97-536: County Kilkenny ( Irish : Contae Chill Chainnigh ) is a county in Ireland . It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region . It is named after the city of Kilkenny . Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the county. At the 2022 census the population of the county was 103,685. The county was based on the historic Gaelic kingdom of Ossory ( Osraighe ), which
194-462: A Monterey cypress , beech , silver fir and two coastal redwood at Woodstock Gardens in Inistioge . In Thomastown there is a common lime at Coolmore House , an English/common oak at Stoneen Kilfawe , an English/common oak at Mount Juilliet Estate and a Wellingtonia, giant sequoia , Monterey cypress , sweet/Spanish chestnut and a holm oak/evergreen oak at Kilfane Glebe . There
291-547: A unique dialect of Irish developed before falling out of use in the early 20th century. With a writing system , Ogham , dating back to at least the 4th century AD, which was gradually replaced by Latin script since the 5th century AD, Irish has one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe . On the island, the language has three major dialects: Connacht , Munster and Ulster Irish . All three have distinctions in their speech and orthography . There
388-717: A bargaining chip during government formation in Northern Ireland, prompting protests from organisations and groups such as An Dream Dearg . Irish became an official language of the EU on 1 January 2007, meaning that MEPs with Irish fluency can now speak the language in the European Parliament and at committees, although in the case of the latter they have to give prior notice to a simultaneous interpreter in order to ensure that what they say can be interpreted into other languages. While an official language of
485-575: A better future for Ireland and all her citizens." The Strategy was produced on 21 December 2010 and will stay in action until 2030; it aims to target language vitality and revitalization of the Irish language. The 30-page document published by the Government of Ireland details the objectives it plans to work towards in an attempt to preserve and promote both the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. It
582-478: A cultural and social force. Irish speakers often insisted on using the language in law courts (even when they knew English), and Irish was also common in commercial transactions. The language was heavily implicated in the "devotional revolution" which marked the standardisation of Catholic religious practice and was also widely used in a political context. Down to the time of the Great Famine and even afterwards,
679-553: A degree course in the NUI federal system to pass the subject of Irish in the Leaving Certificate or GCE / GCSE examinations. Exemptions are made from this requirement for students who were born or completed primary education outside of Ireland, and students diagnosed with dyslexia . NUI Galway is required to appoint people who are competent in the Irish language, as long as they are also competent in all other aspects of
776-460: A fully recognised EU language for the first time in the state's history. Before Irish became an official language it was afforded the status of treaty language and only the highest-level documents of the EU were made available in Irish. The Irish language was carried abroad in the modern period by a vast diaspora , chiefly to Great Britain and North America, but also to Australia , New Zealand and Argentina . The first large movements began in
873-705: A network of habitats, ecological 'corridors' essential for wildlife to flourish and move between habitats. Flora of County Kilkenny includes the endangered autumn crocus , also rare species such as the bog orchid , the Killarney fern and the tufted salt-marsh grass . There are also vulnerable species like lesser snapdragon , meadow barley , small-white orchid , opposite-leaved pondweed , betony , red hemp nettle , narrow-leaved helleborine , lanceolate spleenwort , annual knawel and basil thyme . Surveys of woodlands of County Kilkenny include A Woodland Survey of Kilkenny , undertaken in 1997 to identify woodlands in
970-483: A notice of intention is given and prohibit the cutting of hedges within the bird nesting period. The main threats come mainly from invasive species, heavy grazing and damaging activities such as non-native planting, native felling and dumping. There are instances of felling (both legal and illegal) of ash trees for the production of hurleys . There are around 180 significant trees in County Kilkenny included in
1067-401: A number of parishes or parts of parishes. Both civil parishes and baronies are now largely obsolete (except for purposes such as legal transactions involving land) and are no longer used for local government purposes. For religious administration, the county was divided into parishes. Every parish had at least one church. The barony boundaries and the parish boundaries were not connected. From
