Kill, County Kildare
Kill
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Irish Grid Reference | N939225 |
Website | www |
Kill (Irish: an Chill, meaning "the church") is a village and parish in County Kildare, Ireland near the county's border with Dublin beside the N7. Its population was recorded as 3,818 people in the 2022 census.[1]
Kill is the birthplace of the Fenian
History
Excavations for the widening of the N7 in 2004 unearthed evidence of early habitation, including a late
The Whiteboys were active in Kill parish in 1775. The stopping of the mail coach in Kill in
Turnpike to N7
Kill's prominence through its history stems from its situation on the
The name of the town proved ironic as the deadly impact of the road was quickly felt. The road claimed its first casualty,
”...the most modern piece of road engineering in the country. The criticism had been made that the bypass was crossed by a local road, running from Kill to Straffan, about which the only warning on the main road was one small sign.”[6]
The accident rate was a factor in the postponement of the entire Naas road scheme by the Fine Gael led coalition government in August 1956,[7][8][9] leaving both the Johnstown and Rathcoole sections of the road in a semi-finished state until the re-election of a Fianna Fáil
The single carriageway by-pass was eventually replaced by a dual carriageway, opened by Neil Blaney on 25 June 1963, the first section of the Dublin-Naas road to be increased to four lanes. The local service station in Beaufort, owned by the Goosen family, became famous for its "open 24½ hours daily" sign. This road was poorly designed with broadside crossings of insufficient length to accommodate even a small motor car. Kill's new dual carriageway claimed 18 lives in its first three years of operation to 1966[10] and a total of 57 lives in all. Even after traffic lights were eventually installed at the Kill junction in November 1980 eleven more people died before a proper graded fly-over crossing was completed on 14 August 2006. [citation needed]
Economic life
Rabbit Falls at Hartwell, Arthurstown, Thornberry and Brookstown were first quarried in 1945 when Tom Roche set up the Castle Sand Company, later to become Roadstone,[11] and in turn CRH Holdings, to become Ireland's largest multinational corporation with a turnover of €17bn (2010).[12] The local quarries and offices of the company were major employers until they closed in 1982.
The economic transformation of Kill over this 30-year period was described by
“A decade or so ago the village of Kill, now by-passed by the dual carriageway from Naas to Dublin was small and insignificant. A few houses, a couple of pubs, two churches, a post office. An old low-ceilinged schoolhouse was dismally clamouring for demolition. Then, gravel was discovered and a company was formed. The Castle Sand Company, later to become Roadstone, sent dumpers and trucks along to ruffle the quiet of the village. Houses to hold workers and a new school were built, the chapel under the wing of the popular sagart pharóiste was built doubling its floor space. A posh hotel was built. Now, a further addition – a project to set up a new bloodstock sales emporium strikes the imagination as being the right thing in the right place.”[13]
By the late 1970s, Kill was becoming a commuter town to Dublin.[citation needed]
Politics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1821 | 310 | — |
1831 | 626 | +101.9% |
1841 | 405 | −35.3% |
1851 | 361 | −10.9% |
1861 | 212 | −41.3% |
1871 | 215 | +1.4% |
1881 | 202 | −6.0% |
1891 | 152 | −24.8% |
1901 | 109 | −28.3% |
1911 | 90 | −17.4% |
1926 | 101 | +12.2% |
1936 | 95 | −5.9% |
1946 | 90 | −5.3% |
1951 | 127 | +41.1% |
1956 | 169 | +33.1% |
1961 | 186 | +10.1% |
1966 | 287 | +54.3% |
1971 | 480 | +67.2% |
1981 | 1,268 | +164.2% |
1986 | 1,503 | +18.5% |
1991 | 1,518 | +1.0% |
1996 | 1,711 | +12.7% |
2002 | 2,246 | +31.3% |
2006 | 2,510 | +11.8% |
2011 | 3,095 | +23.3% |
2016 | 3,348 | +8.2% |
2022 | 3,818 | +14.0% |
[15] |
Music
The village is the birthplace of the world-renowned Uilleann piper Liam O'Flynn and Heidi Talbot, a solo artist and the voice of Irish-American group Cherish the Ladies. The local "Kill Singers" choral group has had many successes in recent years in competitions in Ireland and overseas. The group practice in the local primary school on Wednesday evenings, except during the summer.[16] Additionally, the local "Kill Musical and Dramatic Society" specialises in musical and theatrical performance.[17] The society's productions are held at the local St. Brigid's Church, and notable recent productions have included the pantomime 'Entangled'.[18]
Churches
The village has two churches; St Brigid's (
In the Catholic Church, the parish of Kill was united with that of nearby
Social activities and clubs
Branches of Muintir na Tíre (1954) and Macra na Feirme (1955) were established in the village. There is an active branch of the Irish Countrywomen's Association (ICA)'s most famous chairperson was Patsy Lawlor, née Broughal, President, 1976–79. The Kill History Group, which meets in the Parish Meeting Room on the fourth Monday of the month, discusses topics of local interest.[19]
Sport
[20] Kill was the location of the Irish Masters in snooker from 1979 to 2000, at Goff's sales ring.
