Kilkenny (Hotels, Kilkenny, Ireland), a county of Ireland, province of Leinster bounded E by Catherlough and Wexford; W by Tipperary, N by Queen’s county, and S by Waterford, containing 510,000 acres, divided into 127 parishes. The soil is generally of a good quality, with little bog land. In the north are excellent quarries for flags; coal is produced in great abundance; in the limestone district are valuable marble quarries; and manganese, iron ore, lead ore, and some indication of copper ore, are perceived in different parts. Its chief rivers are the Suire, Barrow, and Nore. It sends 2 members to parliament. Originally 
part of the old Gaelic kingdom of Ossory (the surrounding diocese still bears the name), it was settled by the Normans at a very early stage. They were rapidly assimilated into Irish life and, in the seventeenth century, the Confederation of Kilkenny (Accommodation, Kilkenny, Ireland) brought the Catholic descendants of the Normans together with the native Irish in unsuccessful opposition to Cromwell. The medieval character of Kilkenny (Self Catering, Kilkenny, Ireland) city has been beautifully preserved. The association of the city and county with the Butler Earls of Ormond dates from the thirteenth century.