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#17328012101371164-613: A number of weirs and rapids. The wide and meandering Rivers Nore and Barrow are used for angling, boating and water sports. Special Areas of Conservation, under the European Union Habitats Directive , in County Kilkenny includes Hugginstown Fen south-west of Ballyhale , The Loughans near Urlingford , Cullahill Mountain on the Castlecomer Plateau near Johnstown , Spahill and Clomantagh Hill which form part of an escarpment which links
1261-585: A paper suggested that within a generation, non-Gaeltacht habitual users of Irish might typically be members of an urban, middle class, and highly educated minority. Parliamentary legislation is supposed to be available in both Irish and English but is frequently only available in English. This is notwithstanding that Article 25.4 of the Constitution of Ireland requires that an "official translation" of any law in one official language be provided immediately in
1358-575: A pass in Leaving Certificate Irish or English, and receive lessons in Irish during their two years of training. Official documents of the Irish government must be published in both Irish and English or Irish alone (in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003, enforced by An Coimisinéir Teanga , the Irish language ombudsman). The National University of Ireland requires all students wishing to embark on
1455-625: A religious context. An Irish translation of the Old Testament by Leinsterman Muircheartach Ó Cíonga , commissioned by Bishop Bedell , was published after 1685 along with a translation of the New Testament. Otherwise, Anglicisation was seen as synonymous with 'civilising' the native Irish. Currently, modern day Irish speakers in the church are pushing for language revival. It has been estimated that there were around 800,000 monoglot Irish speakers in 1800, which dropped to 320,000 by
1552-547: A result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within
1649-545: A wider meaning, including the Gaelic of Scotland and the Isle of Man , as well as of Ireland. When required by the context, these are distinguished as Gaeilge na hAlban , Gaeilge Mhanann and Gaeilge na hÉireann respectively. In English (including Hiberno-English ), the language is usually referred to as Irish , as well as Gaelic and Irish Gaelic . The term Irish Gaelic may be seen when English speakers discuss
1746-601: Is 313 metres (1,027 ft), and located North-West of the town of Castlecomer and near the border with Laois . The highest point of the Culla Hills is in Laois at 279 metres (915 ft), but its undulating slopes spread over a considerable area of Kilkenny in the north-westerly area. In the west of the county the Slieveardagh Hills and Booley Hills extend westwards to County Tipperary. The highest point in
1843-603: Is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland . It was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as
1940-452: Is also An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , a standardised written form devised by a parliamentary commission in the 1950s. The traditional Irish alphabet , a variant of the Latin alphabet with 18 letters , has been succeeded by the standard Latin alphabet (albeit with 7–8 letters used primarily in loanwords ). Irish has constitutional status as the national and first official language of
2037-843: Is also a Turkey oak at Threecastles House in Kilkenny , an ash and two English/common oak at Ballytobin House in Callan , a common lime , Wellingtonia giant sequoia and two Monterey cypress at Shankill Castle in Paulstown , an English/common oak at Ballykeefe House in Kilmanagh, an English/common oak at Fanningstown House in Owning and a beech at Castlecomer Golf Club in Castlecomer . The climate of County Kilkenny, like
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#17328012101372134-536: Is currently in operation within 1 km of the old site, and as of March 2010, was providing live weather data to the general public and climate data to Met Éireann . The maximum temperature recorded at the Met Station was 30.8 °C (87.4 °F) on 2 August 1995. Extremes recorded at the station include the highest air temperature of 31.5 °C (88.7 °F) on 29 June 1976, the lowest air temperature of −14.1 °C (6.6 °F) on 2 January 1979 and
2231-575: Is divided into 4 local electoral areas – Callan–Thomastown (6), Castlecomer (6), Kilkenny city (7) and Piltown (5) – which return a total of 24 members to Kilkenny County Council. The 2019 Kilkenny local elections had a voter turnout of 53%, a decrease of 4.1% on the 2014 election . The highest turnout was in Callan–Thomastown (56.4%) and the lowest was in Kilkenny city (50.4%). In the 2019 local elections, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael emerged as
