Kilkenny

The county of Kilkenny lies in the province of Leinster in the southeast of the Republic of Ireland. It measures some 796 square miles in area. The land enjoys a mild climate and quite a bit of woodlands. There are many traces of ancient habitation, featuring the remains of Iron Age forts, megalithic tombs, and Celtic ruins. The name of the county derives from the Irish Gaelic meaning Church or Cell of St. Canice, who founded his church in the 6th century in the town of Kilkenny. There are the ruins of about 100 Irish and Anglo-Norman castles throughout the county, and Jerpoint Abbey, founded in 1158, has the most significant and beautiful Cistercian ruins in Ireland. The county's agriculture comprises the production of apples, vegetable, diary products, beef, pork, poultry, sheep, and cereal grains. Ale brewing and whisky malting has been carried on since the 13th century. Industries include food processing, clothing and woolens, agricultural engineering, and the mining of anthracite coal. The 2003 estimated population was 81,300.