Kilkenny Bed and Breakfast Accommodation

KILKENNY CITY

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Kilkenny, (Irish: Cill Chainnigh, meaning Church of Cainneach), is the county town of County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore, at the centre of County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. Kilkenny City is administered by a borough council and has a Mayor. The population of the town and its environs is approximately 25,000. The majority of the population of Kilkenny City live outside the borough boundary.

From an ecclesiastical foundation, Kilkenny was the ancient capital of the kingdom of Ossory. The town was established, then a city, in 1609 by royal charter. Kilkenny was the capital of Confederate Ireland between 1642 and 1649. The seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ossory and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cashel and Ossory are in Kilkenny.

Kilkenny is famous for its medieval building and castle. The town has been referred to as the "Marble City" for centuries. People from Kilkenny are often referred to as 'Cats'. Kilkenny is 117km (73miles) from Dublin and 48km (30miles) north of the nearest city Waterford.
 
City Status

Kilkenny was given the status of a city by Royal Charter in 1609 by King James I of England. Kilkenny was the capital of Confederate Ireland between 1642 and 1649, until it surrendered during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. In 1710 St. Francis Abbey Brewery, the home of Smithwick's Ale, was founded by John Smithwick.

Toponym
 
Kilkenny is the anglicised version of the Irish Cill Chainnigh, meaning Church of Cainneach or Canice. This probably relates to the church and round tower, now St. Canice's Cathedral, which was built in honour of St. Canice. 

The hill now containing St. Canice's Cathedral and the Round Tower seems to be the first major settlement. The early Christian origin of the round tower suggests an early ecclesiastical foundation at Kilkenny. The area surrounding the cathedral, Irishtown, is the oldest part of the town and became the hub around which the town developed. Though the religious origins of the town are well documented, it is not known how early secular structures were constructed.

Kingdom of Osraige

Kilkenny was the main town and dynastic capital of the Kingdom of Osraige one of the ancient kingdoms of Ireland. It gave its name to the area delineated by the rivers Suir and Nore, what is modern-day County Kilkenny. The round tower currently at St Canice's Cathedral is an above ground remnant of the early medieval period.

Norman capital
 
In early Norman times, up to the late 12th century, Kilkenny was the capital of the colony in Ireland. It also became the home of a preceptory of the Knights of St Thomas. By the late thirteenth century Kilkenny was under Norman-Irish control. The Norman presence in the town is still very evident. Kilkenny Castle was built on an outcrop of rock offering a natural vantage point at a prominent bend in the River Nore. This lies on the site of earlier wattle and mud structures and was the site of the fortifications of the Fitzpatricks and the O'Carrolls (AD 840), amongst others. A series of walls was built to protect the burghers. There were two townships Irishtown, and Englishtown. Irishtown had its charter from the bishops of Ossory and Englishtown which was established by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.

A account of the Black Death from a monastery in Cill Chainnigh, by Friar John Clyn in 1348

The pestilence gathered strength in Kilkenny during Lent, for between Christmas day and 6 March, eight Friars Preachers died. There was scarcely a house in which only one died but commonly man and wife with their children and family going one way, namely, crossing to death.

Irish Parliament

The Statutes of Kilkenny (AD 1366) got their name from the then Irish Parliament in Kilkenny. The statutes contained nineteen clauses, their general provision being to reduce the influence of the Irish on the Normans. They prohibited intermarriage as well as the customs and language of the Irish, which were considered to have had an adverse effect on the Norman settlers. The statutes also attempted to outlaw Brehon Laws.

Civil War

In early May 1922 before the Irish Civil War there was a serious clash in Kilkenny, when anti-Treaty forces occupied the centre of the town and 200 pro-Treaty troops were sent from Dublin to disperse them. On 3 May the Dáil was informed that 18 men had been killed in the fighting in Kilkenny. In a bid to avoid an all-out civil war, both sides agreed to a truce on May 3, 1922.

Geography

Kilkenny is is situated in the Nore Valley on both banks of the River Nore, at the centre of County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland.

Environment

Weatherwise Kilkenny is generally representative of wide river valleys in the region with low temperatures on cloudless nights. Overall, Kilkenny has a mild, but changeable, oceanic climate with few extremes. Kilkenny is significant in that it records some of the highest summer and lowest winter temperatures in Ireland.

The highest air temperature ever recorded in Ireland, 33.3 °C (91.9 °F), was at Kilkenny Castle on 26 June 1887. The maximum daily rainfall recorded at Kilkenny station was 66.4 millimetres (2.61 in) on 17 July 1983. The highest wind gust, 77 knots (from a South-west direction, i.e. 200 degrees), was recorded on 12 January 1974. The maximum daily sunshine was 16.3 hours on 18 June 1978. The warmest and sunniest month on record at Kilkenny was August 1995 with a total of 274.9 hours sunshine and very high temperatures throughout. The maximum temperature recorded was 30.8 °C (87.4 °F) on 2 August 1995. The warmest recorded air temperature was 33.3 °C (91.9 °F) at Kilkenny Castle, County Kilkenny on 26 June 1887. Extremes recorded at the Kilkenny Met Station include the Highest Air Temperature of 31.5 °C (88.7 °F) on 29 June 1976, the Lowest Air Temperature of −14.1 °C (7 °F) on 2 January 1979 and the Lowest Ground Temperature of −18.1 °C (−1 °F) on 12 January 1982.

Kilkenny is 117 km (73 miles) from the capital Dublin and 48 km (30 miles) north from the nearest city Waterford. Wexford is 80 km (50 miles) to the south-east and Limerick is 122 km (70 miles) to to the west.

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