2328-511: Is divided into four separate phases with the intention of improving 9 main areas of action including: The general goal for this strategy was to increase the number of daily speakers from 83,000 to 250,000 by the end of its run. By 2022, the number of such speakers had fallen to 71,968. Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as "Celtic" in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland had devolved government. During those years
2425-457: Is elevated. Along the west of the Barrow and Nore is mostly covered by hills of nearly equal elevation except along the left bank of the river Suir. Here there is a rich area of land between the river and the hills. The county is subdivided into twelve baronies which are in turn divided into civil parishes and townlands . There are about 800 townlands in Kilkenny. Each barony was made up of
2522-713: Is grassland, dairy farming and tillage farming especially around Kilkenny City and in the fertile central plain of the Nore Valley. Conifer forests are found on the upland areas. Habitats of international and national importance, are designated under European Union and national legislation. The four categories of designated site in effect in County Kilkenny are Special Areas of Conservation , Natural Heritage Areas, Statutory Nature Reserves and Wildfowl Sanctuaries. The 2008–2014 county development plan recorded 36 designated natural heritage sites of international and national importance in County Kilkenny, covering approximately 4.5% of
2619-523: Is located around Kiltorcan Hill near Ballyhale in the Callan and Knocktopher areas. It forms the uppermost part of the Old Red Sandstone and is the distinctive Upper Devonian – Lower Carboniferous unit in southern Ireland. It contains non-red lithologies , green mudstones , siltstones, fine sandstones and yellow sandstones. There is a fossil assemblage containing Cyclostigma and Archaeopteris and Archaeopteris hibernica . Most of
2716-587: Is only in Gaeltacht areas that Irish continues to be spoken as a community vernacular to some extent. According to data compiled by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht , Sport and Media , only 1/4 of households in Gaeltacht areas are fluent in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology , described
2813-468: Is part of the county's biodiversity and is an environmental, economic, amenity and resource. Fauna of County Kilkenny includes hedgehogs , otters , badgers , red foxes , and bats such as Leisler's bat , Daubenton's bat , the brown long-eared bat and the common pipistrelle . There is also sika deer , fallow deer , stoat , red squirrel and pygmy shrew . The bird nesting period is from 1 March until 1 September. Woodlands, trees and hedgerows form
2910-626: Is still known as Ossory . The medieval Diocese of Ossory and was established in 549 AD, and its territory corresponded to the medieval Kingdom of Ossory . In historic times, Kilkenny replaced Aghaboe as the chief church in Osraige. The kingdom was bounded by two of the Three Sisters the rivers Barrow and Suir and the northern limit was, generally, the Slieve Bloom Mountains . The Osraige —their name means people of
3007-412: Is still spoken daily to some extent as a first language . These regions are known individually and collectively as the Gaeltacht (plural Gaeltachtaí ). While the fluent Irish speakers of these areas, whose numbers have been estimated at 20–30,000, are a minority of the total number of fluent Irish speakers, they represent a higher concentration of Irish speakers than other parts of the country and it
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3104-666: The Fíor-Ghaeltacht (true Gaeltacht ), a term originally officially applied to areas where over 50% of the population spoke Irish. There are Gaeltacht regions in the following counties: Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland. Irish language summer colleges in the Gaeltacht are attended by tens of thousands of teenagers annually. Students live with Gaeltacht families, attend classes, participate in sports, go to céilithe and are obliged to speak Irish. All aspects of Irish culture and tradition are encouraged. The Act
3201-576: The Forest Inventory Planning System (1998) which estimated Kilkenny had 2251 ha of mixed woodland and broadleaf woodland not dominated by beech, representing 1.09% of the county and the National Forest Inventory 2004 and 2006 which estimated that 4430 ha of the county is native forested land, Scots pine was regarded as non-native, representing 2.15% of the county. The best quality sites in
