Kilkenny ( Cill Chainnigh )

Kilkenny comes from the Irish word Cill Chainnigh - Cainneach's church, founded in Kilkenny City by St. Canice on the banks of the River Nore in the 6th century. Kilkenny is also known as the marble city because of the black marble which is quarried there. The Castlecomer Plateau consists of shale, sandstone and coal. Kilkenny was also a part of the kingdom of Ossory. St. Canice founded a monastary at Aghavoe

St. Canice’s is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Western Europe. It is sited on the presumed location of Canice’s original monastic settlement, on a hilltop near the River Brosna, a tributary of the Nore. The bulk of the church was built in the 13th century and substantially restored in the early 19th century. Visitors are welcome to confront their fear of heights and clamber up a spiral staircase of a Round Tower built so petrified monks could hide from axe-wielding Vikings. St Canice’s is home to an intriguing array of monuments to the dead, some dating to the early days of the Anglo-Norman invasion. The Black Abbey offers another excellent slice of medieval history. It was built for the Dominicans in 1220 by the remarkable William Marshall, a man who unseated Richard the Lionheart in a jousting tournament, bullied King John into signing Magna Carta, married the sole heiress of Strongbow and Aoife, toured the Middle East on several Crusades and encouraged rabbit breeding in Ireland because he liked the taste of them.

County Kilkenny has been at the heart of Irish civilization and culture for more than fifteen centuries. It boasts a unique selection of historic sites and buildings from the 7th century. The county's quality hotels, elegant restaurants, award-winning pubs, talented musicians and warm hearted people make it an ideal holiday destination. Experience Kilkenny's world-famous design tradition by watching the skill and creativity of local and international craftsmen at first hand. Kilkenny is also an excellent sporting county, with good opportunities for angling, shooting and golf. The county is famous for its hurling teams. The ancient Irish game is practiced like an artform here.

In the immediate vicinity, there are plenty of golf courses, go-kart tracks, equestrian and leisure centres to keep visitors in full trim, or perhaps one’s visit coincides with a horse race meeting at Gowran Park or a busy schedule in the city’s greyhound track.

Kilkenny – the Creative Heart of Ireland, where heritage and history, environmental harmony, crafts and architecture combine to create an all-pervading spirit of excellence. With Ireland's Medieval Capital at its heart, County Kilkenny is dotted with medieval ruins, solid stone walls, charming villages and a host of historic monuments including Jerpoint Abbey, one of Ireland's finest monastic settlements. Regal, majestic and ancient, overlooking the brooding River Nore,Kilkenny Castle, now fully restored has stood sentinel at this important river crossing for perhaps 900 years. There are forest parks, natural wonders and some of Ireland's finest studio workshops clustered in the scenic valley of the River Nore. Good food, lively restaurants, popular pubs and nightclubs are also important in a County that offers quite simply everything for an enjoyable and memorable holiday

Three great river highways, the Barrow, the Suir and the Nore, ensured that the lands now comprising Kilkenny received very early attention from both raiders and traders. Their early settlements can still be traced, written in stone in the landscape. In every part of the county is evidence of the benign, and sometimes malign influences, that have helped shape the history, politics and sociology of the area.

Pre-historic portal dolmens, Iron Age earth works, early Ogham stones, a plethora of early Christian monastic sites, Anglo-Norman defensive towers, imposing castles, Elizabethan manor houses and Georgian estate houses, help recall the story of a county and of a city that is rich in history and tradition.

Diarmuid Mac Murrough, the Irish King of Leinster, abducted the wife of O'Rorke, another chieftain, and thereby fell foul of the then High King, Roderick O'Conor, who banised Diarmuid from his Kingdom. Diarmuid appealed to Henry II, the Plantagenet King of England, to help him regain his territory and was authorised to raise an army from among the Anglo-Normans in Wales.

In return for their help, Diarmuid promised Richard Fitzgilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke - known as Strongbow - his daughter's hand in marriage and thereby established him as pretender heir to the Kingdom of Leinster. After the Anglo-Norman "invasion" of 1169, most of what is now Co. Kilkenny fell to Strongbow.

Strongbow built a motte and bailey castle in Kilkenny in 1172 to command the crossing of the Nore. On his death, his son-in-law, William the Earl Marshall, replaced it with a stone structure, establishing his seat here, where in 1204 he incorporated the town. Having passed to the de Clares and Le Despensers, James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond, purchased the manor and castle in 1391.

The history of the Ormond Butlers was, to a large degree, the history of Anglo-Norman relations for the following seven centuries. The name "Butler" derives from the installation by Henry II of Theobald FitzWalter as Chief Butler of Ireland in 1177. In 1328 the Butlers were created Earls of Ormond and in 1391 the family seat moved from Gowran to Kilkenny, where the family lived until 1935.

The power of the Butlers brought the city to prominence and it was the venue for much of the deliberations of the Anglo-Irish Parliament that met on 15 occasions in the 14th century. The Statutes of Kilkenny were enacted here in 1366, when it was feared that the old Anglo-Norman families were becoming "more Irish than the Irish themselves". James I elevated the liberty to the rank of City in 1609.

During the turbulent years in the reign of Charles I in England, the city was the seat of the Supreme Council of the Catholic Confederation, known as the Confederation of Kilkenny.

Kilkenny Castle. Considerably modified by the Earl of Ormonde in the 1820s, the castle today houses an impressive collection of 17th - 19th century art and the guided tours are colourful and informative.

HOSPITALS

Aut Even Hospital - Sisters of St. John of God
Freshford Road, Kilkenny
Tel: 056 75275

Castlecomer District Hospital
Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny
Tel: 056 41246

Lourdes Regional Orthopaedic Hospital
Kilcreene, Kilkenny
Tel: 056 52465

St. Canice's Psychiatric Hospital
Sion Road, Kilkenny
Tel: 056 52341

St. Columba's Hospital
Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny
Tel: 056 24178

St. Luke's General Hospital
Kilkenny
Tel: 056 51133

ESTATE AGENTS

Boyd Auctioneers
29 Patrick Street
Kilkenny
Phone : (056) 7764833
Fax : (056) 7751299
E-Mail : mail@boyds.ie

Donohoe Properties
Butler Court
Patrick Street
Kilkenny
Phone : (056) 7770400
Fax : (056) 7770433
E-Mail : donohoekilkenny@eircom .net

Fennelly, Daniel J & Son
Mill Street
Callan
Co. Kilkenny
Phone : (056) 7725122
Fax : (056) 7725122
E-Mail : fintanfennelly1@eircom.net

FitzGerald Auctioneers (Kilkenny) Ltd
24 Patrick Street
Kilkenny
Phone : (056) 7770888
Fax : (056) 7752854
E-Mail : fitzauct@iol.ie

THINGS TO DO

Carlsberg Rhythm & Roots Festival