Kilkenny (pop. 30,000) is a perfect destination for travelers in search of the classic Irish city. In proud Irish fashion, it has a renowned medieval namesake castle, bright storefronts with excellent shopping, a tremendous selection of pubs, and its own brewery. While Dublin is becoming increasingly international, Kilkenny staunchly clings to its roots; it’s much easier to find a traditional pub filled with the sounds of an uillean pipe than a trendy gastropub.
The city cemented itself in the history books in 1172 when Strongbow built Kilkenny Castle to command the crossing of the River Nore. His son-in-law later replaced the original structure with sturdier stone and incorporated the town in 1204. The town wall, part of which still stands today, once designated the border between “English Town,” inside the gates and governed by the Normans, and “Irish Town,” governed by the local bishop. The two governments were apt to quarrel, and Kilkenny’s nickname, “the fighting cats,” stems from their behavior (see Entertainment). Their sportsmen haven’t lost their pugnacious tendencies, and they now field one of Ireland’s best hurling teams. Today, a casual walk down its handsome streets reveals Kilkenny’s attempt to recreate its 15th-century charm. The city’s buildings and sidewalks glint with indigenous polished black limestone which Kilkennians fondly refer to as “black marble,” and storefronts have eliminated tacky neon—even fast-food joints have hand-painted facades. These efforts are reaping their touristic reward: the city has twice earned the coveted title of Tidy Town, and its population doubles during high season.
From MacDonagh Station, turn left onto John Street and downhill across the bridge toward the intersection with High Street and the Parade. Most activity occurs in the triangle formed by High, Rose Inn, and Kieran Streets.
The average Kilkenny B&B costs around €35 per person, but some places hike prices up to €40 on weekends. B&Bs tend to be slightly impersonal; hostels are more homey. Call ahead in the summer, during festivals, or on weekends. The Waterford road and more remote Castlecomer Rd. have the most guesthouses.
Dunnes Stores, Kieran St., sells housewares and food. (☎61655. Open 24hr.) SuperQuinn, in the Market Cross shopping center off High St., has an equally huge selection and free samples. (☎52444. Open M-Tu 8am-8pm, W-F 8am-9pm, Sa 8am-7pm, Su 10am-7pm.) You can pick up fresh, local grub at the market by Kilkenny Castle every Th 9am-2:30pm. Everything about Kilkenny’s restaurants is great except the prices, which hover somewhere in the lower stratosphere. Below are some of the best or most reasonable options; otherwise, your best bet is a pub.
Kilkenny, “The Marble City,” is also known as the “Oasis of Ireland”—its watering holes host live music most nights, especially in summer. On weekends, partygoers swarm off trains and buses onto John St. and often don’t make it past the bridge; hen and stag parties abound at modern pubs and clubs. Several more subdued, traditional pubs line Parliament St. Let’s Go has picked 14 of the best for a Kilkenny Pub Crawl. Pubbers who want to wind the night down slowly begin the crawl at the top of John St., while those who want to keep tossing back the Smithwick’s well into the night should begin at the end of Parliament St. Alternatively, start at 3pm in the Smithwick’s Brewery and begin the buzz on the house (tickets required, see Sights). All pubs close at regulation hours (M-Th 11:30pm, F-Sa 12:30am, Su 11pm) unless otherwise noted. Music is almost always free.
Kilkenny Castle. Kilkenny Castle, the Parade, is the city’s crown jewel. The castle housed the Earls of Ormonde from the 1300s through 1935, and many rooms have been restored to their former opulence. Long Galley, reminiscent of a Viking ship, is chock-full of portraits of English bigwigs and giant tapestries. The vaulted ceiling is especially impressive—it took the artist over two years to decorate with Celtic revival painting, which was fashionable in the 1850s. The basement houses Butler Gallery and its excellent modern art exhibits, which rotate every 6 weeks. (☎21450. Castle and gallery open daily June-Aug. 9:30am-7pm; Sept. 10am-6:30pm; Oct.-Mar. 10:30am-12:45pm and 2-5pm; Apr.-May 10:30am-5pm. Castle access by 1hr. guided tour only. €5.30, students €2.10. Free every F in March. 1st fl. of castle and 10min. audio-visual presentation are wheelchair-accessible. MC/V.) The 21-hectare park adjoining the castle provides excellent scenery for an afternoon jaunt. (Open daily 8am-8:30pm; earlier closing hours in the low season. Free.) Across the street, the internationally known Kilkenny Design Centre fills the castle’s former stables with expensive Irish crafts. Past the gallery and workshops, the Butler House gardens are much quieter than the castle grounds and are a lovely place to sit or stroll. (☎22118; www.kilkennydesign.com. Open Apr.-Dec. M-Sa 9am-6pm, Su 10am-6pm; Jan.-Mar. M-Sa 9am-6pm.)
