Kells was a renowned traffic bottleneck from both the N3 national primary route (Dublin, Cavan, Enniskillen and Ballyshannon) and N52 national secondary route (Dundalk, Tullamore and Nenagh) passing though the town centre.
Ime Kells izvira iz Kenlis, anglizirane verzije besede 'Ceann Lios' iz irskega jezika.