Kilkenny Castle

Beautiful !! Loved seeing the connection between past and present. Be mindful of the month in relation to the closing time. We thought it was 5:30 but it was 4:30 which rushed us a bit.

While visiting Ireland we took the train down from Dublin to Kilkenny to see the sights including the castle.
It’s a short walk from the train station through a a very quaint Irish town. The castle was started in the late 1190’s and finished in the early 1200s. It was originally owned by a man named Butler who actually served the King of England in that capacity and that is how the butler job was named!
We took the guided tour and our guide was most informative and passionate about the castle and made it come to life.
Worth the visit.

Think the 1800’s when you visit this castle. It was renovated during the Victorian period, so old but not nearly the oldest castle in Ireland. The mass of this castle is impressive and it is very structurally sound. There are a few people around to answer questions, but I really wish this castle had an audio or guide. Lots of huge oil paintings of notable people and antique toys. If you are passing through the area, I recommend this stop. Its not too expensive but parking was a little chaotic as it is in their downtown type area.

Visited April 2015: «Call ahead, the website isn’t accurate»
We got to the city of Kilkenny and the hotel by 6pm, with plenty of time to get to the train depot in front of the castle that takes you around the city. We arrived there, at 6:15pm for the last train leaving at 6:30pm like their website indicated, On the sign for the ride it showed the last ride is 6pm. Also the Kilkenny Castle hours stated on the sign out front that they open at 8:30am in April, May and close at 7pm those months, yet we could see the guards locking up.
Unfortunately, we are not able to take photos while in the castle. We did utilize our Heritage Card, which allowed us not to pay for our tickets. We got to see a Sally Port Cellar where troops could sneak in and out of the castle. There were several rooms that were restored to their original condition including hand painted wallpaper, hand blocked wallpaper, or silk wallpaper. There were 5 tapestries that depicted the Story of Decius Mus. The Library had the genealogy of the family whom had resided there for over 900 years. On the documents it shows that the family was related to Queen Elizabeth I by a cousin. Also there was an original toilet made for the Queen of England by Sir John Harrington, Kit Harrington’s (Actor from Game of Thrones — appropriate right?) great grandfather. We saw the bedroom corridor which held the information regarding the restoration of the castle, the blue bedroom that was allocated to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, the Chinese Bedroom, and a Victorian Nursery. There was the Moorish Staircase which helped aesthetically with an awkwardly shaped room. Finally was the picture room with its massive ceiling which was hand painted by the author whom had 7 daughters and 1 son — he used his children for his muses. We sat for a 10 minute presentation about the family and the Marble Fireplace showing significant events in the family’s history. While in the library, I saw a few paintings from previous castles and from my former textbooks in school. One of the guides informed us that when you go to a castle, manor home, or historic site and you are not allowed to take pictures is an indication that the paintings are real. If you are allowed to take photographs, then they are most likely replicas.

Bei unserem Kurztripp war das Castle das eigentliche Ziel. Historisch ein Muß in der Gegend, auch optisch interessant. Wenn man dann noch weis, dass die Butler Familie sogar in Hessen-​Deutschland Abkömmlinge hat, wird es ganz spannend. Für jemanden, welcher nicht gerade Interesse an alten, grauen Steinen hat, sicher kein Besuch wert. Für den historisch uninteressierte gibt es dann das Café, in dem man wunderbar die Zeit passieren lassen kann, derweil die anderen einen Besuch vornehmen!
Aufenthalt August 2015

If you are close by don’t miss this place. Peter was our guide on this snowy damp morning. He told a fascinating, insightful story that got him deserved applause at the end. His voice lilting, he delivered a woven story over 800 years of history from a head full of facts. His story of the original wooden motte and Bailey castle, it’s building, decay and restoration, it’s grand living, dining, bed and nursery rooms, it’s gardens shaped like a celtic cross, it’s towers, the head-​stoned grave of a loved family pet dog and its inhabitants he embraced deeply personal family ties and friendships with kings, queens and nobility and the resilience and ingenuity of the Irish people into the wider social and political history of Ireland, the UK and beyond was so captivating. How do you know you are captivated — simples time passes so fast you don’t notice. He spoke in English occasionally adding bits of Irish to translate the meanings of names of people and places. Fascinating details. We learned of the very powerful Butler family who lived there for five and a half centuries sadly leaving Ireland in the 1930’s. The Butlers of Ormondeor Butler were a remarkable family, resilient, politically astute and faithful to the crown and to Ireland. We learned how these loyalties determined their fortunes and career and how they derived wealth from receiving 10% of the value of all the alcohol imported into Ireland. The Butler family arrived in Ireland with the Norman invasion originally settling in Gowran. They changed their name from FitzWalter in 1185 to Butler. The family had become wealthy, and James Butler, 3^rd Earl of Ormonde, bought the castle in 1391 and established himself as ruler of the area. The Butler dynasty then ruled the surrounding area for centuries but by the early 1930’s they abandoned the castle and moved to London. The castle fell to decay until one of the family gifted the ruin to the Irish State for £50 in the 1960’s. The rest of the 20^th century saw a large amount of restoration and maintenance taking place by the public sector, which led to the castle being opened to visitors. The Butler Gallery Is in the castle basement, near the very good café. It holds rotating exhibitions put on by the Kilkenny Art Gallery Society in a venue named for Peggy and Hubert Butler. The ornamental gardens are on the city side of the castle, and there’s extensive land and gardens to the front. Now a property in state care. Part of the National Art Gallery is on display in the castle. So thank you Peter. One final thought for you as you tour this magnificent place. The public sector restored this place beautifully. It maintains it. It’s now in the loving care of many Peter’s and no doubt Pauline’s and Patricia’s who give that sense of pride and love of their work and their deep knowledge that they are only custodians for the next generations to come. They are the real and tangible proof that the public sector works as well as and often better than the over rated over priced private sector. May it and the castles of Ireland continue to flourish as over the years I have become so fed up with a useless private sector bungling along while destroying the very fabric of our Irish and British societies.

