Our Irish Adventure – Kilkenny and back to Dublin

On to Kilkenny! We loved our time in Killarney but it was time to move on.

We had hired a driver through My Day Trip to drive us from Killarney to Kilkenny, with a stop at the Rock of Cashel. He was great! According to Laura and Susan, he was super excited to meet “The Tyrrells”. I’m sure you’re wondering why 😂!! It turns out that we have the same last name as a famous hurling player from Kilkenny, Jackie Tyrrell, who is now a sports commentator. Our driver said Jackie was “very fashionable” and “handsome” – just like Tim! Unfortunately we’re not related to him 😁.

Our first stop was at the Rock of Cashel – one of my favorite sites in Ireland. It is set up high on a “rock” with beautiful views of the countryside. The site was the traditional seat for the Kings of Munster for several hundred years, until it was donated to the church in 1101. Legend has it that St. Patrick himself came here to convert the king to Christianity. Most of the buildings now are from the 12th and 13th centuries. It is an amazing site and well worth a visit!

We arrived in Kilkenny a little after noon and had to wait to check into our hotel, the Kilkenny Ormonde, so we headed out to see what we could see. The hotel is in a great location, close to everything.

Even though Kilkenny is a small town there is a lot to see and do – churches, castles, arts and crafts workshops, medieval buildings, it has it all. Kilkenny is also known for its party atmosphere – most of the pubs have traditional music almost every night, and there are lots of festivals throughout the year. You will see many “stag and hen dos ” – we call them bachelor/bachelorette parties in the U.S.

It was rainy and we were hungry – we didn’t walk too far and found a little pub called The Field Bar and Restaurant. The food was pretty good, and there is a lot of memorabilia to look at.

After lunch we took a short walk over to the Kilkenny Castle just to get a gander, and then walked through the Kilkenny Design Center to shop and watch artisans create their wares. Directly behind the craft shops is the Butler House and Gardens. The Butler House is now a fancy hotel, but you can walk through the gardens at no charge. They are really nice and beautiful.

And to show you what a small world it really is – we were walking around the Butler House gardens, and Susan randomly ran into a couple from California whose cousin is a member of the Springfield Ski Club!

On our way back to the hotel Tim and I stopped at Truffle Fairy, a little artisan chocolate shop, to pick up some chocolates and get hot chocolate to-go. It was divine, and so many different flavors to choose from.

Our rooms were ready at the hotel, and our room in particular was huge! Enough for a family! Very nice and comfortable, and quiet. Tim and I stayed in this hotel several years ago on a trip to Ireland, and I would stay here again.

We weren’t hungry for dinner since we ate lunch so late, so decided to meet in the hotel bar for a drink. And this is where our obsession with rugby kicks in 🏉. Remember, we had watched Ireland beat South Africa while we were in Killarney. I honestly don’t remember who was playing this night, but we ended up staying at the hotel, eating cheese, crackers, and chips, and watching rugby! It was a fantastic night!

The next morning we went on a tour of Kilkenny Castle. Strongbow built the first castle on this site in the 12th century. In 1391 the powerful Butler family bought the castle, and it remained in their family until 1967, when the family sold the deteriorating castle to the city of Kilkenny for 50 pounds. The castle has been renovated and restored to what it would have looked like during the Victorian era. The grounds are lovely and expansive, and you will see lots of families and people enjoying the gardens.

After our tour of Kilkenny Castle, we walked down to St. Canice’s Cathedral. As you know, we can’t pass up a church! This cathedral has a round tower next to it that brave souls can climb – Tim and I did this about 20 years ago, and decided to forgo the climb this time. The building dates from the 13th century, and was built on the site of a Celtic Christian monastery that was founded in the 6th century by St. Canice. Members of the Butler family (remember Kilkenny Castle?) are buried here.

After exploring the church, we met Dave, Laura, and Julie at John Cleere’s Bar for some soup and Irish Stew. This would be a great place to see some music!

Conveniently, the bar was across the street from our next stop – the Smithwick’s Experience at Smithwick’s Brewery. They have been brewing beer in Ireland since 1710, and are known for their ales. The beer is very good and loved by our group – in fact Susan named one of her dogs Smithwicks in honor of this beer 😊

After this we took a walk around town, and found one of the hotels we had stayed at before, The Kilford Arms. This is another hotel that is close to everything and I would also recommend it if you plan on spending the night in Kilkenny.