3298-631: The Republic of Ireland , and is also an official language of Northern Ireland and among the official languages of the European Union . The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island. Irish has no regulatory body but An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , the standard written form, is guided by a parliamentary service and new vocabulary by a voluntary committee with university input. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ("The Official [Written] Standard ")
3395-570: The River Barrow and River Suir are natural boundaries to the east and south of the county. County Kilkenny is bordered by Laois , Carlow , Wexford , Waterford and Tipperary . The main rivers in County Kilkenny, called the Three Sisters , are the Nore , Barrow and Suir . The River Nore bisects the county and flows through Ballyragget , Kilkenny City and the villages of Bennettsbridge , Thomastown and Inistioge . The River Suir forms
3492-633: The River Barrow . On the River Barrow, from the villages of Goresbridge and Graiguenamanagh , there is a navigable river with traditional barges to the River Shannon or to Dublin Bay . Kilkenny's river network helps drain the land giving the county a highly fertile lower central plain. Kings River and the Dinan are used for canoeing and kayaking as they contain stretches of peaceful waterways and
3589-560: The Slieveardagh Hills with the Castlecomer Plateau, Galmoy Fen north of Johnstown, Lower River Suir south of Thurles , the freshwater stretches of the Barrow / River Nore and Thomastown Quarry , near Thomastown . In 2005 Coan Bogs was defined as a Natural Heritage Area under section 18 of the Wildlife Act 2000. The blanket bog consists of two small areas of upland blanket bog located near Castlecomer in
3686-603: The Tree Register of Ireland , compiled by the Tree Council of Ireland , based on characteristics such as age, height, diameter, historical or folklore connections. The tallest tree in Kilkenny is a silver fir of 5.39 x 43m located at Woodstock Gardens in Inistioge and the tree with the largest girth is a common lime of 9.01 x 27m located at Coolmore House in Thomastown . At present, under
3783-456: The climate of Ireland , is a changeable oceanic climate with few extremes. It is defined as a temperate oceanic climate , or Cfb on the Köppen climate classification system. Kilkenny lies in plant Hardiness zone 9. Weatherwise, the county is generally representative of wide river valleys in the region with low temperatures on cloudless nights, and is significant in that it records some of
3880-634: The 17th century, largely as a result of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , which saw many Irish sent to the West Indies . Irish emigration to the United States was well established by the 18th century, and was reinforced in the 1840s by thousands fleeing from the Famine . This flight also affected Britain. Up until that time most emigrants spoke Irish as their first language, though English
3977-573: The 17th to mid-19th centuries, civil parishes were based on early Christian and medieval monastic and church settlements. The civil parishes are divided into townlands (See List of townlands in County Kilkenny ). As the population grew, new parishes were created and the civil parish covered the same area as the established Church of Ireland . The Roman Catholic Church adapted to a new structure based on towns and villages. There 2,508 civil parishes in Ireland, which often break both barony and county boundaries. For statistical purposes at European level,
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4074-789: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement , the language gradually received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and then, in 2003, by the British government's ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022. The Irish language has often been used as
4171-403: The 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh , including ecclesiastical terms : examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus , and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica ). By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish , which
4268-571: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme
4365-667: The Carlow–Kilkenny Dáil constituency was created and continued until the creation of a separate Kilkenny constituency in 1937, which existed until 1948. The county is part of the South constituency for elections to the European Parliament . The constituency has 5 seats. County Kilkenny takes its name from the city of Kilkenny . Kilkenny is the anglicised version of the Irish Cill Chainnigh , meaning Church (Cell) of Cainneach or Canice . This probably relates to
4462-471: The European Union , only co-decision regulations were available until 2022, due to a five-year derogation, requested by the Irish Government when negotiating the language's new official status. The Irish government had committed itself to train the necessary number of translators and interpreters and to bear the related costs. This derogation ultimately came to an end on 1 January 2022, making Irish
