Sights in Kilkenny City
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Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny Castle is one of Ireland’s most visited heritage sites. The first structure on this strategic site was a wooden tower built in 1172 by Richard de Clare, the Anglo-Norman conqueror of Ireland better known as Strongbow. In 1192, Strongbow’s son-in-law, William Marshall, erected a stone castle with four towers, three of which survive. The castle was bought by the powerful Butler family in 1391, and their descendants continued to live there until 1935. Maintaining such a structure became a big financial strain and most of the furnishings were sold at auction. The castle was handed over to the city in 1967 for the princely sum of £50.
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Kells Priory
Kells Priory is one of Ireland's most impressive and romantic monastic sites. Visitors are free to explore whenever they like, with no restrictions. The earliest remains date from the late 12th century, while the bulk of the present ruins date from the 15th century. Inside are the remains of an Augustinian abbey and the foundations of chapels and houses.
At dusk, on a vaguely sunny day, the old priory is simply beautiful. Most days you stand a chance of exploring the site alone, with only the company of bleating sheep. In a sea of rich farmland, a protective wall, carefully restored, connects seven dwelling towers. It's unusually well fortified for a monastery and the hea…
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Black Abbey
This Dominican abbey on Abbey St was founded in 1225 by William Marshall and takes its name from the monks' black habits. In 1543, six years after Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, it was turned into a courthouse. Following Cromwell's visit in 1650, it remained a roofless ruin until restoration in 1866.
Much of what survives dates from the 18th and 19th centuries, but pieces of more ancient archways are still evident within the newer stonework. Open for daily mass, look for the 13th-century coffins near the entrance.
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Black Abbey
This Dominican abbey was founded in 1225 by William Marshall and takes its name from the monks’ black habits. In 1543, six years after Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries, it was turned into a courthouse. Following Cromwell’s visit in 1650, it remained a roofless ruin until restoration in 1866. Much of what survives dates from the 18th and 19th centuries, but remnants of more ancient archways are still evident within the newer stonework. Look for the 13th-century coffins near the entrance.
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Butler Gallery
The Butler Gallery in the basement of Kilkenny Castel is one of the country’s most important art galleries outside Dublin. Small exhibitions featuring the work of contemporary artists are held throughout the year. Also in the basement, the castle kitchen houses a popular summertime cafe. You can head directly to either the Butler Gallery or the cafe without paying the tour admission price.
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St Mary's Cathedral
The 19th-century St Mary's Cathedral is visible from most parts of town. A plaque at the entrance notes: 'The construction of the cathedral began in 1843 and continued during the famine years, the years of emigration, coffin ships, starvation, and even despair because of the many thousands of our people who died of hunger and disease…', before going on to list yet more tribulations.
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St Canice’s Cathedral
St Canice’s Cathedral is Ireland’s second-largest medieval cathedral (after St Patrick’s in Dublin). This Gothic edifice with its iconic round tower has had a long and fascinating history. Legend has it that the first monastery was built here in the 6th century by St Canice, Kilkenny’s patron saint. Records show that a wooden church on the site was burned down in 1087.
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Rothe House
Ireland’s best surviving example of a 16th-century merchant’s house is the Tudor Rothe House. Built around a series of courtyards, it now houses a museum with local artefacts including a well-used Viking sword found nearby and a grinning head sculpted from a stone by a Celtic artist. The king-post roof of the 2nd floor is a meticulous reconstruction.
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National Craft Gallery & Kilkenny Design Centre
Contemporary Irish crafts are showcased at this imaginative gallery in the former castle stables that also house the Kilkenny Design Centre. Ceramics dominate, but exhibits often feature furniture, jewellery and weaving from the members of the Crafts Council of Ireland. There are regular classes in pottery and jewellery making.
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Butter Slip
Next to the Tholsel is Butter Slip, a narrow and dark walkway that connects High St with Low Lane (now St Kieran's St). It was built in 1616 and once was lined with the stalls of butter vendors. With its arched entry and stone steps, Butter Slip is by far the most picturesque of Kilkenny's many narrow medieval corridors.
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Kilkenny Castle Parkland
About 20 hectares of parkland extend to the southeast of Kilkenny castle, with a Celtic cross-shaped rose garden, a fountain to the northern end and a children's playground to the south. The castle's former stables are now home to the intriguing Kilkenny Design Centre.
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Grace's Castle
Near the Confederation Hall Monument is the ramshackle Grace's Castle, originally built in 1210, but lost to the family and converted into a prison in 1568, and then in 1794 into a courthouse, which it remains today. Rebels from the 1798 Rising were executed here.
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Black Freren Gate
Black Freren Gate on Abbey St is the only gate from the old Norman city walls still standing, albeit with the help of metal bracing to ensure the safety of those who pass through. Crumbling sections of the old walls remain throughout the central city.
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Confederation Hall Monument
On the corner of Parliament St and the road leading down to Bateman's Quay, the Confederation Hall Monument (really just a fragment) beside the Bank of Ireland marks the site where the national Parliament met from 1642 to 1649.
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Parkland
About 20 hectares of parkland in the Kilkenny Castle grounds extend to the southeast, with a Celtic cross-shaped rose garden, a fountain to the northern end and a children’s playground to the south.
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Shee Alms House
Shee Alms House was built in sturdy local stone in 1582 by local benefactor Sir Richard Shee and his wife to provide help for the poor. It continued as a hospital until 1740 but now houses the tourist office.
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St John's Priory
Across the river from St Mary's Cathedral stand the ruins of St John's Priory, which was founded in 1200 and was noted for its many beautiful windows until Cromwell's visit.
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Kilkenny College
Near St John's Priory, Kilkenny College dates from 1666. Its students included Jonathan Swift and the philosopher George Berkeley, but it now houses Kilkenny's county hall.
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Tholsel
The Tholsel was built in 1761 on the spot where Dame Alice Kyteler's maid, Petronella, was burned at the stake in 1324.
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Smithwick Brewery
If you smell something funny in the air, it may be the Budweiser being brewed under licence in the Smithwick Brewery . Now owned by drinks giant Diageo (Guinness, Harp and lots of spirits), the brewery is no longer the civic icon it once was. The tours which were enjoyed by generations are now a thing of the past, in their place are sporadic summertime showings of a promotional video. Enjoy!
What's worse is that right in the middle of the complex is St Francis' Abbey, which was founded by William Marshall in 1232, but desecrated first by Cromwell in 1650 and then by Diageo. It's an intriguing structure but it's now off limits. When we asked at the gate to see this amazing…
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