Kilkenny, Ireland - April 22nd to 25th, 2025

Kilkenny is a wonderful little town, a welcomed slower pace than the city of Dublin that we had just finished exploring. The weather wasn’t the best, but that was to be expected in Ireland.

At 3 pm on Tuesday, we picked up our rental car from the Hertz office on Baggot Street in Dublin. As we started driving, it started to rain. Keith took the first shift of driving. He managed the streets of Dublin as we made our way out of the city. Once we were on the highways, it was pretty easy. Other than being on the opposite side of the road, the motorways seemed pretty similar to our expressways.

The rain became quite heavy and we were glad we were driving in it instead of walking around town in it. As we were picking up the car, we received an email from Butler Court, where we had reservations in Kilkenny. We had emailed them, letting them know about what time we would arrive. However, they informed us that they made a mistake and forgot to transfer our reservation over from last year’s diary. Butler Court would be closed for the next two nights, but their friend Katherine over at Mena House B&B could accommodate us for those two nights, then we could switch back to Butler Court for the last two nights. We contacted Katherine and headed for the Mena House.

The Mena House B&B is a lovely little place. It is not as centrally located as the Butler House, but the medieval section of Kilkenny is only a 15 to 20 minute walk away. Katherine was very welcoming and showed us around our room. The bathroom had a power switch to turn on the on-demand hot water unit for the shower, similar to the one we had in the Manor Close B&B in Bourton-on-the-Water in England (Bourton-on-the-Water, England - April 12th to 13th, 2025). Only this time, the power switch was a pull chain.

It was still raining pretty heavily when we arrived, so we walked one block down the street to the Glendine Inn pub for dinner. The pub and restaurant was comfortable and spacious. Keith had the salmon dinner while Ann chose the creamy penne with chicken. For drinks, Keith drank a Murphy’s Irish Stout while Ann had a Kopparberg mixed berry cider from Sweden.

Wednesday, it didn’t rain. Well, in Ireland, that means that it only drizzled off and on throughout the day. We spent the day strolling the streets of Kilkenny. First we filled our bellies with a wonderful breakfast at the Mena House while enjoying the views of their garden.

Ann had the full Irish breakfast, mainly to taste the difference between white pudding and black pudding. The full breakfast at Mena House came with both. White pudding is typically included in an Irish full breakfast while the English full breakfast only has black pudding. The main difference between the two puddings is that black pudding contains blood, giving it its color. Both traditionally contain organ meats. We’re not sure how much organ meat is used in them today, as they mainly taste like most of the ingredients are oatmeal or barley and bread crumbs. The ones at Menu House seemed to be coated in some type of seeds, like sesame. They were quite tasty.

On the way to Kilkenny Castle, Keith stopped at a public toilet. There was a charge for the toilet, but he didn’t have any coins. Fortunately, there was a contactless payment station to pay for it. It seemed odd to use a credit card to make a 50 cent payment, but Keith was grateful.

By the time we reached Kilkenny Castle, it was about 11:30 am. The noon guided tour was already sold out, but we got tickets for the 1 pm tour. In the meantime, we strolled around the Castle Park. After spending five nights in Dublin, it was nice to be out in nature again.

We still had a little time to spare, so we bought a cappuccino and tea along with a couple of pastries from the little refreshment tent outside the castle. The pastries were OK, but we should have waited for the tea room inside the castle after our tour, because the pastries looked much better there.

The guided tour was interesting. We learned so much about the history of the castle and the Butler family that owned it for hundreds of years. The castle was built in 1260 by the Anglo-Normans. It was seized by the crown and sold to the Butler family in 1391. The Butlers gradually transformed the castle from a fortress to a comfortable residence. The family left the castle in 1935, letting it decay into ruins, before selling the castle to the Castle Restoration Committee in 1967. The castle was restored to its former condition of when the Butlers left and was opened to the public.

The rest of the afternoon, we wandered the streets of town, down streets lined with cute little shops and restaurants, past several churches and cathedrals, and along the River Nore.

We stopped at the Pantry Country Kitchen for a couple of hot drinks and pastries. Keith had an apple tart while Ann had a pastry with no name. It was a puffed pastry filled with clotted cream and jam. We would probably call it a turnover in the States. The pastries were much better than the ones we had earlier outside the castle.

We even ventured into the Market Cross Shopping Centre in search of umbrellas. Since it had been raining a lot lately, and we still had a couple more months in Ireland, Scotland, and England, umbrellas sounded like a good idea. Our rain jackets kept us pretty dry, but when the rain gets a little heavy or the wind blows, an umbrella does a better job at keeping the water off our faces. We went into a store called Penney, which is totally unrelated to the J.C. Penney stores in the States. There we bought two umbrellas which were two different sizes. The one was so small that we weren’t sure how well it would work which is why we also bought the slightly larger one. However, Ann likes the smaller one as it is small enough to fit into her rain jacket pocket.

We stopped by a bank ATM to withdraw more cash. Mena House B&B does not take credit cards, so we needed more cash to pay for our room.