4559-549: The Irish language policy followed by Irish governments as a "complete and absolute disaster". The Irish Times , referring to his analysis published in the Irish language newspaper Foinse , quoted him as follows: "It is an absolute indictment of successive Irish Governments that at the foundation of the Irish State there were 250,000 fluent Irish speakers living in Irish-speaking or semi Irish-speaking areas, but
4656-759: The North-East, the North-West and in the South of the county. In the north of the county the uplands of the Castlecomer district, the Castlecomer Plateau includes the Culla Hills to the west of the Nore Valley with Castlecomer Hills and Slieve Marcy to the east. These hills are divided by the valley of the Dinan river which joins the Nore from the east. The highest point of the Castlecomer Hills
4753-734: The Planning and Development Act 2000, there are 4 Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) in County Kilkenny for the protection of trees, groups of trees and woods of amenity value. These include Oldcourt in Inistioge , Keatingstown, Barna in Freshford , Sawney's Wood in Castlecomer and the Castle Gardens in Kilkenny City . Important trees in county Kilkenny include two cedars of Lebanon at Kildalton Agricultural College in Piltown ,
4850-620: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,
4947-584: The Slieveardagh Hills is Knocknamuck at 340 metres (1,120 ft). The Booley Mountains partly divide from Tory Hill to the valley of the Kilmacow River which flows into the Suir . In the south of the county is Brandon Hill , at 515 metres (1,690 ft) and is near the Barrow and Graiguenamanagh . The area enclosed between the rivers Nore and Barrow towards their point of joining
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#17328012101375044-405: The Southern Regional Assembly. Until 2014, the second tier of local government consisted of Kilkenny Borough Council which was a town council . The city of Kilkenny was allowed to use the title of "Borough Council" instead of "Town Council", but Kilkenny Borough Council had no additional responsibilities. Since the enactment of the aforementioned Act on 1 June 2014, which abolished the borough,
5141-577: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He
5238-402: The border between County Waterford and County Kilkenny. The Barrow forms part of the county's eastern boundary. Tributaries of the Barrow in the county include the Gowran River and the Ballyvalden River (with its tributary the Monefelim River ). Although County Kilkenny lies inland it has access to the sea via Belview Port, Port of Waterford , on the Suir Estuary and via New Ross on
5335-684: The border with County Waterford . Brandon Hill is the highest point with an elevation of 515 m (1,690 ft). Most of the county has a hilly surface of moderate elevation with uplands in the north-east, the north-west and the South of the county; the middle is lower by comparison. The county is located at 52°35′N 7°15′W / 52.583°N 7.250°W / 52.583; -7.250 and has an area of 512,222 acres (2,072.89 km; 800.347 sq mi). [1] The county extends from 52 degrees 14 minutes to 52 degrees 52 minutes north latitude, and from 6 degrees 56 minutes to 7 degrees 37 minutes west longitude. The north–south length of
5432-438: The church and round tower , now St. Canice's Cathedral, which was built in honour of St. Canice . The Kingdom of Osraige was one of the ancient Kingdoms of Ireland . The Kings of Osraige , the Mac Giolla Phádraig family, reigned over Osraige and Cill Chainnigh was their stronghold. The Kingdom of Ossory existed from at least the 2nd century until the 13th century AD. The current ecclesiastical dioceses of that area
5529-413: The county and A survey of broadleaved woodlands in three special Areas of Conservation, Barrow-Nore, River Unshin and Lough Forbes (2000) which covers some of County Kilkenny, and National Survey of Native Woodlands (NSNW) 2003–2008 which was one of the largest ecological surveys to be completed in Ireland and did its fieldwork in the county in 2003. Estimates of the woodlands in County Kilkenny include
5626-453: The county council is solely responsible for local services. The county is part of the Dáil constituency of Carlow–Kilkenny (5 TDs ). The constituency has been in use since the 1948 general election . Kilkenny has been represented through several parliamentary constituencies in the past. From 1918 to 1921, County Kilkenny was divided between the United Kingdom parliamentary constituencies of North Kilkenny and South Kilkenny . In 1921
