Cute Kilkenny

Kilkenny is a city, but when you are here, the feeling is more of a lovely little town filled with historic buildings and interesting winding streets.

We visited Kilkenny Castle which has now been restored to its former glory. It was privately owned for many years by the Butler family and fell into disrepair over time when the owners faced major financial difficulties, which led to reduced maintenance and periods of neglect. It was eventually sold to the Castle Restoration Committee in 1969 for £50 due to it's disastrous state.

Restoration took over 10 years and is ongoing. Detailed interior design features were reconstructed to match existing fragments such as bookcases and pelmets, and carpets and wallpapers as well as furniture were sourced to match those found during works.

The antlers and skull of Irish elk, that you can see behind Peter in the photo, has a span of 3.5 metres, making it the largest known antlers of any deer. I'm not surprised it's extinct, when you see the size of the antlers you wonder how it could even lift it's head. The skull and antlers we saw today were discovered intact in an Irish bog, which preserved them so well.

In the afternoon we met Desmond Byrne, a master silversmith, who has a workshop in the Castle Yard. He's passionate about his work and took time to talk with us and explain his processes. He was a delight to talk to.