Kells (; ) is a town in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. The town lies off the M3 motorway, from Navan and from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. Along with other towns in County Meath, it is within the " commuter belt" for Dublin, and had a population of 6,135 as of the 2016 census. It is best known as the site of Kells Abbey, from which the

Book of Kells The Book of Kells ( la, Codex Cenannensis; ga, Leabhar Cheanannais; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the ...

takes its name.

Name

The settlement was originally known by the Irish name ''Cenannus'', later ''Ceannanas'' or ''Ceannanus'', and it is suggested that the name 'Kells' developed from this.Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) Anngret Simms and Katharine Simms, ''Irish Historic Towns Atlas, No. 4: Kells'', p. 1.

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...

, 1990. An early name for a '' dún'' or fort at the settlement was ''Cúil Sibrille'', this ''dún'' probably being located in the very centre of present-day Kells. From the 12th century onward, the settlement was referred to in English and Anglo-Norman as Kenenus, Kenelles, Kenles, Kenlis, Kellis and finally Kells. It has also been suggested that Kenlis and Kells come from an alternative Irish name, ''Ceann Lios'', meaning " hehead fort". Kells, Kenlis and Headfort all feature in the titles taken by the Taylor family. In 1929, ''Ceannanus Mór'' was made the town's official name in both Irish and English. Following the creation of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

, a number of towns were renamed likewise. ''Ceanannas'' has been the official Irish-language form of the place name since 1969. In 1993, ''Kells'' was re-adopted as the town's official name in English.

History

Before Kells was a monastery, it was the site of a royal site inhabited by the High King Cormac mac Airt who moved his residence from the Hill of Tara, for reasons scholars are not yet sure about. Kells was an important place on one of the five ancient roads that came out of Tara - this road being named ''Slí nan nAssail'' and which ran from Tara to Rathcrogan, another royal site, in

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of I ...

. About 560 AD, Colmcille (later known as Columba) a prince of the royal house of the Northern Uí Néill family acquired Kells in recompense of a fault acted against him by his cousin the High King Diarmuid MacCarroll, who granted him the Dún of Ceannanus to establish a Monastery. The present monastery at Kells is thought to have been founded around 804 AD by monks from St Colmcille's monastery in

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though ther ...

who were fleeing

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

invasions. In 1152, the Synod of Kells completed the transition of the Colmcille's establishment from a monastic church to a diocesan church. A later

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

reduced the status of Kells to that of a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

. Following the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...

, Hugh de Lacy was granted the

Lordship of Meath The Lordship of Meath was an extensive seigneurial liberty in medieval Ireland that was awarded to Hugh de Lacy by King Henry II of England by the service of fifty knights and with almost royal authority. The Lordship was roughly co-extensive wit ...

in 1182. The religious establishments at Kells continued to flourish under their

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

overlords. In the fifteenth century the parish of St. Columba's was granted to the

Archdeacon of Meath The archdeacon of Meath is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the united Diocese of Meath and Kildare. The archdeaconry can trace its history from Helias, the first known incumbent, who held the office in the twelfth century to the last discr ...

and his successors. Kells became a border town garrison of

the Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast ...

and was the scene of many battles between the Kingdom of Breifne and the

Hiberno-Norman From the 12th century onwards, a group of Normans invaded and settled in Gaelic Ireland. These settlers later became known as Norman Irish or Hiberno-Normans. They originated mainly among Cambro-Norman families in Wales and Anglo-Normans fro ...

s (who had heavily intermarried). From 1561 to 1800, Kells returned two MPs to the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two ch ...

. During the

Irish rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantat ...

, Kells was burned by the O'Reilly clan during their attacks on the Pale. The period of the Great Famine saw the population of Kells drop by 38% as measured by the census records of 1841 and 1851. The

Workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

and the Fever Hospital were described as full to overflowing.

Places of interest

The Kells monastic site, including the

Kells Round Tower Kells Round Tower is a round tower in Kells, County Meath in Ireland. The tower, and the high crosses nearby, are National Monuments. History Kells was founded as a monastic settlement by Saint Columba c. 550 on land that had been gifted to ...

, is associated with St Colmcille (also known as Columba), the

, now kept at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, and the Kells Crozier, exhibited at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. The round tower and five large

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses e ...

es can still be viewed today. Four of the crosses are in the churchyard of St Columba's Church. The other Celtic cross was positioned in the middle of a busy crossroads until an accident involving a school bus. It now stands in front of a former courthouse. A roof protects the cross from the elements. A replica also stands safe from the elements inside the museum. Kells Round Tower1

Close by the graveyard of St. Columba's church stands a small stone roofed oratory, known as St. Colmcille's House. This probably dates from the 11th century. Access to the monks' sleeping accommodation aloft is by ladder. This small rectangular building is positioned at one of the highest points in the town. Just outside the town of Kells on the road to Oldcastle is the hill of Lloyd, named after Thomas Lloyd of Enniskillen, who camped a large Williamite army here during the wars of 1688-91 against the Jacobites. Here also stands a 30m high building called the

Spire of Lloyd The Spire of Lloyd in Kells, Ireland is an 18th-century folly in the form of a Doric column, surmounted by a glazed lantern. Sometimes described as "Ireland's only inland lighthouse", it was designed by architect Henry Aaron Baker. It was repu ...

, which is an 18th-century lighthouse folly. The area around the tower has been developed as a community park (the People's Park), and includes the Paupers' Grave. Mass is celebrated there annually, and the cemetery is a reminder of the workhouse and

extreme poverty Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...

engendered by changes in farming practice in the 19th century and during the Great Famine.

