Ireland Trip Day 4: Kilkenny Castle

Luke was hoping by going to bed early he’d be able to wake up early and get some good pictures of the sunrise. He misjudged the timing of the sunrise so he wasn’t able to capture the light he was hoping for but the landscape is still gorgeous.

We then drove back into Kilkeny and stopped at The Yard for breakfast and a delicious mocha. After enjoying the coffee, we made our way back to Kilkenny castle to tour the rebuilt structure and learn more about it’s history.

Kilkenny Castle History

Kilkenny Castle is a 12th century Castle. It was built in the 1170s by Strongbow. It was originally built as wooden castle or also referred to as a stronghold. Then in 1213 a stone castle was built. Finally in
1391, James Butler bought the castle. The Butler family owned it from the 14th century until 1967 when it sold to local restoration committee for only 50 pounds. Another little fact was that Queen Elizabeth the First was the great great granddaughter to James Butler.

Before it was sold to the restoration committee, in 1935 the Butlers left the castle and it’s contents auctioned. There is tons of history. Check back for photos of rooms and more information about this history.

Kilkenny

When we left the Castle and walked across the river to a couple other churches we stumbled across another corner tower of the fortress. Stopped at Lanigan’s for a drink and to take a break from walking.
We made our way down the street to Left Bank for a delicious dinner and a Smithwicks beer.

Before we walked back to the car, we stopped at Dunes Market and got a belt since I forgot to pack mine. We also picked up some Granola bars and muffins for the morning. Dunes is similar to a Target store in the US. We then paid for our parking. You get a ticket when you pull in, and then when you leave, you go to a kiosk (before you get in your car) and pay, then get in your car and leave. We learned the hard way yesterday.
This time we drove successfully back to our little hut and didn’t miss a turn. We sorted out our mess of bags, relaxed a little, and watched a show we downloaded since there was no Wi-Fi. It was nice to have a place that didn’t have Wi-Fi so we could truly spend time relaxing, not worrying about social media and just spend time in nature. I would gladly come back to the Jenkinstown House Huts.

Safe Travels,
Luke & Jessica

P.S. We apologize for the short post and lack of pictures. We had a few personal matters that disrupted us posting all about our trip so we are just trying to at least publish our notes and come back and add more details and pictures as we have time. Thanks for your support!