Cill Chainnigh · Leinster
Kilkenny is Cill Chainnigh, the church of St Canice, whose church and round tower became St Canice's Cathedral. For more than a thousand years this was the heart of Osraige, or Ossory — "the people of the deer" — a kingdom that lay between the Barrow and the Suir, belonged to Munster until the mid-9th century and to Leinster after, and served as a buffer between the two; its kings, the Mac Giolla Phádraig, held Kilkenny as their stronghold. The Diocese of Ossory, founded in 549, still keeps the kingdom's name and outline.
| Province | Leinster |
|---|---|
| County town | Kilkenny |
| Population | 103,685 (2022) |
| Area (km²) | 2,073 |
| Population change in the Famine, 1841–51 | -22% |
| Daily Irish speakers | 919 (2022) |
| Highest point (m) | 515 — Brandon Hill |
| All-Ireland hurling titles | 36 |
| Townlands | 1,574 |
| Baronies | 12 |
| Civil parishes | 140 |
| Recorded monuments | 5,555 |
| Ringforts | 409 |
| Holy wells | 157 |
| Historic buildings recorded | 1,917 |
| Castles on the site | 15 |
| Battles and sieges | 2 |
| Workhouses | 5 |
| Railway stations (with an article) | 2 |
| Towns on the site | 4 |
| Surnames on the site | 29 |
Every figure is from a page on myireland.ie that names its source — see https://myireland.ie/counties/kilkenny/. Printed from myireland.ie, the atlas of Irish history.