5723-473: The county in terms of their conservation value include Kylecorragh Wood (SAC) along the River Nore , Grenan Wood (SAC), Knockadrina, Garryricken North (NHA/SNR), Ballytobin/Ballaghtobin, Brownstown Wood (NHA/SAC), Kyleadohir Wood (NHA/SNR), Brown's Wood, Thomastown , Ballykeeffe Wood , Cullentragh, Rossenarra, Newrath and Garryricken South. The most threatened forested area in the county is Greatwood. The main governmental organisations responsible for ensuring
5820-399: The county is 45 miles (72 km); and its greatest breadth from east to west, is about 23 miles (37 km) and its narrowest part is about 12 miles (19 km) from where it widens irregularly towards the north. Kilkenny extends southward from Laois to the valley of the Suir and eastward from the Munster – Leinster border to the River Barrow . The River Nore bisects the county, and
5917-423: The county is part of the South-East Region , a NUTS III entity; this is in turn part of the level II NUTS entity, Southern Region . Local government in County Kilkenny is governed by the Local Government Acts. The Local Government Reform Act 2014 established a unitary structure of local government . This single-tier structure consists of Kilkenny County Council . For the purposes of local government, Kilkenny
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#17328012101376014-630: The county is principally limestone of the upper and lower group, corresponding with the rest of Ireland. A large area in the north and east contains beds of coal, surrounded by limestone strata, alternated with shale, argillaceous ironstone, and sandstone. This occurs eastward of the Nore around Castlecomer , along the border with Laois. It is generally accompanied by culm , which was used extensively for burning lime. The natural environment and resources of County Kilkenny includes its rivers, wildlife (mammals, birds, plants), woodlands, hedgerows, and diverse landscapes and geological features. The main land use
6111-416: The county. County Kilkenny is comparably low compared to other mountain ranges in Ireland with the highest peak being Brandon Hill ( Irish : Cnoc Bhréanail ), at 515 metres (1,690 ft) above sea level . The majority of rest of the county is hilly except for the centre of the county, just south of the city of Kilkenny , which is comparably lower than the rest of the county. There are highlands in
6208-440: The deer— inhabited much of modern County Kilkenny and parts of neighbouring County Laois . To the west and south, Osraige was bounded by the River Suir , to the east the watershed of the River Barrow marked the boundary with Leinster, and to the north it extended into and beyond the Slieve Bloom Mountains . The River Nore ran through the Kingdom. Osraige formed the easternmost part of the kingdom and province of Munster until
6305-484: The development of forestry within Kilkenny are the National Parks and Wildlife Service (under the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage ) and the Forest Service (under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine ). There are legislative measures which recognise the importance of trees woodlands and hedgerows and provide for their protection including the Forestry Act 1946 and Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000. These prohibit trees from being cut down unless
6402-405: The east, and Laois to the north. Kilkenny city is the county's seat of local government and largest settlement, and is situated on the River Nore in the centre of the county. Kilkenny city is approximately 50 km (31 mi) from Waterford , 124 km (77 mi) from Dublin and 150 km (93 mi) from Cork . The River Nore flows through the county, and the River Suir forms
6499-664: The education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to the 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of
6596-414: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as
6693-430: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of
6790-400: The highest summer and lowest winter temperatures in Ireland. The highest air temperature ever recorded in Ireland was 33.3 °C (91.9 °F), at Kilkenny Castle on 26 June 1887. The Met Éireann Kilkenny Weather Observing Station , 2 km north-west of Kilkenny City centre, on the Duningstown Road, opened in May 1957, and observations ceased in April 2008. A climatological station
6887-498: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has
6984-410: The language was in use by all classes, Irish being an urban as well as a rural language. This linguistic dynamism was reflected in the efforts of certain public intellectuals to counter the decline of the language. At the end of the 19th century, they launched the Gaelic revival in an attempt to encourage the learning and use of Irish, although few adult learners mastered the language. The vehicle of
7081-476: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,
