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KILKENNY CASTLE
Norman Castle to Victorian Baronial Palace
One
of Ireland’s most important and most visited castles about
an hour from Dublin sits on a crossing of the River Nore in the center
of Kilkenny. The original dates for a first fortress on the spot vary,
with likely an earlier home of the Irish Kings of Ossory and likely
Celts before them, but the first significant castle, likely of wood,
was built by Richard de Clare “Strongbow” who first established
the Anglo-Norman presence in Ireland in the 12th Century. William Marshal,
the crusader hero under Henry II and protector of his son and later
king, John, married Strongbow’s daughter Isabel (see Ros
Tapestry)
and succeeded to his father-in-law’s lands in 1189 (see Pembroke
Castle Wales). It was Marshal who built the square stone
Norman castle, begun in 1195 and completed in 1213
Unlike
Norman keep castles like Bunratty (see Bunratty
Castle), Kilkenny
was constructed as a square of walls with four round corner towers,
more akin to the fortress designs of the Welsh coast (see Harlech
Castle), and surrounded by a moat, which form the
basis of the current castle.
Inside the walls
were wooden constructed halls, living quarters and barracks. Unlike
the other Norman castles in Ireland (see Trim
Castle) which decayed into ruin over time,
Kilkenny remained a major residence and seat of wealth and transformed
over centuries into a castellated baronial manor house with the castle
defenses exchanged for parkland and gardens. Three of the original
towers remain but much of the castle has been added to with later Victorian
age remodeling.
A symbol of the Norman occupation and English power in Ireland, the
castle was bought in 1391 by James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde. The
Butler family ruled the surrounding countryside for almost five hundred
years, gaining significant land holdings with the dissolution of the
monasteries by Henry VIII (see Jerpoint Abbey). Kilkenny Castle was
the site of the meeting of the General Assembly of the Catholic Confederate
goverment of Ireland in the 1640s, and suffered badly under siege by
Cromwell's forces in 1650, during which one of the towers was apparently
destroyed.
It
is claimed Kilkenny Castle is notoriously haunted, with ghosts supposedly
not
allowing
anyone
to sleep overnight in comfort in the last 150 years. One suspects there
are likely other causes for that, perhaps more economic than spectral,
but the castle did attract the interest of famed British occultist
Aleister Crowley, who bought a part interest in the castle from the
last Bulter when the family fell on hard times in the market crash
of the 1930s. Details on ghosts at Kilkenny Castle are sparse, a "lady
in white" seems to be occassionally spotted on stairs and in the
gardens. There is a local Ghost Walk Tour of Kilkenny town which gathers
at the castle gates.
Kilkenny
Castle
was granted to a trust in 1968 and extensive refurbishments made. Most
of the original Butler furnishings were sold off at auction
in 1935, but some were re-acquired and added to by paintings from the
Irish National Gallery. The castle and grounds are now managed by the
OPW, with regular tours, and the gardens and parkland adjoining the
castle open to the public. The Rose Garden on the city side of the
castle is used as the location for weddings against the backdrop of
the castle towers. The expansive green grass park extends from the
eastern side along the river bank, and is popular for weekends.
Tours
of the interior of the castle lead through a number of 17th to 19th
century palace style rooms of rich furnishings and paintings.
Portraits of the various Butlers are omni-present. The Blue Bedroom
and Chinese Bedroom of particular fascination, but perhaps the most
impressive room is the Roberton Picture Galley. Designed by architect
William Robertson in the early 1800s, a wing was added to the castle
over earlier foundations with a long picture gallery, a high arched
ceiling with skylights was added later, giving the chamber a grand
scale. The earlier medieval heritage life of the castle can be found
in the undercroft of the west tower with a massive cirular chamber
of thick 13th Century walls and arrow loops. In the Medieval Room
of the south tower, visitors can view an audio visual presentaion of
the history of the castle.
Visiting Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny Castle is open for guided tours only, from October to March
and April to May, daily from 10.30am to 5pm (though closed for lunch
from 12.45 to 2.00pm). From June to August, tours are offered from
9.30am to 7.pm and in September from 10am to 6.30pm. Admission for
adults is €6, Seniors €4, Students and Children over 6 are €2.50,
with a family ticket for €14. The exterior grounds are open without
charge. Tours take about an hour. Kilkenny Castle is very popular tourist
spot and waits can get long in the summer months. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Kilkenny
Castle
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SEE ALSO:
SMITHWICK’S BREWERY TOUR KILKENNY
ABBEY HOUSE B&B - JERPOINT ABBEY VIEW
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