Lewis Topographical Dictionary - OSi Online Shop

KEN
Sir T. Taylor, first baronet of the Headfort family, and
Anne, his wife. Near the church are the remains of an
ancient round tower, about 90 feet high, unroofed, and
having the entrance on the north; and in the church-
yard is an ancient cross, richly decorated. In the R.
C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or dis-
trict, comprising also Girley and Burry, and containing
two chapels, situated at Kells and Girley. The former
is a spacious and handsome stone building, in the form
of a T, with two towers, erected after a design by Mr.
Johnston, in 1798, on ground given by the late Marquess
of Headfort, who contributed liberally towards the
building, and presented a painting of the Assumption,
by Raphael, now over the altar. About 110 children
are taught in the public schools of the parish, of which
the parochial school for boys is supported by the Arch-
deacon of Meath, and that for girls by the Marquess of
Headfort. A new national school upon a large scale is
about to be built under the patronage of the Mar-
quess; and there are eight private schools, in which
are about 400 children, and a Sunday school. A sav-
ings’ bank has been established, the deposits in which
exceed £20,000. A bequest of £90 late currency was
made by a member of the Garnett family, and £1000
by the late Mr. Dempsey, the former secured on land,
and the latter invested in the funds; the produce is
annually divided among the poor. Of the ancient
abbey, scarcely any traces are now visible; and of the
priory founded by Walter de Lacy, nothing but the
cemetery remains. The castle occupied the area which
was formerly the market-place; and in a contiguous
street is a beautiful stone cross, elaborately enriched
with sculptured figures and devices, and said to have
been raised from the prostrate situation in which it was
found by Dean Swift. There is a small stone-roofed
cell, or chapel, called St. Columb Kill’s house, of very
great antiquity, near which is a very fine well named
after that saint; and at Berford, a few miles distant,
numerous fossil remains of the moose-deer were found
within an artificial enclosure in a bog, and wholly be-
neath the surface. This place gives the inferior title of
Baron Kenlis to the Marquess of Headfort.
KENAGH, or KENAUGHT, a village, in that part
of the parish of KILCOMMICK which is in the barony of
RATHCLINE, county of LONGFORD, and province of
LEINSTER, 6 miles (S. by E.) from Longford, on the road
from that place to Athlone; containing 81 houses and
396 inhabitants. It is a constabulary police station,
and has a fair on Oct. 19th. Petty sessions are held
every Tuesday, and a manorial court occasionally by
a seneschal appointed by the Countess Dowager of
Rosse. The church, a handsome building, was erected
here in 1833, by Lady Rosse, at an expense of £2000.
Here are also a Primitive Methodist meeting-house,
parochial schools (principally supported by Lady Rosse),
and a dispensary.—See KILCOMMICK.
KENE, or CAINE, also called INISKIN, a parish,
in the barony of UPPER DUNDALK, county of LOUTH,
and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (N. N. W.) from Dun-
dalk, on the road from that place to Crossmeglan; con-
taining 373 inhabitants. It comprises 749½ acres, and
in it is Falmore Hall, the residence of Mrs. Eastwood.
At Killen are some large limestone quarries and kilns.
It is a rectory, in the diocese of Armagh, and is partly
appropriate to the see and partly one of the four parishes
37
KEN
which constitute the union of Baronstown: the tithes
amount to £72. 15. 7. In the R. C. divisions it forms
part of the union or district of Dundalk, and has a
chapel at Killen. There is a private school, in which
about 70 children are educated. At Killen hill and in
its vicinity formerly existed some druidical remains;
and about a quarter of a mile from them is a mount with
two successive slopes and terraces, surmounted by the
ruins of a building shaped like the hull of an ancient ship.
KENMARE, a post-town and parish, in the barony
of GLANEROUGH, county of KERRY, and province of
MUNSTER, 30½ miles (S.) from Tralee, and 160 miles
(S.W.) from Dublin, on the new road from Killarney to
Glengariff; containing 4957 inhabitants, of which num-
ber, 1072 are in the town. After the Restoration, Sir Wm.
Petty, who obtained an extensive grant of land in this
district, planted a colony of English here in 1670, at an
expense of £10,000; established iron-works and a fish-
ery on an extensive scale; and contributed much to the
improvement of this wild part of the country. In 1685,
the natives began to annoy these settlers, who at first
cast up an intrenchment at Killowen, which they ulti-
mately surrendered, and after being deprived of the whole
of their property were suffered to embark for England
with a very small quantity of provisions. The colony,
however, was re-established soon after King William’s
conquests, and the fishery resumed. The town, formerly
called Nedeen, is situated near the north-eastern extre-
mity of the great river, or rather bay, of Kenmare, and
consists chiefly of one wide street of neat and well-built
houses, from which another diverges towards the Sound.
The number of houses, in 1831, was 170, and since that
period several others have been erected, in consequence
of the encouragement for building given by the proprie-
tor, the Marquess of Lansdowne. An excellent road to
Killarney, through a rocky and mountainous district,
was opened about ten years since, previous to which
this remote district had been almost excluded from com-
munication with the surrounding country; and another
to Glengariff and Bantry, over the range of mountains
separating the counties of Cork and Kerry, is now in
progress. The latter will cross the Sound at Kenmare
by a handsome suspension bridge, to which the Mar-
quess has engaged to contribute £3000, and will open
a line of communication between Bantry and Killar-
ney, commanding a succession of the most sublime
and picturesque scenery. A commodious and ex-
cellent hotel in the town, and several lodging-houses
near the strand, afford accommodation to visiters
resorting hither during the bathing season, who are
chiefly attracted by the romantic scenery and fine sal-
mon fishing of the river Blackwater, which flows into
the bay of Kenmare about six miles below the town. A
news-room is supported by subscription. Under the
hotel is a sort of market-house for potatoes, and it is
expected that a regular market for provisions will be
established, in consequence of the probable influx of
visiters on the opening of the new road from Bantry.
Fairs are held on Feb. 22nd, April 17th, May 22nd,
July 1st, Aug. 15th, Sept. 26th, Nov. 20th, and Dec. 15th,
each of which is continued for two days. Fairs are also
held at the village of Cross-roads, near Roughty bridge,
on Jan. 1st, March 17th, and Easter-Monday. Petty
sessions are held on the first Monday in each month;
and there is a small but neat bridewell in the town,