We had dinner that night at Kyteler’s Inn. Alice Kyteler was born here in 1280, and over the course of many years had four wealthy husbands, all who died and left her a considerable fortune. People in town accused her of being a witch, and she was supposed to die by burning at the stake. Alice fled Ireland, but her servant Petronella ended up taking the blame and was burned to death. Ughhhh!! The food was just okay, but the inside of the inn is definitely worth seeing, even if only for a drink.

The next day was pouring down rain – so glad we bought those hats in Galway! Susan, Tim and I ventured out to see a couple of churches. In fact, we found out that in Irish if the town has “Kil” in its name, it means “church”. The first one we visited was St. Mary’s Cathedral, a church of the Roman Catholic faith. It was built in 1854, and is really beautiful.

The second church we visited was the Black Abbey, a Catholic priory of the Dominican Order. It was established in 1225 and is so named because of the black cloaks the Dominicans wear over their white habits. The stained glass is magnificent, and it is well worth a look around. Even though it was raining and this is an old stone building, I felt warm and at peace while there.

We met up with the rest of the group for a drink at Lanigan’s Bar. Lots of people were out and about early, watching football (soccer) and World Cup Rugby. Really great drinks!

One of our favorite stores in Kilkenny was located next door – The Gift Horse. When in Kilkenny definitely go there!

And this is where we said “good-bye” to Julie 😕 She needed to be back to work on Monday, and was leaving Ireland a day before us. She took the train to Dublin, and luckily she was able to meet up with a friend for dinner that night before boarding a flight to Atlanta the next day. We can’t wait to see Julie again!

Susan, Tim and I ventured out to Rothe House, a medieval merchant house built between 1594 and 1610. Not only can you see how a wealthy merchant with a large family would have lived in Kilkenny during this time, the Kilkenny Archaeological Society also displays various items from their collection of the history of Kilkenny throughout the house. The gardens are really beautiful.

After Rothe House, Susan and I met Laura at Bridie’s Bar & General Store. Since this is a dog-friendly bar, we were immediately drawn to it of course! The drinks were scrumptious!

We had dinner that night at Matt the Miller’s – seriously, you can’t miss this pub! The food was good and the people were friendly. We stopped at The Dylan Whiskey Bar on our way back to the hotel – lots of whiskies to choose from, and some Bob Dylan memorabilia on the walls if you are interested.

Our time in Kilkenny was coming to an end. We had scheduled a mid-morning train to Dublin, which takes approximately one and a half hours.  It was a very comfortable ride, as usual. We were staying at The Gresham Hotel, which is on the north side of the Liffey. It is a huge hotel, and our rooms weren’t going to be available until later. When we did finally get our room, I felt like we were staying in “the North 40” (if you know, you know). Even though it took a while to get to our room, the room was nice, quiet, and comfortable.

We headed to get something to eat. Remember Vice Coffee? They share their space with Wigwam. We were lucky to get a table because it was the date for their Drag Brunch. The food was really really good, and is someplace I would definitely go again.

So what do we do on our last day in Ireland? Originally I wanted to go to the Glasnevin Cemetery, but decided that would be something to look forward to on my next trip to Dublin. There would have been a lot of walking, and not a lot of resting. Instead, we opted to go to the Teeling Whiskey Distillery, a quick cab ride away.

The Teeling Whiskey Distillery opened its doors in 2015 as the first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years. Since then, several other craft distilleries have opened or reopened in Dublin, creating a revival of sorts for the Irish whiskey industry. The cocktails in the tasting room were exceptional!

On the way back to the area we were staying, I requested an Uber for five people, and was really surprised when the car coming to pick us up was a Prius. I messaged the driver and told him we had five people, and he said “no problem”. What?? Is this going to be a clown car??? Well, to my surprise, you can get five passengers (plus a driver) into a Prius!  

We finished the evening shopping a little and ate at Madigan’s Pub, which was next door. 

The next day we flew back to Chicago.

And that is it! Our trip to Ireland – what a great trip with a great group of friends – I can’t wait to go back!

So I will finish with a little Irish blessing –