Smithwick’S Brewery. Ireland’s oldest brewery, Smithwick’s has 50 years on its darker cousin, although Guinness had the last laugh when it purchased the brewery several years ago (to add insult to injury, it now brews Budweiser on-site). Head to the security station, on the right after Watergate Theatre, early in the morning (9-10am) to collect one of 50 free tickets. Show up at 3pm outside the green doors on Parliament St. to the left of the courthouse for a tedious 15min. virtual tour and free pints in the private pub below the factory. A history of accidents keeps visitors out of the actual factory. (☎21014. Tours July-Aug. M-F.)
St. Canice’S Cathedral. “Kilkenny” is derived from the Gaelic Cill Chainnigh, meaning “Church of St. Canice.” With an impressive wooden ceiling and expertly carved tombs, the Romanesque gothic cathedral holds plenty of eye candy, including its original 12th-century baptismal font. The 30m round tower next to the cathedral is 1200 years old, but it’s none the worse for the wear. With €3 and a bit of faith, the brave can climb the six steep ladders to a gorgeous panoramic view of the town and its surroundings. (☎64971. On a hill off Dean St. Open June-Aug. M-Sa 9am-6pm, Su 2-6pm; Apr.-May and Sept. M-Sa 10am-1pm and 2-5pm, Su 2-5pm; Oct.-Mar. M-Sa 10am-1pm and 2-4pm, Su 2-4pm. Tower open at 10am. Cathedral entrance €4, students €3; round tower €3/2.50; combined ticket €6. Guided tours available but must be pre-booked.)
The Black Abbey. Off Abbey St., Black Abbey was founded in 1225 by Dominican friars. A row of coffins that used to contain bodies struck by the Plague lie outside. Inside, An awe-inspiring, wall-size stained-glass window depicts the 15 mysteries of the rosary, while a 600-year-old statue saved from Cromwell’s cronies stands guard nearby. (☎21279. Free.)
Rothe House. Rothe House, Parliament St., was a Tudor merchant house when it was built in 1594. Now it’s a small museum of local archaeological finds and Kilkennian curiosities, including 1830-1990 period costumes. The self-guided tour is mildly stimulating at best, though the displays of vintage clothing, including a section devoted to undergarments, are a sight. Some bypass the museum altogether and access the quiet, original stone courtyards through the welcome office. (☎22893. Open Apr.-Oct. M-Sa 10:30am-5pm, Su 3-5pm; Nov.-Mar. M-Sa 1-5pm, Su 3-5pm. Last admission 4:15pm. Guided tours available on request, min. 10 people. €4, students €3.)
Walking Tour. The weekday Tynan Walking Tours, adequate but not stellar, are the only way to take a peek inside a cell in the old city gaol. Save your euros and explore the town yourself with a free map from the tourist office. Tours depart from the tourist office on Rose Inn St. (☎63955; www.tynantours.com. 1hr. tours mid-Mar.-Oct. M-Sa 10:30am, 12:15, 3, 4:30pm, Su 11:15am and 12:30pm; call for winter hours. €6, students and seniors €5.50.)