7178-402: The lowest ground temperature of −18.1 °C (−0.6 °F) on 12 January 1982. The maximum daily sunshine was 16.3 hours on 18 June 1978. The warmest and sunniest month on record in Kilkenny was August 1995 with a total of 274.9 hours sunshine and very high temperatures throughout. The maximum daily sunshine was 16.3 hours on 18 June 1978. The overall trend in temperatures has been on
7275-582: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed
7372-619: The middle of the 9th century, after which it was attached to Leinster. Osraige was largely a buffer state between Leinster and Munster . Its most significant neighbours were the Loígsi, Uí Cheinnselaig and Uí Baircche of Leinster to the north and east and the Déisi Muman, Eóganacht Chaisil and Éile of Munster to the south and west. Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
7469-804: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to
7566-469: The new immigrants to get jobs in areas other than farming. An estimated one quarter to one third of US immigrants during the Great Famine were Irish speakers. Irish was not marginal to Ireland's modernisation in the 19th century, as is often assumed. In the first half of the century there were still around three million people for whom Irish was the primary language, and their numbers alone made them
7663-655: The number now is between 20,000 and 30,000." In the 1920s, when the Irish Free State was founded, Irish was still a vernacular in some western coastal areas. In the 1930s, areas where more than 25% of the population spoke Irish were classified as Gaeltacht . Today, the strongest Gaeltacht areas, numerically and socially, are those of South Connemara , the west of the Dingle Peninsula , and northwest Donegal, where many residents still use Irish as their primary language. These areas are often referred to as
7760-503: The other official language, if not already passed in both official languages. In November 2016, RTÉ reported that over 2.3 million people worldwide were learning Irish through the Duolingo app. Irish president Michael D. Higgins officially honoured several volunteer translators for developing the Irish edition, and said the push for Irish language rights remains an "unfinished project". There are rural areas of Ireland where Irish
7857-557: The political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament , the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language. The context of this hostility was the use of the language by nationalists. In broadcasting, there was an exclusion on the reporting of minority cultural issues, and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the previous devolved government. After
7954-492: The relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). Gaelic is a collective term for the Goidelic languages, and when the context is clear it may be used without qualification to refer to each language individually. When the context is specific but unclear, the term may be qualified, as Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Manx Gaelic. Historically the name "Erse" ( / ɜːr s / URS )
8051-432: The requirement for entrance to the public service was changed to proficiency in just one official language. Nevertheless, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools in the Republic of Ireland that receive public money (see Education in the Republic of Ireland ). Teachers in primary schools must also pass a compulsory examination called Scrúdú Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge . As of 2005, Garda Síochána recruits need
8148-647: The revival was the Gaelic League ( Conradh na Gaeilge ), and particular emphasis was placed on the folk tradition, which in Irish is particularly rich. Efforts were also made to develop journalism and a modern literature. Although it has been noted that the Catholic Church played a role in the decline of the Irish language before the Gaelic Revival, the Protestant Church of Ireland also made only minor efforts to encourage use of Irish in
8245-431: The rise with a marked increase from 1988 onwards. Annual temperatures are running over 0.5 degrees above 20th-century levels. The maximum daily rainfall recorded at Kilkenny station was 66.4 millimetres (2.61 in) on 17 July 1983. The late 1950s and early 1960s were wet but rainfall had been steady throughout the century. 2002 was a very wet year and since 2005 annual rainfall has been increased steadily, with 2009 being
8342-531: The townlands of Coan East and Smithstown. Bedrock geology for both areas is shale overlain locally by glacial till and blanket bog vegetation is well developed. Fiddown Island is a 62.6 ha state-owned Nature Reserve established in 1988. Near Fiddown along the River Suir it consists of a long narrow island of marsh/woodland covered in willow scrub and bordered by reed swamps – it is the only known site of its type in Ireland. The wildlife of County Kilkenny
