Medieval Kilkenny: A Sightseeing Tour from the Castle to St. Canice's Cathedral

(41 reviews)

Kilkenny audio tour: Medieval Kilkenny: A Sightseeing Tour from the Castle to St. Canice's Cathedral

This is a 1mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Kilkenny

Ireland

$9.99

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About the Tour

Meander through Kilkenny, one of the most important inland towns in Ireland, on a walking tour retracing its history. We’ll begin at the castle gates, where you’ll hear about the turbulent life of Dermot McMurrough, the King of Leinster, and his daughter Aoife, as well as the kings, warriors and knights who helped established Kilkenny in the 1100s.

I’ll show you around the city’s most significant medieval sites, such as the Tholsel, Kytler's Inn, and St. Canice's Cathedral. I’ll tell you stories about the real people of the time, including merchants, witches, bishops and abbots, which I’m sure will fascinate and enthral you until the very end of the tour.

Highlights on our walk include:

Tracing parts of the city’s Medieval Mile
A quick tour around the Black Abbey
Learning about a castle that was built on top of a medieval jail

Along the way you’ll also discover:

Why Kilkenny is known as the Marble City
The food regulations that existed in medieval Kilkenny’s markets
What the Liber Primus Kilkenniensis is, and why it’s so important

The tour ends a short walk from the centre of town, where you’ll find other interesting sights to see, great shopping opportunities, and a whole host of places to enjoy a meal, snack, or drink.

Tour Producer

Amanda Pitcairn

1 tour

History has been an absolute passion of mine since childhood when I was brought up on the stories of some noble, and less than noble, ancestors, from the reckless and rascally Colonel Thomas Blood who stole the crown jewels to the midshipman who sighted and named Pitcairn Island, and Major John Pitcairn who fired the first shot of the American War of Independence, to one of the greatest English architects, Sir Edwin Lutyens, I simply could not help being enthralled by history. I became more interested in the Medieval Period and have a Master's Degree in Public History and Cultural Heritage from Trinity College Dublin. I happen to live in one of the richest towns in Ireland in terms of extant Medieval built heritage, and and I truly delight in bringing Kilkenny's Medieval history to life with stories of those who founded, lived and thrived there. Sharing history is always a two way street and because I gain so much enjoyment from engaging with the public, I set up my own tour guiding business, Touch The Past Ireland, www.touchthepastireland.com, and conduct walking tours of Kilkenny City and historic sites such as Clonmacnoise and Holycross Abbey among many others. Should you require a personal, live tour, please contact me on +353(0)872776107 or by email at [email protected] or visit my website for more information.

Preview Location

Location 9

Kytler's Inn

We now find ourselves outside Kytler’s Inn. Stop here for a moment please.

Kytler is not an Irish name; it is a Flemish name.

When William Marshall made Kilkenny his caput he wanted to enhance the wool trade in the area so he brought with him a community of Flemmings;... We now find ourselves outside Kytler’s Inn. Stop here for a moment please.

Kytler is not an Irish name; it is a Flemish name.

When William Marshall made Kilkenny his caput he wanted to enhance the wool trade in the area so he brought with him a community of Flemmings; those people from Flanders, or modern-day Belgium, who were renowned wool dealers and makers of cloth. They settled in an area just south of the Castle still known today as Flemmingtown. One of their number, a Joseph Kytler, made a fortune in the wool trade and had great connections with Italian bankers. In the 1280s he came into town, built this house, and went into banking. However, he is most famous for his daughter, Alice Kytler.

Alice Kytler is famous for having married four times. It was not unusual to marry more than once in the Middle Ages as people died so often. Alice began by marrying William Outlaw and she had a son with him also known as William Outlaw. William Outlaw senior died, and Alice inherited the third of his estate to which she was entitled, and her son inherited the other two thirds. Alice married again to a man called Adam le Blund, and he also died, but not before he had willed the other two-thirds of his estate to Alice’s son. She married again, a man called Richard Lavalle. Lavalle happened to have three children by a previous wife. Unfortunately, he also died.

