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Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
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We started our morning with a walk along the river Nore which runs through Kilkenny. Kilkenny was an important market town in the middle ages and is the site of St. Canice Cathedral, built in the 13th century on the site of an earlier monestary. The site is known for having 1 of the 2 watch towers in Ireland that you can still climb, which Heather, Rebecca, and Randy did. Inside the church we took a guided tour where we learned more about Kilkenny and the cathedral.
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| Headed up the tower. It gets steeper the higher you go. |
Alice Kyteler was one of Kilkenny’s most infamous residents. She was married to 4 wealthy men who each died mysteriously, and who each gave all their money to Alice's son. Eventually she was charged and tried for witchcraft, but before she was to be sentenced, she disappeared. Her maid was also charged, tortured, and then burned at the stake. One of the first events of its kind in Europe.
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| The house Alice Kyteler was born in, in Kilkenny. |
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Out sweet tour guide at Canice Cathedral.
She was born and raised in the area
and quite knowledgeable about the various families. |
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| Tomb of Bishop Ledrede, author of the Red Book, and responsible for charging Alice Kyteler. |
We also were able to learn about and view "The Red Book", a sort of early encyclopedia written by Bishop Richard de Ledrede in the 14th century. Among other facts in the book is one of the earliest recorded receipts for whiskey, or the "Water Of Life" as some Irish call it.
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| The actual Red Book |
We then visited the Black Abbey and St. Mary's Cathedral (Catholic). The Black Abbey was in ruins after the dissolution, but rebuilt in 1864. St. Mary’s was built in 1842. So both are "new" buildings.
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| Black Abbey |
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| Inside St Mary’s |
After a quick lunch on the lawn of Kilkenny Castle, we then toured the castle. The castle was built in 1260 by the Norman's, who had recently conquered most of Ireland. And was later the home to the Bulter family up until the 20th century when it was gifted to Kilkenny. By that time it was in great disrepair, but has since been refurbished to what it would have been like in Victorian times.
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| Lunch at Kilkenny Castle |
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| Portrait Hall at Kilkenny Castle |
We then headed out of Kilkenny towards Waterford. Our final two stops were the ruins of Kells Priory and Jerpoint Abbey.
Kells is a 12th century Augustinian priory. Like most abbeys and priories, it was abandoned at the dissolution and has fallen into ruins. However, there are quite a few walls and buildings remaining, and the site is said to be the largest monastic site in Ireland.
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| Pictures don’t really capture how large Kells is |
Jerpoint is a Cistercian abbey, again abandoned as part of the dissolution. The Cistercians are know for their simplicity and it was highly unusual for their monasteries to contain sculptures or much decoration. However, there are many carvings found there, especially in parts of the cloister.
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| Jerpoint is a favorite of ours so lots of photos. |
Both monastery ruins were lovely, set in the picturesque Irish countryside. Our weather has been great so far. However, rain is in the forecast for Waterford tomorrow, where we spend the next couple of nights. Our plans are to tour the Waterford Crystal factory and visit the Viking triangle. Yes, Waterford is a Viking town, so you’ll hear more about them.
Here’s just a few shots as we wandered around Waterford after a really delicious Italian dinner.
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| Viking King and Queen… |
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| …or perhaps this instead. |
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