One More Castle - Kilkenny

 Friday, August 25, 2023

We did a quick tour this morning of Kilkenny Castle.  The castle is 800 years old and sits in the center of the city.  It has an interesting history, transformed over the years, and transferred through many families until it was given to the people of Kilkenny in 1967 for a payment of L50!  

The castle has been restored to its grandeur, with showy drawing rooms and bedrooms

We wondered if this was a race room with the black and white checkered floor--ha ha!  It is actually an entrance hall, and the stone floor is Kilkenny black marble and sandstone.

The staircases were impressive...one with mahogany railings, and another with carved marble.

The back stairway was a cantilevered stairway made from granite, and dates back to the 1800's!

There were several long hallways to guest bedrooms which served as galleries for photos.

An entire wing was built in the early 19th century as a picture gallery to house the artwork owned by the family.  The ceiling was filled with hand-painted wood pieces which created a beautiful space.

The walls were 12 feet thick in places.  You have to wonder how they built these structures so long ago.

The castle was not only beautiful on the inside, but on the outside as well.  These are a couple of views from an upstairs window.

Kilkenny Castile is a real treasure for this city and its visitors!  

On our walk back to the hotel, we saw a cricket team from the local school on their way to practice!  We thought about following to challenge them to a game of pickleball.

We drove through more narrow roads with stone walls on one side to get to our destination for the night in Johnstown Bridge.  

Tomorrow we will join our tour in Dublin for 13 more days of adventure!