County Kerry

County Kerry (Irish: Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. Kerry County Council is the local authority for the county and Tralee serves as the county town. The population of the county was 145,502 in 2011, according to the 2011 census.

Geography and political subdivisions

Kerry is the 5th largest of the 32 counties of Ireland by area and the 13th largest by population. Uniquely, it is bordered by only two other counties: County Limerick to the east and County Cork to the south-east. The county town is Tralee. The diocesan see is Killarney, which is one of Ireland's most famous tourist destinations. The Lakes of Killarney, an area of outstanding natural beauty are located in Killarney National Park. The tip of the Dingle Peninsula is the most westerly point of Ireland.

Baronies

There are nine historic baronies in the county. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for many administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, where official Irish names of baronies are listed under "Administrative units".

Kerry (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Kerry was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800. Following the Act of Union 1800 the county retained two seats.

Boundaries and Boundary Changes

This constituency was based in County Kerry.

History

In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Kerry was represented with two members.

Members of Parliament

1689–1801

Notes

References

Bibliography

Kerry (UK Parliament constituency)

A former UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning two Members of Parliament. In 1885, it was split into four constituencies. From the time of Irish independence, the area was no longer represented in the UK Parliament, as it was no longer part of the United Kingdom.

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the whole of County Kerry, except for the Borough of Tralee.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Split into four divisions in 1885

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the single-seat Tralee constituency and the two-seat Kerry constituency were replaced by four single-seat constituencies:

References

Waterville, County Kerry

Waterville, historically known as Coirean (Irish: An Coireán, meaning "the crescent"), is a village in County Kerry, Ireland, on the Iveragh Peninsula. The town is sited on a narrow isthmus, with Lough Currane on the east side of the town, and Ballinskelligs Bay on the west, and the Currane River connecting the two.

The town's name in Irish refers to the river in the case of "The Little Whirlpool", or "The Sickle" refers to the shape of Ballinskelligs Bay on which the town sits; the name however has been transplanted onto the lake with the Irish name being Loch Luíoch or Loch Luidheach.

The Butler family built a house at the mouth of the River Currane in the latter part of the 18th century. They named their house and estate Waterville. The village that developed on the estate during the first half of the 19th century was also named Waterville.

The N70 Ring of Kerry route passes through the town. Waterville has a population of 538 (CSO 2002).

History

The first successful transatlantic cable was finally laid after a number of attempts in 1865 by the Anglo American Telegraph Company between Heart's Content in Newfoundland and Labrador and Valentia Island near Waterville. In the 1880s, Cyrus Field's Commercial Cable Company laid the first Transatlantic telegraph cable from the nearby townland of Spunkane to Canso, Nova Scotia. The cable station brought much activity to Waterville and increased the town's size.