8439-611: The two dominant parties, holding 20 of the 24 seats between them. The Labour Party hold 2 seats, the Green Party hold 1 seat, and there is 1 independent. Sinn Féin , which had held 3 seats, failed to gain a seat in the 2019 election. Council elections are held every 5 years, with the next election due to be held in May 2024. As the county is part of the South-East Region , some county councillors are also representatives on
8536-726: The vacancy to which they are appointed. This requirement is laid down by the University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3). In 2016, the university faced controversy when it announced the planned appointment of a president who did not speak Irish. Misneach staged protests against this decision. The following year the university announced that Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh , a fluent Irish speaker, would be its 13th president. He assumed office in January 2018; in June 2024, he announced he would be stepping down as president at
8633-511: The wettest year since records commenced in 1958. At the centre of the county, Kilkenny is in a sheltered location, over 60 km inland and is surrounded by hills over 200m, which ensures that it is not a windy location. The highest wind gust of 77 knots, from a south-west direction, was recorded on 12 January 1974. The geology of Kilkenny includes the Kiltorcan Formation which is early Carboniferous in age. The formation
8730-594: The work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating , is said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on. From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country. The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors: The change was characterised by diglossia (two languages being used by the same community in different social and economic situations) and transitional bilingualism (monoglot Irish-speaking grandparents with bilingual children and monoglot English-speaking grandchildren). By
8827-531: Was also sometimes used in Scots and then in English to refer to Irish; as well as Scottish Gaelic. Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD, a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish . These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. Primitive Irish underwent a change into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from
8924-472: Was coterminous with the Diocese of Ossory . Kilkenny is the 16th-largest of Ireland's 32 counties by area and the 21st-largest in terms of population. It is the third-largest of Leinster's 12 counties in size, the seventh-largest in terms of population, and has a population density of 50 people per km2. Kilkenny borders five counties – Tipperary to the west, Waterford to the south, Carlow and Wexford to
9021-668: Was enacted 1 July 2019 and is an 18-page document that adheres to the guidelines of the Official Languages Act 2003 . The purpose of the Scheme is to provide services through the mediums of Irish and/or English. According to the Department of the Taoiseach, it is meant to "develop a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland's interests abroad, to implement the Government's Programme and to build
9118-635: Was establishing itself as the primary language. Irish speakers had first arrived in Australia in the late 18th century as convicts and soldiers, and many Irish-speaking settlers followed, particularly in the 1860s. New Zealand also received some of this influx. Argentina was the only non-English-speaking country to receive large numbers of Irish emigrants, and there were few Irish speakers among them. Monefelim River The Monefelim River ( Irish : Abhainn Mhóin Fheidhlim , meaning 'bogland river')
9215-474: Was passed 14 July 2003 with the main purpose of improving the number and quality of public services delivered in Irish by the government and other public bodies. Compliance with the Act is monitored by the An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commissioner) which was established in 2004 and any complaints or concerns pertaining to the Act are brought to them. There are 35 sections included in
9312-693: Was spoken throughout Ireland, Isle of Man and parts of Scotland . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish , dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in
9409-495: Was unable to accomplish some everyday tasks, as portrayed in his documentary No Béarla . There is, however, a growing body of Irish speakers in urban areas, particularly in Dublin. Many have been educated in schools in which Irish is the language of instruction. Such schools are known as Gaelscoileanna at primary level. These Irish-medium schools report some better outcomes for students than English-medium schools. In 2009,
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