant of the late council from Kilkenny. All that those who held a middle course between the extremes could do, was to advocate an early meeting of the General Assembly ”

“ There were riots in Tipperary, and the O’Brennans were bold enough to enter and rob Kilkenny Castle which the Lords Justices had omitted to watch. Primate Boyle said ‘Power is an absolute ubiquitous, and [Pg 144] tarries in no place long enough to be discovered and taken. He is sometimes in the county of Waterford and sometimes in Kilkenny, and immediately after we hear of his pranks in the county of Limerick and in Kerry and Cork.’ At last a spy earned the fifty guineas which was his share of the price placed upon Power’s head. ”

“ Capitulation of Kilkenny, March 27.
Citizens and soldiers
Fair terms granted.
Cromwell approached Kilkenny by Bennet’s Bridge and sent in his summons on March 22. Sir Walter Butler, a cousin of Ormonde’s, was governor of the town, and briefly replied that he held it for the King. A battery with three guns was accordingly planted at St. Patrick’s Church, and on March 25 about a hundred shot struck the wall near the castle. An attempt to carry the breach failed with the loss of a captain and twenty or thirty men, the garrison having erected earthworks and palisades inside. ”

“ Even Preston declared for the Nuncio; and the clergy and the nobles who led the unpopular cause, were obliged to ask Ormonde's assistance to help them out of their difficulty. The Earl arrived at Kilkenny with an armed force; but fled precipitately when he heard that O'Neill and Preston were advancing towards him.
Rinuccini now took a high hand. He entered Kilkenny in state, on the 18th of September, and committed the members of the Supreme Council as prisoners to the Castle, except Darcy and Plunket. ”

“ In Kilkenny, "when the division is made out, lots are prepared. Each man takes a bit of stick or particular stone, well marked; these are enveloped in a ball of clay, and a child or stranger is called to place each ball upon some one of the lots, by which each man's share is determined" (461. 141) .
The Kaffir boy who is to tend the calves in the kraal, while his fellows sport and romp about, is selected by lot: "As many blades of grass as there are boys are taken, and a knot is made on the end of one of them. ”

“ Raths, Druidical Monuments, Castles, Abbeys, &c. are scattered in all parts, but very ruinous. The rivers are on a large scale, and the scenery pleasing. Bounded on the N.W. by Queen's County; N. by Carlow; E. by Wexford; S.W. by Tipperary.
Callen, 7 m. S.W. of Kilkenny, has ruins of three Castles, and old Gothic Ch., all destroyed by Cromwell. 1 m. see Eve Castle in ruins; also very large Rath, 40 feet high, 46 yards by 24.
Castle Comer, 8 m. N. of Kilkenny; see the celebrated Kilkenny coal-pits; beautiful mansion of Lady Ormond, the scene of several battles during the rebellion. ”

“ The decrease of population is a little above the average, though emigration is distinctly below it. The chief towns and villages are Kilkenny (q.v.) , Callan (1840) , Castlecomer, Thomastown and Graigue. The county comprises 10 baronies and contains 134 civil parishes. The county includes the parliamentary borough of Kilkenny, and is divided into north and south parliamentary divisions, each returning one member. Kilkenny returned 16 members to the Irish parliament, two representing the county. ”

“ When it sees the light, your querist will, it is to be hoped, find an answer. A query, addressed personally, to Mr. O'Donavan, Queen's College, Galway, would, no doubt, meet with a ready reply from that learned and obliging Irish scholar and historian.
J.G.
Kilkenny.
"A HAPLESS HUNTER" will find, in the Statute of Kilkenny (edited by James Hardiman, Esq., M.R.I.A. for the Irish Archaeological Society in 1843) , pp. 28, 29, note, two incidental notices of Eva, daughter of Dermot McMorrough; the first, her witnessing a grant made by Richard Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, during his lifetime ”

“ The other sequel of the Kilkenny theatricals was of very different character. In the end of 1808 Rogers, answering a letter, remarks, "Your sketch of Ireland is most gloomy." Twelve months later, and after Miss E. Dyke's first appearance in Mr. Power's company, Rogers writes, "I am rejoiced to think you are happy, which indeed you cannot fail to be while you are making others so; but don't let the Graces supplant the Muses." It is hardly rash to infer that Moore had written a cheerful account of the 1809 festival at Kilkenny. ”

“ In the parish of Allen, county Kildare, there is no Protestant, though it is very populous. In the parish of Arlesin, Queen’s County, the proportion is one hundred to one. In the whole county of Kilkenny, by actual enumeration, it is seventeen to one; in the diocese of Kilmacduagh, province of Connaught, fifty-two to one, by ditto. These I give you as a few specimens of the present state of Ireland; and yet there are men impudent and ignorant enough to contend that such evils require no remedy, and that mild family man who dwelleth in Hampstead can find none but the cautery and the knife. ”

“ But the zeal of the Archbishop of Tuam, and the violence of the Governor of Galway, Sir Francis Willoughby, proved more than a counterpoise for the authority of Clanrickarde and the recollection of Strafford: Connaught, though the last to come into the Confederation, was also the last to abandon it.
The Synod of Kilkenny proceeded with the utmost solemnity and anxiety to consider the circumstances of their own and the neighbouring kingdoms. No equal number of men could have been found in Ireland, at that day, with an equal amount of knowledge of foreign and domestic politics. ”