Kilkee (parish)
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Kilkee − Cill Chaoi Kilfearagh − Cill Fhiarach |
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| Catholic and civil parish | |
Cliffs of Kilkee
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 Kilkee
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| Coordinates: 52°40′44″N 9°38′48″W / 52.67888°N 9.646696°WCoordinates: 52°40′44″N 9°38′48″W / 52.67888°N 9.646696°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Clare |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
Kilkee (Irish: Cill Chaoi), formerly Kilfearagh, (Irish: Cill Fhiarach) is a Catholic parish in County Clare, Ireland. Kilfearagh is also a civil parish that covers the same area. Both lie on the Loop Head peninsula between the Atlantic ocean and the Shannon Estuary. The main settlement is the resort town of Kilkee. The parish contains many ruins, some dating to the early days of Christianity in Ireland.
Kilfearagh is named after a saint called Fiachrach, or Fiachra. There are several saints by that name in the Irish calendars. It is not known which is the patron of the parish. The parish is in the barony of Moyarta, 7 miles (11 km) west of Kilrush. It is 6 by 5 miles (9.7 by 8.0 km) and covers 9,870 acres (3,990 ha). The main town of Kilkee is about 14 miles (23 km) from the end of the Loop Head peninsula, which separates the Shannon Estuary from the Atlantic Ocean. Kilfearagh lies between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Poulnasharry bay of the Shannon Estuary on the east.
In the 1830s, apart from farming there was a large trade in turf sent by boat from Poulanishery harbour up the River Shannon to Limerick. About 75 small boats were engaged in Atlantic fishery. In 1841 the population was 7,137 in 1,162 houses. The land between Kilrush and Kilkee was described in 1840 as "bleak, flat, boggy, poorly cultivated, and miserably occupied." The same author described the Atlantic coast as presenting
"... an endless variety of coves, creeks, inlets, and little bays, everywhere bold, in some places awfully impending, and exhibiting striking and wonderful forms. Against the whole line of coast, the mighty billows of the Atlantic roll with incessant force; and in times of storm break and foam on the schistose rocks with inconceivable fury.
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Wikipedia