Kilkenny City & Environs
Kilkenny City (Cill Chainnigh – “church of Saint Canice“) (pop. 25,000), the only inland city in the Republic of Ireland, and the smallest by both area and population, is one of the most attractive towns in the country. (Photo by Pixie)
Situated on the banks of the River Nore at its junction with the River Bregagh, Kikenny can pride itself on a rich architectural heritage, including beautiful edifices from every era since the arrival of the Normans, twisting streets with intriguing names, museums, art galleries, craft and design workshops and public gardens. These, together with the city’s vibrant cultural life, are the main reasons for Kilkenny’s popularity as a discerning visitors’ destination or base for touring Ireland.
Kilkenny has more than a few excellent pubs, often featuring live music, and there are several good restaurants and places to stay in and around the town.
Kilkenny houses (Photo – www.genslin.us)
Kilkenny City History
Kilkenny appears to have begun as a religious setlement, but was not mentioned in any of the various Annals before 1085. While its name is usually ascribed to a church dedicated to Saint Canice, it has also been suggested that it derives from “Coil / Kyle-ken-Ui” or Cileanuigh – the wooded head / hill by the river.
Strongbow built a motte and bailey in Kilkenny in 1172 to command the crossing point on the river Nore. His son-in-law William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke replaced it with a stone structure in 1192, established his seat here, and incorporated the town in 1204; thereafter it was effectively run by GeoffreyFitzRobert, Seneschal of Leinster.
Kilkenny grew into a prosperous walled town, an important centre of both secular and religious power. There were separate administrations in High Town, around the Castle and Irishtown, around the Cathedral, seat of the medieval diocese of Ossory.
Bishop Richard de Ledrede’s prosecutions in 1324 of Dame Alice Kyteler, her son and ten others for witchcraft, one of the earliest such trials in Europe, resulted in the burning at the stake of her maid, Petronella de Meath for heresy.
The Black Death / Bubonic Plague hit very badlyby theKilkenny in 1348. Friar John Clyn wrote a famous account of the plague’s progress in such apocolyptic terms that he would seem to have believed the extinction of humanity and the end of the world were nigh.
Kilkenny served no less than 15 times during the C14th as the venue for sessions of the peripatetic Irish Parliament. The notorious Statutes of Kilkenny were enacted here in 1366.
In 1391 James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond, purchased the castle and manor of Kilkenny. The power of the Butlers brought the city to even greater prominence.
King James I elevated the liberties of Kilkenny to the rank of City in 1609.
From 1641 to 1648 the city was the seat of the Confederate Parliament of Catholics, known as the Kilkenny Confederacy, with a Supreme Council erratically presided by the Royalist Earl / Marquess of Ormonde. The Papal Nuncio, Cardinal Rinuccini, arrived in 1645 with money and weapons. In 1650 Kilkennny was besieged and captured by Oliver Cromwell.
The deposed King James II spent the winter of 1689 in Kilkenny Castle, confiscated from the 2nd Duke of Ormonde for his loyalty to King William III. After their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, Jacobite troops retreating through Kilkenny forced the citizens to pay protection money against looting. Kilkenny surrendered without resistance to the Williamite army under General Godert de Ginkel, who made the city his winter headquarters prior to the Siege of Limerick in 1691.
Kilkenny was very well represented in the Irish Parliament until the Act of Union 1800, by which time the city’s period of glory was long over. During the late C18th and C19th the city’s population decreased by two thirds.
King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra visited Kilkenny in 1904, and were warmly greeted by a crowd numbering thousands.
The outbreak of the Civil War in June 1922 was preceded by serious fighting between Republicans occupying the city centre and pro-Treaty forces sent to dislodge them, with at least 18 killed. In December of the same year irregulars overran the Free State barracks.
Kilkenny is often called the Marble City, but the black and white stone that characterises many of Kilkenny’s fine buildings is actually polished limestone, quarried locally for centuries, and contains fossils. “Kilkenny Marble” used to be exported all over the British Empire.
St Canice’s Cathedral (CoI), one of the most spectacular edifices in Kilkenny, stands on the hilltop site of several earlier churches; the earliest was founded in the C7th. This splendid C13th embattled early English style Norman church was modified in 1661, restored in 1756 and changed again in 1865. The west doorway is of particular note. Interior details include the groined tower and the C12th black baptismal font. Of the various medieval monuments, the most interesting is the C13th memorial to the son of Henry de Ponto. Adjacent to the Cathedral is a well-preserved C10th Round Tower with unusually wide windows.
St. Canice’s Library contains over 3000 volumes dating from the C16th and early C17th.
Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny Castle, long the seat of the Butlers of Ormond, was completely remodelled in 1826; the only original medieval features still extant are three circular towers and parts of the curtain wall.
James Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde and 21st Earl of Ormond, entertained King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra here, and later, King George V and Queen Mary.
The castle was last besieged as recently as 1922; when Anti-Treaty Republicans held it for two days against Free State Amy troops under General Prout, with the Earl and Countess of Ossory in residence throughout.
The family auctioned most of the contents in 1935, and presented the castle to the City of Kilkenny in 1967.
The restored and partially refurbished castle contains beautiful paintings and antiques, including many original portraits and items of furniture, together with an art gallery and a pleasant café. Guided tours are provided. (Photo – Gaelscoil Osraí)
The extensive grounds are open to the public. There is an exhibition hall in the Old Castle Stables. The Castle Yard features craft studios, workshops, the National Crafts Gallery, and the world famous Kilkenny Design Centre.
