Kells () is a village in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is about 15 km south of

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

. It is situated on high ground to the south of the Kings River. The village is in a

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of the same name.

Kells Priory Kells Priory () is one of the largest medieval monuments in Ireland. The Augustine priory is situated alongside King's River beside the village of Kells, County Kilkenny, Kells in the townland of Rathduff (Madden), about 15 km south of th ...

, though in ruins, is one of the best preserved in Ireland. The Cotterell family were the leading landowners in Kells in medieval times. One member of the family, Sir John, was executed for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

in 1346. On the other hand, his cousin Walter Cotterell (who died after 1388) was a valued servant of the

English Crown This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the Anglo-Sax ...

who frequently sat as an extra

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

Kilree Kilree is a former Christian monastery and National Monument located in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Location Kilree is located 2.4 km (1 mile) south of Kells, County Kilkenny. History The monastery at Kilree was supposedly founded in the ...

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle ...

and 9th century

high cross A high cross or standing cross (, , ) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. Th ...

, said to be the burial place of

Niall Caille Niall mac Áeda (died 846), called Niall Caille (Niall of the Callan) to distinguish him from his grandson Niall mac Áeda (died 917), was High King of Ireland. Background Niall belonged to Cenél nEógain, a northern branch of the Uí Néill, ...

, is located 2 km south of Kells. The champion racehorse

Red Rum Red Rum (3 May 1965 – 18 October 1995) was an Irish champion Thoroughbred steeplechaser. He achieved an unmatched historic treble when he won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977, and also came second in the two intervening years, 1 ...

was bred at Rossenarra stud in Kells. Olympian Michelle Smith de Bruin lives in Kells.

Notable people

* Walter Cotterell (died c.1388/9), barrister and Crown official

References

{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Kilkenny Census towns in County Kilkenny Townlands of County Kilkenny Civil parishes of County Kilkenny

Notable people

See also

References