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The name "Kells" may be traced back to old Irish "Ceannanus Mor" by means of Norman corruption to "Kenlis", finally anglicised to Kells. Ceannanus means "Head Fort".
The Abbey of Kells, with its round tower, is associated with St. Columba (also called St. Colmcille) and with the Book of Kells, now kept at Trinity College Dublin.
The round tower and five large Celtic crosses can still be viewed today.
Close by the graveyard of St. Columba's church stands a small stoned roofed Oratory (St. Colmcille's House) which probably dates from the 11th century. Access to the monks' sleeping accommodation aloft is by ladder. The Oratory is kept locked, but visitor access can be arranged.
Just outside the town on the road to Oldcastle, stands the Tower of Loyd, an 18th century folly in the form of a lighthouse erected to the memory of Sir Thomas Taylor, 1st Earl of Bective.. The tower is approx. 100 feet high, and from the top one can see magnificent views of the surrounding countryside and as far as the Mourne Mountains on a clear day.
