Kinnitty

Kinnitty

Irish: *Cionn Eitigh*
Kinnitty Irish: Cionn Eitigh
Village
	Kinnity's central village green
	Kinnitty Location in Ireland
	Coordinates: 53°06′00″N 7°43′00″W / 53.1°N 7.716667°W
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	Offaly
Population (2016)	381
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid Reference	N184053

Kinnitty (Irish: Cionn Eitigh)^[2] is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is located 13 km east of Birr on the R440 and R421 regional roads. The village is in a civil parish of the same name.^[2]

Name and location

The village derives its name from the myth that the head of an ancient princess is buried beneath the village, Ceann Eitigh being the "Head of Eiteach" in the Irish language - where Eiteach is the name of the princess.^{[citation needed]} The village is situated at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains in the ancient kingdom of Éile.

Parish

Kinnity is also the name of the Roman Catholic parish. The present chapel was built around 1815.^[3]

Amenities

Kinnitty is served by a primary school, creche, two churches, post office, community centre, children's playground, two pubs, café, some shops, a number of bed and breakfasts and a hotel (the modern day use of Kinnitty Castle).^{[citation needed]} The trail head for the Slieve Bloom Mountain biking trails is located in the village of Kinnitty, as is one of the trailheads for the long distance Slieve Bloom Way walking route.^{[citation needed]} Kinnitty Forest or Glenregan Forest is operated by Coillte and is located near the village.^[4]

Buildings

There is an unusual pyramid-shaped tomb in the grounds of the St Finian's Church.^[5] It was built by the Bernard family who resided in Kinnitty Castle, on the site of St. Finnian's monastery. The 9th century Kinnitty High Cross is located at the front of Kinnitty Castle (now a hotel).

Notable people

Saint Finan Cam founded a monastery here around the end of the 6th century
Rex Ingram, the Hollywood director, and his brother, Colonel Francis Clere Hitchcock MC, spent most of their early life here where their father was the parish rector. (The "Old Rectory" now a private home, can be seen from the Roscrea Road opposite the Church of Ireland.)

References

^ "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Kinnitty". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office. April 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Cionn Eitigh / Kinnitty". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
^ Ó Murchadha, Ciarán (2008). The Diocese of Killaloe : An illustrated History. Booklink Ireland. p. 179.
^ "Glenregan". coillte.ie. Coillte. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
^ "Kinnitty Co Offaly". slievebloom.ie. Retrieved 1 March 2020.