Shankill or St Kill, Kilkenny

Historical Description

SHANKILL, or ST. KILL, a parish, in the barony of GOWRAN, county of KILKENNY, and province of LEINSTER, 3 miles (S. W.) from Bagnalstown, on the mail road to Kilkenny; containing 2313 inhabitants. At Kellymount and Shankill are some of the principal flag-stone quarries in the county, the produce of which is chiefly sent by the Barrow navigation to Dublin, Waterford, and other places, and generally sold under the name of Carlow flags: limestone is also quarried, and a considerable quantity of stone, coal and culm are obtained at Bornafea: light turf is procured on the hills. The seats are Shankill Castle, the handsome residence of Jas. Kearney Aylward, Esq.; and Kellymount, the residence of Mr. C. Wynne. There is a station of the constabulary police within the limits of the parish. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Leighlin, and in the gift of the Crown: the tithes amount to £434. The church, towards the erection of which, in 1811, the late Board of First Fruits contributed a gift of £800, is a plain but neat edifice. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union or district of Grange Silvae, and has a chapel in the village of Paulstown, which is partly in this parish, and partly in that of Kilmocahill. In the national school at Bornafea, and in a school for females aided by subscription, about 240 children are educated; there is also a private school; in which are about 70 boys.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Shankill or St Kill from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1840 by Samuel Lewis (Shankill or St. Kill)

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Kilkenny is available to browse.