- If you’re a lover of history, beauty, and captivating tales of the past, then Kilkenny Castle should be on your bucket list.
- Visiting Kilkenny Castle is perfect for a half day out or as part of a longer itinerary that includes the Rock of Cashel, Blarney Castle and the Black Abbey.
- Kilkenny Castle is one of the most beautiful sights to visit in Ireland and has been through many changes throughout a period of eight hundred years.
- Let’s take a closer look at some of the most interesting facts about Kilkenny Castle, a medieval stronghold that has been turned into a popular tourist attraction.
- Kilkenny Castle, perhaps the city’s most famous landmark, stands on an eminence of 100 feet (30 metres) overlooking the Nore.
- In 1391, the distinguished Butler family purchased Kilkenny Castle and the various Earls, Marquesses and Dukes lived in the castle for nearly 600 years.
- The history of Kilkenny Castle dates back to the 12th century. As my previous post was dedicated to the Vikings, let’s start from there.
- The Butlers of Kilkenny Castle were an Anglo-Norman family who came to Ireland in 1171 in the first wave of the Norman invasion.
- Kilkenny Castle has been an important site since Strongbow constructed the first building here, a wooden tower in the 12th century.
- Kilkenny Castle stands proud and dramatically on a strategic height that commands a crossing on the River Nore and dominates the ‘High Town’ of Kilkenny City.