KILKENNY, an island capital and county of the same name in Ireland. It is probable that the county received its name from the town since the word means the church of Saint Kenny (Canice). The town, which is itself a civic county, is situated on the Nore some 70 miles south by southwest of Dublin, with which it is connected by rail. It dates back to the 12th century, and like many other towns in Ireland is said to owe its origin to the establishment of a Christian church on the site of the present town; but it is very probable that there was a village established there previous to the founding of the church. In fact the Anglican cathedral of Saint Canice dates back to 1052. From the time of the first English invasion Kilkenny was the centre of strong British power, and consequently its relics are largely non-Catholic. The Catholic Disabilities Act and the efforts made to destroy all Catholic education in the county also helped to place the interesting buildings of the town in the hands of the Anglicans. Kilkenny has at least two famous schools, and at one of these, the College of Kilkenny, many notable men have been educated, among them Berke ley, Congreve and Swift. The oldest Roman Catholic college of the town is known as Saint Kyran's, but it dates back only to the time of the comparatively recent liberality which per mitted the establishment of Catholic colleges and schools in Ireland. The town which has a
population of over 10,000 is of considerable commercial and industrial importance. It is a centre of extensive manufactures of woolen, linen cloths and blankets, and is a distributing centre for provisions of various kinds. A great part of the home trade in this latter industry finds its outlet through Waterford, with which Kilkenny is connected by rail and with which it has water communication. The Kilkenny people have the reputation of being quarrelsome, but this is very largely unde served, and is due principally to Swift's famous story of the Kilkenny cats which fought until there was nothing left of either of them but the tails, and also to the fact that Kilkenny had a long standing dispute over boundary lines with her neighbor Irishtown. This dis trict of Ireland was also noted, in earlier days, for the animosities maintained by local chief tains for one another. But the people of Kil kenny are to-day, notwithstanding this historical reputation, of a very friendly disposition. Con sult Donelan, J., The Confederation of Kil kenny> ,(Dublin 1906); Healy, 'History of Kilkenny> (Kilkenny 1893); Hogan, 'Kil kenny> (Kilkenny 1884).