Kilkenny, Ireland

I had never heard the term "freezing fog" used in a weather forecast (as opposed to "warm" fog?), but that was what I read as we left Dublin early one Sunday morning in mid-February. Our destination: Kilkenny, which is a small city south of Dublin. I chose Kilkenny because of its proximity to Dublin and the fact that it is on the rail line and we were not planning on hiring a car. Since we only had two spare days in Ireland, the two hour train ride from Dublin would leave us plenty of time for exploring once we arrived in Kilkenny.

We walked a few blocks from the train station into the center of town and found the Hibernian Hotel. We stepped into the lobby with its rich red walls and hunter green accents that highlighted the beautiful mahogany woodwork around the registration desk.  We were greeted by the warm fireplace burning nearby. After checking in, we stayed long enough to take off the chill by having a pot of tea in the deep leather chairs next to the fireplace in the hotel pub and I thought to myself that is exactly what one should be doing on a freezing fog Sunday afternoon in Ireland.

The next stop was an obvious and definite choice: Kilkenny Castle. The castle was taken over by the State in 1969 and restored to look like a mid-19^th century home. It sits upon the River Nore and the stone structure dates back to the 13^th century. It had been the home to the powerful Butler family for over 600 years. The family received their surname as they were once butler to the King of England. The Long Gallery with its glass roof displays portraits of the former occupants. Directly across the street housed in the former stables is the Kilkenny Design Centre with their locally made goods. 

 The next two days we strolled around the main tourist sites such as 6^TH century St. Canice's Cathedral with its stained glass windows and walked through the graveyard with the ornate tombstones where we climbed its round tower for a view of the city. We left the cathedral and strolled the quaint High Street with its shops and pubs.

 We visited the Rothe House and Garden, the Tudor home of a former merchants and their 12 children in the early 1600's. The house is educational as to how the family lived and features a re-created vegetable and herb garden and orchard. In fact, a group of school children were on a tour and we listened as they received their lesson.

Kilkenny is a brew town, home of not only Kilkenny beer, but Smithwick's. Probably one of the most high-tech brewery tours around, The Smithwick's Experience talks you on an audiovisual tour of the Smithwick family and their brewery.
Another thing Kilkenny is known for is its music. Both of the evenings that we were in town, Sunday and Monday nights, we strolled from pub to pub to hear the local bands that ranged from a six-piece rock band to two guys with a guitar, flute and harmonica. My husband's favorite were the two old lads that played a mandolin and drum and paused for folk stories and poetry recitations in between sets.

 

We were sorry to leave on Tuesday morning, but glad that we had two days to experience life in Ireland outside of big-city Dublin.