County Dossier
Kilkenny
A county of stone towns, river valleys and old lordships.
Kilkenny lies in the south-east of Ireland, shaped by the valleys of the Nore, the Barrow and the Suir and by some of the richest farmland in the country.
At a glance
Kilkenny at a glance
A county of stone towns, river valleys and old lordships.
- Butler country and medieval walls
- County by the 13th century
- Nore valley and fertile south-east
- Area: 800 sq miles / 2,072 sq km
- Population: 95,419
- County Top: Brandon Hill (1,690ft / 515m)
County Geography
Kilkenny meets Laois to the north, Carlow to the east and north-east, Wexford to the south-east, Waterford to the south, and Tipperary to the west and south-west. The county is shaped by the Nore, the Barrow-side and Suir-side valleys, and the broad fertile plain that lies between them.
Kilkenny is easy to recognise through the Nore valley, the fertile plain, and the southern river edges.
Map Reference
View Kilkenny on the map
Kilkenny is the county. The map shows its boundary, places, and neighbouring counties.
The county.
The county boundary.
Nearby counties and places.
Places and routes
Kilkenny, Castlecomer, Thomastown, Callan, and Inistioge show the county from its central city and northern side to its southern valleys and eastern river district.
Connections
The county’s routes have long crossed through Kilkenny city, followed the Nore corridor, and branched toward Castlecomer, Callan, Thomastown, and Inistioge. Movement follows the same river-valley and plain structure.
Names
- Kilkenny
- County Kilkenny
- County of Kilkenny
Cill Chainnigh is the Irish form of Kilkenny. County Kilkenny is the formal historical style, the county name means the church of Canice, and the county’s older historical character is tied to the Butlers and the settled medieval landscape around its chief city.
Kilkenny was a county by the thirteenth century, and its river valleys, abbey sites, castles, and productive farmland still give the historic county a clear Nore-centred landscape.