Kinnitty () is a village in

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

, Ireland. It is located 13 km east of Birr on the R440 and R421 regional roads.

Name and location

The village derives its name from the myth that the head of an ancient princess is buried beneath the village, ''Ceann'' being Irish for head and ''Eitigh'' being the name of the princess. The village is situated at the foot of the

Slieve Bloom Mountains The Slieve Bloom Mountains ( ga, Sliabh Bladhma; la, Bladinae montes) is a mountain range in Ireland. They rise from the central plain of Ireland to a height of 527 metres. While not very high, they are extensive by local standards. The high ...

in the ancient kingdom of

Éile Éile (; sga, Éle, ), commonly anglicised as Ely, was a medieval petty kingdom in the southern part of the modern county of Offaly and parts of North Tipperary in Ireland. The historic barony of Eliogarty was once a significant portion of the kin ...

Parish

Kinnity is also the name of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish. The present chapel was built around 1815.

Amenities

Kinnitty is served by a primary school, creche, two churches, post office, community centre, children's playground, two pubs, café, some shops, a number of bed and breakfasts and a hotel (the modern day use of

Kinnitty Castle Kinnitty Castle or Castle Bernard is a 19th-century gothic revival castle and hotel in Kinnitty (''Cionn Eitigh''), County Offaly, Ireland. It is located north of the Slieve Bloom Mountains on the R421 regional road between the villages of Ki ...

). The trail head for the Slieve Bloom Mountain biking trails is located in the village of Kinnitty, as is one of the trailheads for the long distance Slieve Bloom Way walking route. Kinnitty Forest or Glenregan Forest is operated by

Coillte Coillte (; meaning "forests"/"woods") is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, a ...

and is located near the village.

Buildings

There is an unusual pyramid-shaped tomb in the grounds of the St Finian's Church. It was built by the Bernard family who resided in

, on the site of St. Finnian's monastery. The 9th century Kinnitty High Cross is located at the front of Kinnitty Castle (now a hotel).

Notable people

*Saint

Finan Cam Finan Cam (or Fionan, Finian), Abbot of Kinnity was an early Irish saint associated with County Kerry, Ireland, who lived in the 6th century AD, and possibly the 7th century. To distinguish him from other saints of the same name the appellation of ...

founded a monastery here around the end of the 6th century * Rex Ingram, the Hollywood director, and his brother, Colonel

Francis Clere Hitchcock Colonel Francis Clere Hitchcock MC (1896 - 1962) wrote ''Stand To—A Diary of the Trenches 1915-1918'' about the activities of the second Leinster Regiment of the British Army in World War I. Biography He was born in Dublin and spent most ...

MC, spent most of their early life here where their father was the parish rector. (The " Old Rectory" now a private home, can be seen from the Roscrea Road opposite the Church of Ireland.)

References