Where can I find out about the origin of street names in Kilkenny

holyhead

I would love to know how we came to have for example a "Rose Inn" Street etc. How is the Butts so called? How do we have a lord edward street next to a Pearce St etc.

Captain Havoc

The Butts is called so because it's where archers used to practice, a butt is a field where archery is practiced. I have no idea why Rose Inn Street is called so, maybe there was a Rose Inn on it once?

Captain Havoc

Found a brief one for you:

Street Names of Kilkenny
Patrick Street -
Patrick Street leads from the Parade junction to the Waterford road, through the former St. Patrick's Gate. St. Patrick's Church was originally sited outside the Gate, and presumably that is where the street name came from.

Rose Inn Street -
this was traditionally the street of the inns including the Rose, the Garter, the Wheatsheaf and the Bush. The street appears on old documents as Rozyn, so the name is probably older than the period of the inns.

Horseleap Slip -
one of Kilkenny's famous slips - was probably given its name as a consequence of the veterinary surgeons who practised here and the horses who exercised there.

Friary Street -
A very old street known as Walkin Street until quite recently. The origin of the name is uncertain. It may be the Walking Street leading to the Walking Green, or Walkin may have been the name of a very early owner.

Pennefeather Lane -
this lane was constructed around 1700 by John Pennefeather, a local land owner.

Chapel Lane -
at one time the old James' Street chapel (built between 1772 and 1774), stood nearby. James' Sconce - the "Sconces" were originally narrow passageways inside the city walls which gave access to the defenders of the city.

Kierans' Street -
named after St. Kieran's Well and site of an ancient church at the northern end. Successively named Low Lane, Back Lane, King Street and Kieran Street.

Parliament Street -
named after the Confederate Parliament of 1641 - 1648, it was earlier called the Coal Market.

Dean Street -
this street had an entrance to the Dean's residence before the construction of the Coach Road. The Dean's gate to the Cathedral precincts was probably situated in its narrowest area.

Butts Green -
probably the oldest part of Kilkenny. It receives its name from the fact that the citizens practised archery at "Butts" on the green.

The Coach Road -
an entry in the Chapter Book of St. Canice's Cathedral dates September 20th 1689 notes:
"Ordered that a convenient coachway be made forthwith from Dean Street in Irishtown to the south door to said Cathedral for the convenience of the Duke of Ormonde's family and other persons of quality resorting to the said Church"

John's Green -
during eighteenth century this became the refuge of the dispossessed farming folk and other travelling people. A gallows for miscreants functioned in John's Green, formerly known as Gallow's Green.

The Butterslip
is where butter was sold for centuries on market days.
Katherine M Lanigan, Gerald Tyler (Eds), 'Kilkenny, Its Architecture & History', Appletree Press 1977.

catbear

If you want to follow this further try Rothe house shop, they've some local interest books and if you want to save money then the reference section in the library on the quays has a lot of what Rothe House has.

There was a historic towns atlas series brought out a few years ago for sale at about twenty quid that was very good as it had maps from over 800 years. Obviously names changed over time.

Nunio road is thought to have been named for Renucinni, the Papal nuncio who provided papal guns and funds to the royalists against the republicans.

Healium

Dunnes St.

Named after the great Dunnes rush of '96, attracting folk from all across the country, seeking their fortune. While we've been tapping the sources for years, we've yet to run out of Dunnes, surprisingly. Yee-haw?

I hear we're getting a new Olde Sweete Shoppe St. soon. Savage craic.

catbear

As Rose Inn street got its name from a tavern there the it's only a mater of time before John street becomes Worlds End Strip.