The medieval Midlands
MALCOLM ROGERS journeys to Co. Kilkenny to sample one of Ireland’s
most interesting areas.
 By MALCOLM
ROGERS
One of the most famous lines in any Irish song comes from the beautiful
ballad Carrickfergus: “But in Kilkenny, it is reported, they have
marble stones there as black as ink.” So famous is the local stone
(in actual fact polished limestone) the place is known as the Marble City,
and very beautiful it is.
But there’s more to Kilkenny than its famous old capital —
the county has a proud hurling history, boasts some of the finest restaurants
in these islands, more history than you could shake a pikestaff at plus
some 80 or so pubs. Moreover, the county town, Ireland’s finest
medieval city, was the former capital of Ireland, and the general area
has so many castles it makes Scotland look undefended. Oh, and it boasts
that very rare thing in Ireland — a colliery town. Castlecomer was
at one time the centre of Ireland’s only significant coal seam,
the Leinster coalfield. It was coal from this mine which allowed the cry
to go up in former times, “Burn everything British except their
coal!”
But it is the beauty of the county and the city which is the area’s
glory, inspiring songwriters and poets alike. The poet Edmund Spenser
visited on at least two occasions and wrote in the Faerie Queene of ‘the
stubborn Nore whose waters grey by fair Kilkenny and Rosponte [New Ross]”
County Kilkenny was formed from the old Gaelic kingdom of Ossory, its
heyday between the 2nd century to the 5th century when it was a centre
of religion and learning. The name derives from Cill Chainnigh —
Cannice’s Church — although it wasn’t the first in the
city. That honour belongs to St. Patrick’s Church, visible today
as a D-shaped graveyard in Patrick Street. There’s a more modern
church, St. Mary’s, built in 1252.
Although Kilkenny’s history stretches back probably to pre-Christian
times, it wasn’t until the swinging sixties (the 860s to be exact)
that Kilkenny began to emerge as a city of prominence.
The Vikings arrived in Ireland in the mid ninth century, and although
initially they came as raiders, they soon began to settle down in their
new home, building houses and marrying local women — perhaps the
origins of the phrase, ‘hung like a Norse’, perhaps not. Whatever,
a local king, Cerball Mac Dúnglainge, saw the potential of uniting
various bands of Viking raiders, and managed to turn himself into one
of the most powerful kings in Leinster. Kilkenny was on its way!
 Anglo
aggro
In the 12th century the peace of Kilkenny (and Ireland) was shattered
by the arrival of the Anglo Normans. Over the next century and a half
the new arrivals made more than a bit of a nuisance of themselves, but
then they too gradually settled in to their new home — Ireland has
a habit of doing that. So successful were the newcomers in integrating
into Kilkenny society that in 1366 the parliament in London passed the
Statutes of Kilkenny to prevent the colonisers becoming “more Irish
than the Irish themselves.”
But it was too late. Practically all Kilkenny residents by this time had
both Celtic and Norman blood coursing through their veins, and the character
of the county even today reflects this great collision of cultures.
Kilkenny city has long been central to Anglo-Irish affairs. It was one
of the chief venues for Anglo Irish parliaments in the Middle Ages, and
when, in 1641 the Great Rebellion broke out, Kilkenny became the de facto
capital of Ireland.
Now all is peace and tranquility, and although Kilkenny bears the indelible
marks of its long history, it is quite simply, one of the most handsome
cities in these islands.
The survival of medieval Kilkenny is attributable more to accident than
to design. Up until the 1650s it remained of prime importance, but thereafter
its fortunes dwindled, and later generations of townspeople could not
afford to demolish the old buildings, with the pleasing result that much
of the original city survived — castles, cobble-stoned alleyways,
cathedrals and churches.
