St. Canice's Cathedral and environs

The name Kilkenny is an Anglicization of the Gaelic Cill Cheannaigh, which literally translates as the Church of Canice. St. Canice established a monastery in the area during the sixth century, and the splendid thirteenth century St. Canice's Cathedral is the second largest in Ireland. It is situated on Dean Street, at the northern end of the town, and was infamously used by Oliver Cromwell to house his horses in 1650. Cromwell's army brought to a close what was arguably the most distinguished period in the county's history, when the Confederation of Kilkenny (1642-1648) came into effect. This was effectively an independent Irish parliament formed through a brittle union of Anglo-Irish Catholics and the Old Irish in opposition to English rule. The arrival in 1645 of Papal Nuncio Archbishop Rinuccini with troops and financial support must have seemed auspicious to the confederates, but their hopes were to be shattered. The Confederation fell apart when a treaty between the Anglo-Irish and the English Viceroy was compounded by the untimely death of the legendary Old Irish leader Owen Roe O'Neill. The Irish army surrendered (albeit with honor), after several days of a Cromwellian siege, and the area's political influence dissipated.

Attractions

St. Canice's Cathedral


Restaurants

Shimla

Contact   ·   Privacy   ·   Terms