Kilkenny, parl. and mun. bor., and capital of co. Kilkenny, on river Nore, 81 miles SW. of Dublin by rail - parl. bor., 17,012 ac., pop. 15,278; mun. bor., 921 ac., pop. 12,299; 4 Banks, 2 news-papers. Market-days, Wednesday and Saturday. The Great Southern and Western, and the Waterford and Central Inland railways have a joint sta. at Kilkenny. It is divided into two parts by the rivulet Bregen, the Irish town and the English town; the former contains the Protestant cathedral of St Canice, built in the 13th century, and restored at a cost of over £15,000 during 1865-70. At the grammar school Swift, Congreve, and Berkeley were educated. The woollen mfr. is almost extinct, but there is a considerable trade in corn. On the Nore, 2 miles S., are extensive mills for the cutting and polishing of black marble. Kilkenny Castle, now the residence of the Marquis of Ormond, is situated on the summit of a precipice over-hanging the river Nore. It was formerly a fortress of great strength, and was besieged and taken by Cromwell in 1650. The bor. returns 1 member to Parliament.

(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))