Population

The population of Kells town, as of the 2016 census of Ireland, was 6,135. This represented an increase in population over the 2011 census. In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 census, the population almost doubled - from 3,542 to 6,135 people.

Transport

Roads

Until the opening of the new motorway in June 2010, Kells stood as a busy junction town on the old N3 road with over 18,000 vehicles passing through the town each day. Kells was a renowned traffic bottleneck from both the N3 national primary route (

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bal ...

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

and

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Locati ...

) and N52 national secondary route (

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...

and Nenagh) passing through the town centre. The new M3 motorway (opened June 2010) significantly reduces the journey time to Dublin, as well as the numbers of vehicles in the town.

Bus

Kells is served by a regular bus service run by

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidi ...

, the 109, 109A and 109X, which takes about 1.5 hours to Busáras in Dublin.

Railway

The original Kells railway station, serving a line between Oldcastle and

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

via Navan, opened on 11 July 1853. It was closed for passenger traffic on 14 April 1958 and finally for all traffic on 1 April 1963. "Meath on Track" are seeking reinstatement of the Navan railway link, and on to Dublin.

Film

'' The Butcher Boy'' was filmed at Headfort House. Other films set in Kells include the Oscar-nominated animated film '' The Secret of Kells''. The Hollywood actress

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was a native Irish and naturalized American actress and singer, who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for pl ...

was a native of Kells. Her father Charles came from the town, although Maureen grew up in Dublin. Charles was born in a house at the bottom of Farrell Street in the town, a building that now houses a supermarket, carpet shop and apartments. She visited the town on 26 May 2012 to receive the freedom of the town and to unveil a bust in her honour.

Events

Since 2014, Kells has been home to the documentary film festival, the "Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival". Hay Festival Kells was home to Ireland's only Hay Festival, which then transmuted into the current Hinterlands festival.

Education

St. Ciaran's Community School Kells, Navan Road, Kells is a mixed secondary school in Kells which first opened in September 1988 and has around 640 students in attendance. It was first formed by the amalgamation of the Christian Brothers Secondary School and Kells Vocational School. Eureka secondary school Kells, Navan Road, Kells was first opened by Sisters of Mercy secondary education for girls in Kells in classrooms attached to the Convent in 1924. The school moved to the existing site at Eureka House in 1956 and is planning a move once again to the Cavan road site in 2018. St. Colmcille's Boys National school is an all-boys school on the Navan Road, first opened by the Christian Brothers on 20 January 1845. The present school was opened in 1976 and the Brothers, because of a fall-off in vocations, withdrew from the school in 1985.

Music

Songwriters from the area include Jim Connell (b.1852 in Crossakiel) who wrote the Socialist anthem " The Red Flag", and Dick Farrelly (1916–1990), who wrote the "

Isle of Innisfree The "Isle of Innisfree" is a song composed by Dick Farrelly (Irish songwriter, policeman and poet, born Richard Farrelly), who wrote both the music and lyrics. Farrelly got the inspiration for "Isle of Innisfree", the song for which he is best re ...

". Other musicians from Kells include

Mícheál Ó Domhnaill Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (; 7 October 1951 – 7 July 2006) was an Irish singer, guitarist, composer, and producer who was a major influence on Irish traditional music in the second half of the twentieth century. He is remembered for his innovativ ...

(1951–2006), who was a member of

The Bothy Band The Bothy Band were an Irish traditional band active during the mid 1970s. They quickly gained a reputation as one of the most influential bands playing Irish traditional music. Their enthusiasm and musical virtuosity had a significant influen ...

, Relativity, and

Nightnoise Nightnoise was a music ensemble active from 1984 to 1997. Their original blend of Irish traditional music, Celtic music, jazz, and classical chamber music inspired a generation of Irish musicians. They released seven albums on the Windham Hill ...

, and Eamon Carr (b.1948), who is the drummer in the band Horslips. Irish

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

bands Ham Sandwich and Turn are also associated with Kells.

Notable people

Thomas Betagh Thomas Betagh (1737 – 16 February 1811) was an Irish Jesuit priest, schoolteacher, and professor of languages at Pont-à-Mousson Jesuit scolasticate (France). Betagh established a number of free schools in Dublin, which taught over 300 boys. ...

(1737-1811), Jesuit priest and educationist was born and bred in Kells. *

Alice Stopford Green __NOTOC__ Alice Stopford Green (30 May 1847 – 28 May 1929) was an Irish historian and nationalist. She was born Alice Sophia Amelia Stopford in Kells, County Meath. Her father Edward Adderley Stopford was Rector of Kells and Archdeacon of ...

(1847-1929), Irish historian and nationalist. *

Damien McGrane Damien McGrane (born 13 April 1971) is an Irish professional golfer. Early life and career McGrane was born in Kells, County Meath, Ireland. He turned professional in 1991. McGrane has had full status on the European Tour since 2003, and has ...

(b. 1971), professional golfer is a Kells man. * Denis Hurley, rugby player, was born and bred in Kells. *

Myles Dungan Myles Dungan is an Irish broadcaster and author. He has presented many arts programmes on RTÉ Radio, and has also been a sports broadcaster on RTÉ Television. Since October 2010 he has been the presenter of "The History Show" on RTÉ Radio One ...

, broadcaster, historian and journalist is from Kells. * Xabi Alonso, Spanish World Cup winning footballer spent time here learning English in a school exchange programme when he was a teenager * Ray Butler, Fine Gael politician

References

Notes

Sources

External links

Kellsonline.ie
News & Event Guide to Kells
VisitingKells
Tourist Information on Kells {{Authority control Towns and villages in County Meath