Kilkenny

County of the Republic of Ireland, in the province of Leinster; county town Kilkenny; area 2,060 sq km/795 sq mi; population (2002) 80,340. It has the rivers Nore, Suir, and Barrow, the highest point being Brandon Hill (516 m/1,693 ft). Industries include clothing, footwear, and brewing, and agricultural activities include cattle rearing and dairy farming. Principal towns include Castlecomer, Callan, Graiguenamanagh, and Thomastown.

There are several medieval ruins in the county, including Kells Monastery and Jerpoint Abbey, founded in 1158 by Donagh MacGillapatrick, King of Ossory.

Kilkenny

County town of County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland; population (2002) 8,500. Kilkenny lies on the River Nore. Local industries include food processing and textile and shoe manufacture. The town's medieval buildings are better preserved than in any other centre in Ireland. The cathedral of St Canice dates from 1255. Kilkenny Castle was the former residence of the Earls of Ormond.

A number of parliaments were held in Kilkenny during the 14th century. The Statute of Kilkenny (1366) forbade Anglo-Norman men to marry Irish women and prevented Irishmen from living within the town walls.

Dunmore Caves, 11 km/7 mi north of Kilkenny, are a national monument. These limestone caves are extensive and have large stalagmites and stalactites.

Architecture Kilkenny Castle was built in the 13th century to replace an earlier motte; it is now open to the public. St Canice's Cathedral is built partly in Early English Gothic style with an older round tower (30 m/100 ft high). Near the cathedral is St Canice's Library, which contains important 16th- and 17th-century texts. The town also contains ruins of a Dominican and a Franciscan monastery.

Between 1642 and 1648 there was an independent Irish parliament here, the Confederation of Kilkenny. A tablet in Parliament Street marks the site of the Confederation Parliament House, demolished in the mid-19th century. The Tholsel in the High Street, now the town hall, was built in 1761 as a toll house and exchange. It has an unusual clock tower.

Kilkenny College is the former Protestant College of St John (1666), where the writer Jonathan Swift and the philosopher George Berkeley received part of their education.