The Dominican / Black Abbey, established in 1225 by the Seneschal’s son William Marshall, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and Justiciar of Ireland, has some magnificent original windows, monumental slabs and stone coffins dating from the middle ages. Upon its Dissolution in 1540, King Henry VIII granted it to Kilkenny Corporation on condition that accommodation would be provided for the Chief Governor of Ireland whenever he was in the area.
Black Freren Gate is the sole remnant of the entrance gates in the medieval city walls.
St. Francis’s Abbey, aka the Grey Friary (1234), featuring a picturesque bell tower, a Chancel, a superb east window and an ancient baptismal font, was for many years the oratory of the former Smithwick’s Brewery, famous for ‘Smithwicks’ and ‘Kilkenny’ ales. The early C18th St. Francis Abbey Brewery was bought by the Guinness Ireland Group, which later merged with Grand Metropolitan plc to form Diageo, the world’s largest alcoholic beverage company. Some 80% of beer produced at the brewery is Budweiser, brewed under licence.
The Priory of St John was created in the C13th for the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem. The Lady Chapel, known as the Lantern of Ireland due to its numerous mullioned windows, is now a parish church (CoI).
St. Mary’s church (CoI) in St Kieran St. is a modernised 13th structure containing several interesting medieval and later monuments.
Unusually for an Irish town, Kilkenny has several Tudor buildings: the Alms House on Rose Inn Street, founded in 1582 by Sir Richard Shee, now accommodates the Kilkenny Tourist Office. The Archer House in High St. dates from 1594.
Rothe House in Parliament St. was built between 1594 and 1610 and is now the headquarters of the prestigious Kilkenny Archaeological Society and features a local history museum. The Gardens have undergone restoration.
Kyteler’s Inn (1639) on St Kieran St. was for many years the most famous hostelry in the city. Another well known supper house was called The Hole in the Wall.
Kilkenny Courthouse, formerly called Grace’s Castle, was originally a town house of the wealthy Grace family, who leased the building to the Crown in 1566 for use as a jail; it was transformed into a courthouse by William Robertson around the beginning of the C19th, when the balcony and staircase were added.
The Tholsel / Town Hall on High St. was a medieval tax collection centre, custom house, court of justice, guildhall and meeting place for merchants. The current impressive arcaded 1761 Georgian building, locally nicknamed the Lighthouse due to its landmark Clock Tower, enshrines the old Kilkenny Corporation Chamber and offices, and is a regular venue for theatrical performances and exhibitions.
Butter Slip, a picturesque narrow medieval passage next to the Tholsel, was built in 1616 to connect High St with Low Lane (now St Kieran’s St), and was long lined with butter vendors’ stalls.
Kilkenny College was founded to replace St Canice’s Vicars Choral School (est. 1234) as Kilkenny Grammar School in 1538 by Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, and after the Wars of the Three Kindoms was re-established in 1665 with its present name by James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde. Many of Ireland’s most eminent figures have been educated at the College, notably the satirist Jonathan Swift, the playwright William Congreve and the philosopher George Berkeley. Best viewed from the scenic towpath beside the uncompleted C18th Canal, the late C18th buildings now house the offices of Kilkenny County Council. The college, now co-educational, has continued to thrive in modern premises at Celbridge House on the outskirts of the city since 1989, and has a fine reputation for rugby and hockey.
Switsir’s Almshouses / St. James’ Hospital date from 1803.
St Kieran’s College
St Kieran’s College, known as “the first Catholic school in the kingdom”, was founded in 1782, shortly after the Catholic Relief Act permitted Roman Catholics to receive education for the first time since the introduction of the Penal Laws. The present buildings were designed by William Deane Butler with asssistance from George Ashlin. Distinguishing features include the Clock Tower, the chapel and the Glass Hall.
Prominent former pupils include Ralph Fiennes and several GAA stars.
The college, once a boarding school and Seminary, is now primarily a day school for boys,and also
St Kieran’s has a strong Hurling tradition.
St. Mary’s Cathedral (RC), the seat of the Bishop of Ossory, located at the highest point in Kilkenny, was designed by William Deane Butler in the mid-C19th (reputedly based on Gloucester Cathedral). It features a 200ft high tower (originally intended for St Kieran’s College) and superbly carved altars, together with a statue of the Virgin Mary by Giovani Maria Benzoni.
Kilkenny is also home to Glanbia, one of the world’s top cheese and dairy companies, formed from the merging of Avonmore and Waterford Foods.
The River Nore has been spanned at Kilkenny since c.1200 by two bridges, both replaced after major floods in 1487 and 1763 caused them to collapse, witt notable casualties. The current Green’s Bridge is an elegant Palladian structure constructed in 1766 to a designed by George Smith to replace those washed away in a flood in 1763. The present John’s Bridge was completed in 1910. Ossory Bridge, linking the ringroad around the city, was erected in 1984.
The traditional standard river vehicle is a small boat called a cot.
The Watergate Theatre is Kilkenny’s premiere venue for performing and visual arts, with a constantly varied programme of professional and amateur dramatics, classical and contemporary music, opera and dance, together with regular exhibitions of paintings and photographs.
Nowlan Park, the city’s GAA stadium, is home to the Kilkenny Cats hurling team and the venue for the annual Source concert, performed in recent years by artists as varies as Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton.
The Kilkenny Rhythm and Roots Festival, held on the first weekend in May every year in various venues throughout the city, features Americana / Bluegrass / Folk / Rockabilly / AltCountry musicians and singers from all over the world.
The Cat Laughs comedy festival is held annnually at the start of June.
Kilkenny Arts Week, a fortnight of visual art, painting, sculpture, theatre, film, mime, dance, and music ranging from Classical and traditional through jazz and blues to rock and World Music, takes place every year in the second half of August.
