City Guides

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Discover Kilkenny

by John Bradley

Published 1 June 2000

Kilkenny has long been noted as Ireland's foremost medieval town. Founded as an Early Christian settlement in the sixth century, the town has greatly influenced the course of Irish history. Its leading families are household names to this day - the Ormondes, the Butlers, the Rothers - and its buildings are wonderful reminders of the Ireland of old. Kilkenny is a town of fascinating contrasts, of ancient and modern, of Irish and European culture, of city and provincial town.

PART ONE explores the history of Kilkenny through key events, including: the founding of the Early Christian monastery, the coming of the Normans, the witchcraft trial of Alice Kyteler, the Statutes of Kilkenny, the Confederation of Kilkenny, the Cromwellian siege, the growth of industries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the developments in design and brewing during the twentieth century which have made Kilkenny a familiar name across Western Europe.

PART TWO visits Kilkenny's most interesting buildings and landmarks, including: Kilkenny Castle, St Canice's Cathedral, Rothe House, Shee Almshouse, Kyteler's Inn, the Tholsel, St Mary's Church, the Black Abbey and Kilkenny College, where Jonathan Swift, George Berkeley and William Congreve were educated.