There is a monument for the Kilkenny hurlers. Hurling is an ancient Gaelic sport still popular in Ireland today. It is played with a paddle called a hurley and a small ball called a silotar. The object is to hit the ball between the opponent’s goalposts. Two big rivals in hurling are the Kilkenny Cats and the Tipperary county hurling team called the Premier Men. If you want to learn how to play hurling, you can sign up for the Kilkenny Way Hurling Experience.

For dinner, we walked over to Matt the Millers. We arrived at 5:30 pm and knew the traditional music wouldn’t start until 6:30 pm, so we tried to drag out our meal. Both of us had fish and chips. Ann started out with water to drink while Keith had a pint of Smithwick’s Red Ale. Smithwick’s used to be brewed in Kilkenny, but it was bought by Guinness in 1965 and the brewery moved to Dublin in 2013.

There is still a Smithwick’s visitor center in Kilkenny where they offer tours to learn about their history. Most of the site of the former brewery including the ruins of the St. Francis Abbey has been sold to the county. The county is turning it into a mixed use area called Abbey Quarter, with an effort to honor its history.

The band consisted of two people, one playing the folk guitar and singing, while the other played a variety of instruments such as harmonica and accordion, but mostly played the Irish whistle (also called a tin whistle or penny whistle). They started out playing ballads, but then worked their way to livelier tunes. We both had another round of drinks so we could enjoy the music longer. Ann switched to a pint of Bulmers Irish Cider. After about an hour of music, we decided we’d better start our walk back to the B&B.

On the way back, we passed a Circle K gas station… with an outdoor laundromat. There were two washers of different sizes along with one dryer. The launderette is run by a company called Wash.ME. It seemed a little strange to us that washers and dryers would be outside in a country where it rains a lot. You would want to be very careful not to drop a clean article of clothing onto the pavement. But when we walked by, there was a car parked in front of the launderette and the machines were running.

Thursday, after another wonderful breakfast at the Mena House B&B, we drove to a few nearby attractions. We had tickets for the Dunbrody Famine Ship Experience at 11 am. It was about a 45 minute drive from Kilkenny, so we checked out of the B&B by 9:30 am.

As we’ve been driving around Ireland, we’ve noticed that many cars have a large letter “L” or “N” in their windows. Looking it up, we discovered that the “L” is for drivers on their learning permits, which require another licensed driver in the car with them. The “N” stands for novice. The novice designation is required for the first two years after passing their driving test.

There are also a lot of lorries (semi-trucks) with soft sides. It looks like a heavy tarp strapped down instead of a solid metal side. We remember seeing many of those when we lived in Germany from 1989 to 1991. They seem to be popular in Europe, but we don’t ever remember seeing them in the States. We’re assuming it makes the trucks easier to load and unload, especially from the side and especially for partial deliveries.

The Dunbrody Famine Ship is a replica of a ship built in 1845 as a cargo ship. The replica is permanently anchored in the town of New Ross. During the Irish Potato Famine, the boat would haul people to North America. Between 1845 and 1851, the original Dunbrody carried thousands of emigrants. Each trip would take anywhere from five to ten weeks, with around 300 passengers.

We found the tour very worthwhile. Each guest is given a copy of what the voyage tickets looked like, filled in with real names and prices from the original ship’s records. Exhibits inside the visitor center provide a lot of the context.

A couple of staff members are dressed up in period clothing and played the parts of two passengers, one of the handful of first class passengers and the other from steerage class. They did a good job of communicating what it was like to make the voyage.

After our tour, we ate lunch at the cafe inside the visitor center. We enjoyed our Cajun chicken sandwich and tuna fish sandwiches while admiring the ship out the windows.

Then it was Ann’s turn to drive. It took quite a bit of concentration to make it out of New Ross, with remembering to drive on the left side, looking out for cars traveling from uncustomary directions, along with navigating mini-roundabouts and avoid pedestrians. But once she was out of town, she was able to relax a little more.

When we put our next destination into Google Maps, the Jerpoint Abbey, Google wanted to take us the fastest way, on L roads. Most of the roads in Ireland have designations that start with letters. M routes, such as the M9, are motorways (expressways). The next level down are N roads, followed by R roads and lastly L roads. Most of the L roads that we had passed already looked like single track roads. If you meet a vehicle coming the other way on a single track, you have to negotiate who is backing up to a point where you can pass each other. We would rather try to avoid L roads.

Instead of following Google, we took the R704 back to the M9, then we let Google direct us from there. Jerpoint Cistercian Abbey was established in the 12th century. Cistercians are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that broke off from the Benedictines. Jerpoint is known for its detailed stone sculptures found throughout the monastery. There was a small charge, 4 euros per senior, to wander around the ruins.

From Jerpoint, we made our way over to Kells Priory. The time, we couldn’t avoid going on L roads, but these were not that bad as they were not single tracks. However, there were still plenty of places where two cars could not pass each other. We managed to make it the 15 minutes of driving without having to back up.

Kells Priory was founded in 1193. It is one of the largest medieval monuments in Ireland. Seven tower houses are connected by walls, giving it an appearance of a medieval fortress. Kells Priory was disbanded by King Henry VIII in 1540. It doesn’t have the stone sculptures like Jerpoint Abbey, but it is fun to wander around the ruins. You just need to watch where you step, as sheep are grazing in parts of the grounds.