The castle is really pretty and I can tell how hard they have worked to try to restore it. Be sure to watch the video before walking through because it gives you the scoop and you know what to look for. Well worth it!
The Butler House was an amazing hotel to stay at as well. Might seem pricey but it is worth every penny!

You can take a tour around and inside the castle but you don’t even have to do that to enjoy yourself and be amazed by the panorama’s.

Kilkenny Castle looks beautiful from the river and makes for a pretty great photo. When I meandered up to the top, I found a glorious park which looked endless. It was well kept and would make for a great spot to chill in the Summer. The castle itself was slightly disappointing when you reach the top (am I being a bit mean here? Maybe) as quite a bit of it has been re-​built, and it doesn’t really look much like a castle from the top, more like a stately home (which is also fine, obv). Definitely worth a visit, but don’t go expecting the world from this one. The view from the river is the one to savour!

The park around the castle is great for kids or a nice walk with the dog. Didn’t even try to get inside the castle. I heard too many suggestions that there is nothing to offer for the price.

I was surprised when speaking with locals and hearing their confessions that all their lives they never visited Kilkenny Castle. I guess it’s easy to take things for granted when they have always been there. Well, they missed out — the grounds were beautiful and the building majestic.
We happened to go on a day that it was closed so we walked around and peeked through a couple windows where we could. It was impressive — now I have to go back to Ireland so I can check out the interior (haha! I wish!)

If you’re staying in Kilkenny, or if you’re passing through, this is a great stop in this little city. Oliver Cromwell apparently came here during the Commonwealth era and blew out the fourth wall of the castle, but this castle still is great. Admission is quite cheap and there are nice exhibits.

The castle itself was only OK as most of it were rebuilt in the 19^th century so it does look quite new. It was great looking at the before/​after of the reconstruction work though. I guess I’m used to the big old castles in the UK!
I was more enamoured with the grounds which was a great walk and if you go far down enough, you’ll stumble on this duck pond which I loved (showing my age now).
The castle also had a lovely café which was unfortunately «on a break for 30 minutes» when I visited it during lunch time.
I guess you have to visit the place at least once when you’re in Kilkenny but not much to rave about!

Kilkenny Castle is restored from the inside. The castle is now beautiful on the inside but was not how it actually looked originally. I think the outside may look the way it did in the past though.
The employees here are very friendly. There is no gift shop other than when you initially pay for your ticket. They have a booklet on the castle but that is pretty much the «gift shop».
The landscaping is beautiful. I recommend walking out into the front garden to get a nice panoramic view of the entire castle. We arrived in the late afternoon so there was not a lot of people on the outside. We were able to get great pictures without any people in it.
The admission cost is 6 euros and you can charge the cost with a credit card. Across the street from the castle is a shopping center. It sells a lot of items and not just items specific to Killarney Castle.

Not as exciting as Blarney Castle, but still a lot of fun. It is especially beautiful in the autumn walking down by the river and seeing all of the leaves.
Beautiful grounds, interesting video, I wish we could have explored more of the castle itself.

Not my favourite place to visit but if you are in Kilkenny then you should visit this place.

This was a neat castle to tour since it had been recently restored (in the early 1990s). It was a self-​directed tour, but there was a lot of information on placards throughout the tour, explaining most of the items of interest.
Odd that you cannot take pictures inside the castle, but the pictures we got out on the grounds were lovely.
I definitely recommend this during your stay in Kilkenny.

We really liked this castle. It is a little disappointing that you cannot take pictures inside the castle. But, it had everything we were looking for:
1. Fully furnished interior
2. Easy to find information plaques
3. Toilets
4. Food
5. Green grass to play and run
6. AMAZING KIDS PLAYGROUND
7. Green grass to play and run
8. Convenient location in the city center

This is certainly an impressive looking structure from the outside. And, the grounds are beautiful as well. I spent a day rummaging around and shooting photos, caught some great light.
The castle is more like an estate vs. what one might envision in a middle ages castle. That being said, if you are in the area, it is still worth visiting, in my opinion.

Didn’t take a tour of the castle but my friends and I did sit on the lawn and enjoy a wonderful lunch. Kilkenny Castle is beautiful and had we more time, we would have definitely gone inside. After all, the first wednesday in every month entrance is free [at least that’s what I was told].

Kilkenny’s rich medieval heritage is evident in the city’s treasure trove of historical buildings and landmarks. This is exemplified by the magnificent Kilkenny Castle.
Self guided tour. Note: they do not allow pictures. This immense, ancient castle is in a center of Kilkenny with magnificent grounds and gardens. It was allowed to deteriorate over the years and the government is still in the process of renovating it (you can still see work being done) and you get to see a few of the many rooms in the building. There are great bedrooms, dining room and grandest of all, the Long Room, an awesome sight with many large portraits.
There was a paid parking lot listed with our information but instead, we parked for free on Castle St., just to the south of the castle. Even if you do not go into the castle, the grounds are a must visit. A beautiful park.