Motorcyclist Ernie Lyons won the Senior Manx Grand Prix in 1946.[22]
Rugby player Adam Byrne has represented Ireland at 7s and the 15s and has played for both Leinster and Connacht.[23]
Equestrian
Showjumper Iris Kellett won the Queen Elizabeth Cup (1949) and the Ladies European championship in 1969. Kill is home to Goffs Horse Sales Centre. Long before
People
The disgraced Percy Jocelyn, Bishop of Clogher, was once stationed in Kill and lived in the Glebe House there circa 1815. He was succeeded by John Warburton, son of Charles Warburton, Bishop of Limerick from 1806 to 1820. Patrick Dunne of Greenhills, a cousin of John Devoy was captain of Óglaigh na hÉireann in Kill during both the Irish War of Independence and the Civil War.[24]
• Adam Byrne, rugby player
• John Devoy, Irish republican rebel and journalist
• Patsy Lawlor, politician
• Philip Lawlor, former rugby player[25]
• Ernie Lyons, motorcycle racer
• Emer McLysaght, journalist and author
• Liam O'Flynn, uilleann piper and Irish traditional musician.
• Heidi Talbot, musician
• James Tracy, rugby player
• Katie Walsh, former jockey
• Ruby Walsh, former jockey
See also
Further reading
- Carr, Tony (2006). Time to Kill: Memories of Kill Village. ISBN 9781412024334.
- Corry, Eugene; Tancred, Jim (2004). The Annals of Ardclough.[ISBN missing]
- "Kildare Archaeological Society". Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society. I: 17, 36, 298.
- "Kildare Archaeological Society". Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society. II: 181–185.
- "Kildare Archaeological Society". Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society. III: 456.
- "Kildare Archaeological Society". Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society. VI: 93, 474.
- "Kildare Archaeological Society". Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society. XII: 340, 432.
References
- ^ a b c "Census 2022 - F1015 Population". Central Statistics Office Census 2022 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland. August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society, Volume I, pp. 17, 36, 298.
- ^ Lewis Topography, 1837.
- ^ James Dorney. On the One Road (2002)
- ^ Public enquiry into Naas road widening, 5 February 1964
- ^ Irish Times, 4 September 1956
- ^ "Contempt for the pedestrian" Editorial in Irish Independent, pp. 6, 31 August 1956.
- ^ Government and public opinion, Editorial in Irish Independent, p. 6; 4 September 1956
- ^ Oireachtas Debates: The taking of £500,000 from the Road Fund, 20 June 1956
- ^ Boland report in Naas Road, October 1967
- ^ Dates of Roadstone's quarries were Kill (1945), Hill of Allen (1949), Blessington (1953), Kilternan (1954), Tallaght (1955), Slane (1955), Kilquade (1958), Knocktopher (1958), Castleblayney (1959), Arva (1959), Athlone (1960). Source: Roadstone Prospectus 1961.
- ^ "Stockbroking - Redmayne Bentley".
- ^ Brigid Maguire. "By-passed but Kill looks to future", Irish Press, 1 April 1975
- ^ a b "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 12 February 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2002. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ http://www.cso.ie/census and http://www.histpop.org Archived 2016-05-07 at the Wayback Machine for post 1821 figures, For a discussion on the accuracy of pre-famine census returns see JJ Lee "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses Irish Population, Economy and Society edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54, in and also New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700–1850 by Joel Mokyr and Cormac O Grada in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (November 1984), pp. 473–488.
- ^ "Kill singers | blues & jazz". Archived from the original on 4 December 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
- ^ "Kill Musical & Dramatic Society - Latest News". Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ "Kill Musical and Dramatic Society - Posts". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ Carr, Tony. Time to Kill: Memories of Kill Village (2004)
- ^ "1979 Irish Masters", Wikipedia, 24 June 2023, retrieved 18 September 2023
- ^ "History of Camogie in Kill (Kildare) GAA Club". Kill Gaa Club. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "Prints of Ernie Lyons (Triumph) 1946 Senior Manx Grand Prix". BikeSport TT Race Pics Photo Prints. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ Kinsella, Murray (3 October 2021). "'It made me see that I took a lot of them for granted, particularly my family'". The 42. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ Dorney, James. On the One Road.
- ^ "Philip Lawlor".