However, his children thought that it was a little suspicious, not that Alice’s husbands kept dying, but that she was profiting so highly from their deaths, so they charged her with Maleficium. Maleficium is the crime of using witchcraft to harm. In the meantime, Alice married for a fourth time, a man called Le Poer. Of course, he also died but his symptoms were recorded. His fingernails and hair were falling out, he was emaciated and vomiting; all symptoms which we would recognise today as arsenic poisoning. It was clear therefore that she was knocking off her husbands but not through witchcraft!

At the same time the Bishop of Ossory, Bishop Ledrede, based in St. Canice’s Cathedral, had just come from the Papal Court at Avignon where the Church had been busy persecuting heretics such as the Cathars and the Albigensian. When he heard the word Maleficium he decided that this was an ideal opportunity to jump on the band waggon to hunt a few more heretics. He increased the charge against Alice and her entire household, from Maleficium to full-blown witchcraft.

Let's get going while I tell you what happened to Alice. With Kytlers Inn on your right, continue straight. And remember to only cross roads when it's safe to do so.

Alice, being very wealthy and well connected, managed to escape, it is believed, to Dublin and then to England, but she was never heard of again. Her poor maid Petronella de Mede however, was arrested by the Bishop and charged. Contrary to popular opinion, one could not go round torturing people willy-nilly in the Middle Ages. Torture had to be sanctioned either by the crown or by the Church. As the Bishop was working for the Glory of God, he was entitled to torture Petronella and of course extracted a confession of witchcraft.

As such, in 1334, Petronella was burned at the stake in the middle of the market place where the Tholsel was later built in 1400. Because I have a rather dark sense of humour, I am always amused that a restaurant, especially a vegan restaurant, would be named after a woman who was essentially barbequed to death!

So we are going to proceed to Grace’s Palace or Grace’s Castle. Today it is Kilkenny Courthouse and as we cross the road in front of us we can see to our right a large modern glass building which is the most recent extension to the back of the courthouse. When William Marshall laid out the town it was defended by earthen ditches and dykes. These were very defensible but when towns were defended with earthworks a stone building was often built in the centre of the town which operated as a barracks and a weapon store. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Kilkenny Castle
Shee Almshouse
The Tholsel
Kyteler's Inn
Grace's Old Castle
Rothe House
The Black Abbey
Black Freren Gate
St Canice's Cathedral

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
The Parade, Dukesmeadows, Kilkenny, R95 YRK1, Ireland
Total distance

2km
Final location
Gardens, Kilkenny, Ireland
Distance back to start location

704.49m

Directions to Starting Point

The starting point is the Gates of Kilkenny Castle. It is situated at the top of The Parade, a broad and open pedestrian space in the centre of the town. It is also opposite The Kilkenny Design Centre, a great place to shop for quality Irish craft, and kick off the day with a coffee or lunch in their restaurant. The simplest way to get to Kilkenny is by car and the best place to park is the multistory carpark on Ormond Street. However there is also a train line which goes from Dublin to Waterford via Kilkenny and Kilkenny Castle can be accessed on foot from the station in about 12 minutes. Busses also go from Waterford and Dublin to Kilkenny and stop near the train station and also Ormond Road which is close to the Castle.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Places to stop along the way are: The Kilkenny Design Centre for shopping and eating, Kilkenny Castle, Talbot's Tower, Rothe House and St. Canice's Cathedral for Medieval site seeing, and Kieran Street for general shopping, boutiques, bars, cafes and restaurants. Petronella's a great restaurant, with a renowned vegan section, in the Butter Slip.

Best time of day

The best time of day to do this walk is early to mid morning or early afternoon. Dress for the weather! Ireland is known for it's rainy weather but we also get glorious sunny days! Saturdays are usually more crowded than week days and high season can be very busy but generally this adds positively to the atmosphere of the town. It is a good idea to check the mass times in the Black Abbey so as not to interrupt a service as it is a working church. Generally mass is held daily at 10:30 am and 13:00pm. and on Sundays at 6:10 and 9:00am, 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm. Of course, those who are interested can pause the tour and join the mass. It would still be best to check on line as there are variations according to the ecclesiastical calendar.

Precautions

There are no particular safety concerns other than the normal ones for anywhere in the world. Keep personal belongings safe, in hot weather remember to hydrate, and even when cloudy sunblock is recommended. There are not many public rest rooms in the town. Generally one has to use those found in pubs and restaurants although there are public facilities on The Parade and in the Market Cross Shopping Centre.

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