placenamesKells
Na Cealla
At Kells in Kerry, a planted estate and the remains of a rural station preserve different chapters of the locality’s history.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Na Cealla · Irish · main form · validated name
- Kells · English · main form
Place & story
A changing garden
Kells Bay’s garden account was prepared by plantsman Seamus O’Brien after auditing the collection. It dates the estate’s beginnings to Rowland Blennerhassett’s land purchase in 1837. The walled garden followed in the 1870s under Sir Rowland Ponsonby Blennerhassett. Later planting continued to reshape the grounds: dawn redwoods were planted in the 1980s, when Roy Lancaster advised on replanting, and Billy Alexander added a collection of bamboos selected for their coloured stems. [2]
What remained of the station
The Eiretrains photographic survey records Kells station with both platforms, its corrugated-iron station building, a brick signal cabin and the stationmaster’s house still present. These buildings belonged to the Farranfore–Valentia Harbour branch, which opened in 1893 and closed in 1960. The account records a surviving group of railway structures rather than an operating station. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Kells. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Garden History: the gardens at Kells Bay · Seamus O’Brien; Kells Bay House & Gardens
- Kells Co. Kerry: photographic railway survey · Eiretrains
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.