tourist attractions kilkenny

Known in Old Irish literature as one of the darkest places in Ireland and as the place where the monster Luchtigern 'The Lord of the Mice' was slain, this cave was plundered by Godfry and the Vikings of Dublin in 928. In this raid, 1,000 people were killed, and the numerous human bones found in the cave are thought to be the remains of the victims.
The cave is divided into three main parts, of which Haddon Hall and chambers leading off it are difficult to access. The wide entrance s...

Saint Canices Cathedral is one of Ireland's finest. Completed in 1285, it occupies the site of an earlier church and contains rich carvings, worked in both timber and stone, some dating from the 13th century. It was sacked by Cromwell's army in 1650.
The walls are made of local Kilkenny limestone with pillars of sandstone on the interior. The south transept contains the effigies of the Butler family. It has colourful stained glass too and everywhere the authentic air of a structur...

Built by the prosperous merchant John Rothe in 1594, the building was soon enlarged to accommodate his family of 12 children. Second and third houses were built around cobbled courtyards and a well dating to 1604. The facade house shops, one of them was John Rothe's own emporium. The second generation and their families shared facilities like the well and the brewhouse. The house would have been very comfortably furnished by the standards of the day.

The Kilkenny Archaeological So...

Kilkenny Castle is a 12th century castle remodelled in Victorian times and set in extensive parklands which was the principal seat of the Butler family, Marquesses and Dukes of Ormonde.
Due to major restoration works, the central block now includes a library, drawing room and bedrooms decorated in 1830's splendour, as well as the beautiful Long Gallery.
The old castle kitchen operates as a tea room during the summer. A suite of former servant's rooms is the Butler Art Gallery,...

Jerpoint Abbey is located about 1 mile from Thomastown and is undoubtedly one of the finest Cistercian monastic ruins in Ireland. The Abbey was founded by Donal Mac Gillapatrick, King of Ossory, in 1158 for the Benedictines, but it was later colonised by the Cistercians from Baltinglass in 1180. Jerpoint, in its turn, became the mother house for the Abbeys of Kilcooly, Co. Tipperary and Kilkenny in 1184. In 1227 it became affiliated to Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire. After the dissolution of the M...