The Kilkenny People (€1.30) is a good resource for art and music listings. The Watergate Theatre, Parliament St., stages drama, dance, and opera year-round. (☎61674; www.watergatekilkenny.com. Box office open M-F 10am-7pm, Sa 2-6pm, Su 1hr. before curtain. Tickets €15-25, student tickets usually €12.) In mid-August, Kilkenny holds its Arts Festival, a daily program of theater, concerts, dance, and readings by famous European and Irish artists. (☎52175; www.kilkennyarts.ie. Some event tickets are free, others €15-25; student/senior discounts vary by venue. Sold at the box office in the Parade in the old Bank of Ireland, by phone, or online. Box office open M-F 10am-6pm.) The city’s population increases by more than 10,000 when the Cat Laughs; this comedy festival features international the first weekend in June. (www.smithwickscatlaughs.ie. Some events free, others €20-30; book in advance.) The Rhythm and Roots Festival, a celebration of country music, comes a-knockin’ on the bank holiday in May (www.kilkennyroots.com).
Many options await the outdoor enthusiast in and around Kilkenny. Noreside Outdoors (☎93966) sets up fishing on the Nore and sells permits to make it legal. To canoe on the river Barrow, call Go with the Flow River Adventures (☎08725 29700. Rental €25 per day). Those with equestrian aspirations choose Kilkenny Top Flight Equestrian Centre (☎22682) to ride along the banks of the Nore, or the pricier Mount Juliet (☎73000) for trail rides on a country estate; pre-booking is essential. The Kilkenny Golf Club (☎65400), out Castlecomer Rd., is an 18-hole championship course open to non-members. To watch rather than participate, see the “Fighting Cats” in a hurling match in Nowlan Park, near the train station. (kilkenny.gaa.ie.) Horseracing thrills fans in Gowran Park (☎26225; www.gowranpark.ie), on N9.
Thomastown And Jerpoint Abbey. Thomastown, a tiny community on the Nore River south of Kilkenny, is the gateway to the stately Jerpoint Abbey, located only 2.4km away. The strict order of Cistercian monks who founded Jerpoint in 1180 stressed simplicity, but at some point they loosened up and decorated their home with beautiful stone carvings of their favorite saints. The trend caught on, and soon almost every stone surface displayed beautiful carvings; virtually every pillar and wall is now decorated with a figure. Much of the original structure fell apart and had to be reconstructed, but some original plaster with still-decipherable paintings remains in the sacristy. Tours (45min.) upon request discuss the lives of medieval monks and offer insight into the meanings of the stonework and paintings. (Bus Éireann stops at Jerpoint Inn in Thomastown on its way from Waterford to Kilkenny, 2 per day. The folks at the Inn have a schedule for Rapid Express ☎31106, a private bus running between Dublin and Tramore; 9 per day. Trains run from Waterford to Dublin through Thomastown and Kilkenny 4-5 per day 9am-9pm; €12.30 return. The train station is a 10min. walk out on Marshes Rd. From the station, turn left and head downhill to get to town. Jerpoint Abbey ☎24623. Open daily June-Sept. 9:30am-6pm; Oct. and Mar.-May 10am-5pm; Nov. 10am-4pm. €3, students €1.30.)
Dunmore Cave. On the road to Castlecomer, 10km north of Kilkenny, eerie Dunmore Cave lies underfoot. The only Irish cave documented in ancient annals, it’s known as one of the three darkest places in Ireland (the others being Newgrange and Knowth). Recently unearthed human bones dating from AD 928, mostly belonging to women and children and some showing signs of brutality, are remnants of a tragic Viking massacre of over 100 local people that year. A few years back, a tour guide who strayed outside the marked boundaries of the cave discovered a valuable Viking stash of silver thread, coins, and other spoils that still confound archaeologists. The 40min. tours repeat the information given in the 10min. audio-visual presentation, but they’re the only way to gain admission to the caves; guides point out the important stalactites and stalagmites and accompany visitors up and down the over 700 steps. The limestone caverns, which remain a constant 50˚F year-round, make a perfect habitat for bats but can be chilly for humans. (Buggy’s Coaches, ☎41264, stops at the cave between Kilkenny and Castlecomer. 20min., M-Sa 1 per day, 12:45pm with 4pm return. From drop-off point, the 10min. walk is well signposted. By car, take N78, the Dublin-Castlecomer road, from Kilkenny; turn right after the split with N77, the Durrow road. Cave ☎67726. Open Mar.-Nov. daily 9:30am-5:30pm; Nov.-Mar. F-Su 9:30am-5:30pm. Last admission 1hr. before closing . €3, students €1.30.)
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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