Kilcock
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Kilcock Cill Choca
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| Town | |
 Kilcock
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| Coordinates: 53°24′01″N 6°40′05″W / 53.40041°N 6.66807°WCoordinates: 53°24′01″N 6°40′05″W / 53.40041°N 6.66807°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Kildare |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 6'927 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | O003360 |
| Website | ourkilcock |
Kilcock or Killcock (from Irish Cill Choca, meaning 'Coca's Church') is a town and townland in the north of County Kildare, Ireland, on the border with County Meath. Its population of 6'927 makes it the ninth largest town in Kildare and 87th largest in Ireland.
Local industries include a large distribution centre( Musgraves) which supplies SuperValu and Centra stores across the country. The town lies on the Royal Canal. The town also has a Lidl store which opened on 28 February 2013 and a SuperValu Store which opened on 30 June 2016.[1]
Kilcock takes its name from the 6th century Saint Coca who founded a church beside the Rye River, and who is traditionally said to have been a sister of St. Kevin of Glendalough; by occupation she was an embroiderer of church vestments, including those for St. Colmcille. A holy well dedicated to Coca, formerly thought to be lost in the back-yards of Kilcock, is known locally to be in the area behind the Ulster Bank, and her feast is remembered on 6 June. However, this commemoration is a modern revival as when the Ordnance Survey of the area was being made in 1837 it was recorded that "there is no old church in ruins in this parish nor is any patron saint or day remembered ... the meaning of the name Cille Choc is not remembered." When the present parish church was dedicated in 1867 it was named for St. Coca, and it had cost £10,000 to build to the design of architect J.J. McCarthy.
In the 8th century there was a battle between rival kings near the church of St. Coca, then in the territory of Carbury and close to the border between Leinster and Meath. There is a gap of several hundred years until the next reference to Kilcock when, in 1303, it belonged to the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem at Kilmainham.
St Coca's Church is erected in her honour in the centre of town.
In the 17th century, markets and fairs were held regularly in Kilcock. The tolls and duties of Kilcock Fairs were shared between the Wogans of Rathcoffey and the Eustaces of Castlemartin, Kilcullen, county Kildare. Kilcock had 70 acres of common land to which several inhabitants had a common right. There was also a Commons at Courtown (Bawnogue & Duncreevan) and Laragh Commons.
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