Kilkenny, Statutes of

Kilkenny, Statutes of 

the general name for several laws promulgated by the English government of Edward III and adopted in 1366 by the Irish parliament at Kilkenny (English “Kilkenny”; Irish “Cill Choinnigh”). The Statutes of Kilkenny extended English law to the counties that were part of the English colony in Ireland (the Pale). All intercourse between the English settlers in Ireland and the native population was forbidden (including marriage and the observance of Irish customs), as was the appointment of the Irish to church posts. One of the basic aims of the statutes was not achieved, since the process of the Irishization of the English feudal lords who had settled in Ireland continued.