In 1837, Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland described Kells like this:
KELLS, a parish, in the barony of LOWER ANTRIM, county of ANTRIM, and province of ULSTER, 5 ½ miles (N.) from Antrim, on the road from Ballymena to Randalstown: the population is included in the return for the parish of Connor, into which this place (which in the civil divisions is not recognized as a parish) is generally considered to have merged. ...
In the early part of the ninth century, a cell existed here, on the site of which a priory was erected some time before the arrival of the English, by O'Brien Carrog, who dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin; and it existed till 1442, when it was surrendered, with all its possessions. The village has a neat appearance; it is a constabulary police station, and has a penny post to Antrim. Fairs are held on Jan. 10th, March 1st, June 10th, and Sept. 12th. The parish is in the diocese of Connor, and is wholly impropriate in the Earl of Mountcashel, who allows the incumbent of the adjoining parish of Connor £3 per annum for discharging the clerical duties.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Kells, in and County Antrim | Map and description, A Vision of Ireland through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofireland.org/place/28229
Date accessed: 30th June 2024
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