Today the citizens of the city not only have their spiritual side looked
after with all the cathedrals and churches about — their cultural
side is well attended to as well. You won’t be hard pushed to find
good music here, and the Kilkenny craic is particularly pronounced in
The Caisleán Uí Cuain on Patrick Street. Every August the
Kilkenny Arts Festival brings international artistes from all over the
world, while in June the monumentally successful Kilkenny Cats Laughter
Festival attracts some of the finest alternative comedians these islands
(and beyond) have to offer. To paraphrase Bob Monkhouse — when someone
first suggested a comedy festival in Kilkenny everybody laughed.
Well, they’re not laughing now.
Castles and cobble-stones
It’s up there with Edinburgh Castle, the Tower of London or Mad
Ludwig’s Castle in Bavaria — it’s one of the great castles
of Europe. It looms large over 800 years of the city’s history,
being built just after the Norman invasion. You can tour the inside of
the old grey building, walk in its verdant gardens, or visit its art gallery.
Something, really, for all the family.
The Long Gallery is particularly worthy of your note — as all the
best guide books say — because of its extensive portrait collection
of the Butlers, the big shout in these parts from 1391 until 1935 (and
arguably beyond, because Princess Di was part of the family). In the castle
a huge Carrara marble fireplace is carved with the history of the family
(although not a mention of Dodi Fayed.)
The 24th Earl of Ormonde sold the sadly dilapidated castle to the State
in 1967 for fifty quid, and auctioned its contents. Fortunately most of
the stuff was recovered, and the Butler Gallery in the castle now exhibits
some of the finest art in Ireland.
The 50 acres of estate round the castle are well equipped with yew trees,
rose garden, fountain, arboretum and children’s playground.
In the castle’s stable yard, in the 1960s, the Irish government
established Kilkenny Design Workshops, attracting a stream of talented
designers and crafts workers from around Europe to the 18th century crescent
of stables. Many settled and set up studio workshops in Co. Kilkenny,
spawning a thriving crafts culture.
The Crescent Yard, now headquarters of the Crafts Council of Ireland,
is also home to one of the country’s best craft stores, Kilkenny
Design Centre and the National Craft Gallery, where regular exhibitions
are held.
 Crafty
Co. Kilkenny
To sample the glories of Kilkenny county after enjoying the delights
of the Marble City, a trip up the Nore valley is called for. On the way
you’ll pass some of Ireland’s loveliest villages such as Inistioge,
where Maeve Binchy’s romantic yarn Circle of Friends, which starred
Minnie Driver in the film version. Just beyond the village are the Dunmore
Caves — a remarkable underground site only discovered 30 years ago
when a field subsided. Bones and coins were found — it seems that
local folk took refuge down here from marauding Norsemen, doubtless murmuring,
“There ain’t nothing like a Dane.”
Nearby Inistioge are the postcard-grade villages of Kilfane and Bennettsbridge
— the latter is the place to head for if crafts are your bag —
almost literally. Because here you’ll find innovative leather bags
to rival Prada, by French designer Edmond Chesneau. His meticulously finished,
pigskin-lined bags in edgy shades of turquoise, lime green and red, are
destined for shops in Dublin and London, but you can get a sly look here
in deepest rural Ireland. Tel 00 353 56 7727456 www.chesneaudesign.com
Anther notable crafty stop in BB include the old flour mill that houses
Nicholas Mosse Pottery, specialising in the style of traditional Irish
spongeware. Downstairs you can see pots being thrown and decorated with
hand-sponged patterns.
To continue your crafts trail, head for Ireland’s only town in Ireland
named after a Welshman. Set amidst some of the Nore valley’s soporifically
lovely scenery, Thomastown is an old Anglo Norman settlement. The ruins
of the old walls still surround the town, and a 13th century church remains.
Just outside the town is All That Glisters, the home of Sue Bowden’s
contemporary jewellery made from Connemara marble and, of course, black
Kilkenny marble.
Just outside Thomastown is Jerpoint Abbey, and nearby are the Jerpoint
Glass Studios and see glowing furnaces and four teams of craftsmen blowing,
balancing and manipulating red-hot molten glass.
For more information on Kilkenny, visit: www.kilkennytourism.ie |