There are three parking lots for Kells Priory. Google Maps took us to the one next to the Kellsborough Mill. We saw signs for a cafe so we walked down the road to find it. The cafe was closed, but the Kings Mill Restaurant was open. They had hot drinks and desserts, so we went inside. The restaurant serves Italian food and the enticing aroma of garlic convinced us to have an early dinner instead of an afternoon tea.

The interior of the restaurant is interesting. They left most of the inner workings and gears of the mill in place, with the dining tables situated among them. We both ordered the linguine carbonara with a side salad. Everything was delicious.

From there, it was only a 15 minute drive back to Kilkenny. We were switching to the Butler Court B&B in town. We pulled into the yellow box as directed by our host Yvonne. There was a parking spot available along the curb just two spots back up the road. So Yvonne had Keith back up into it and gave him a parking pass to display on the dash.

Yvonne, just like Katherine back at the Menu House, was a wealth of information with an enthusiasm to share about what to see and do in the area. After checking in, we decided to just hang out in our room for the rest of the evening.

Our room was nice. A continental breakfast was included, not the hot breakfast like at the Menu House B&B, but it was a nice breakfast. There was a small refrigerator which contained orange juice, milk, and yogurt. There was a selection of cereals, fresh fruit, butter, jams, and Guinness & walnut brown bread from Killarney Hotels.

We decided to have a pretty chill day. It rained a good portion of the day, but the sun made an appearance in the late afternoon and evening. First we walked over to the Butler Gallery. The art museum is free of charge. We’re not big on museums so we didn’t stay very long.

Then we went for a walk in the rain. Ann tested out her new umbrella during our stroll. We headed out on the Canal Walk, which headed east from town, south of the River Nore. At the Ossory Bridge, we crossed over the river and came back on the Lacken Walk Boardwalk. It was a lovely greenway with an abundance of bird song the whole way.

Once we returned to town, we headed north on John Street Upper, admiring all the little shops for a few blocks. Then we popped into the Tower & Castle Cafe. It was 12:15 pm, but they were still serving breakfast and wouldn’t start their lunch menu until 12:30 pm. We didn’t feel like breakfast food and didn’t want to wait 15 minutes, so we opted for chai lattes and sticky chocolate and orange cake. The cake was delicious.

On the way back, we checked out Talbots Tower which used to be part of the medieval town wall. It was built around 1270. Then we found Butler’s Garden, but we didn’t really go in. It seemed to be part of the Butler House Hotel and we weren’t sure if the public was allowed in.

Yvonne had told us that their new library, the Mayfair Library, was really nice, so we decided to grab our laptop and iPad and spend some time at the library. When we got there, most of the study tables were taken, but we did find a bench with a couple of small portable tables. However, we discovered that you needed a library card and PIN to access the Wifi. So we headed back to Butler Court and hung out in our room for a few hours.

On the way to dinner, we stopped by the ATM again. We didn’t need cash to pay for Butler Court, but we needed it for our next B&B in Kenmare.

At 5:30 pm, we headed over to Kyteler’s Inn for dinner. Since it was Friday, they had traditional music and Irish dancing starting at 6 pm. It’s a good thing we went early to get a table, because the place filled up quickly. This place operated a little differently than the other pubs we’ve been to with music. The music at Kyteler’s was in the portion of the bar serving food, while the other places we’ve listened to music, the band was in the drinking area of the pub. We were grateful that we could see and hear the music and dancing right from our dining table.

Keith ate the chicken and ham vol au vents while Ann had the bangers and mash. The vol au vents was a puff pastry filled with a creamy mixture of chicken and ham, similar to a pot pie. Bangers and mash are sausages with mashed potatoes. To drink, Keith had a couple pints of Kyteler’s Inn Red Ale called the Witch’s Brew. Ann started out with water, then had a pint of Orchard Thieves Cider.

Kyteler’s Inn was originally run by Dame Alice Kyteler. She was born in 1280 in Kilkenny with wealthy Norman parents. Alice married four times, with all four rich husbands dying shortly after marriage. The fourth husband changed his will shortly before his death to favor Alice and her son from her first marriage. Alice was then charged with witchcraft, but she escaped to England. Her son was convicted and sentenced to attend Mass three times a day and give alms to the poor. Alice’s maid Petronella was tortured, whipped, and finally burned at the stake.

In order to enjoy the music a little longer, we had dessert. Ann ordered the lemon meringue pie while Keith had ice cream, scoops of chocolate and mint. That was the opposite of what we typically order. Usually Ann is the one that favors chocolate and mint, while Keith tends to gravitate towards lemon. The lemon meringue pie was served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. In the States, lemon meringue pie is normally served chilled, not warm.

Kilkenny was the first small town we visited in Ireland and we really enjoyed our time there. A castle, a greenway along a river, inviting small steets lined with cute shops and restaurants with music and wonderful food. If the rest of the towns we visit in Ireland are this nice, we should have a great time. We were looking forward to seeing more of what Ireland has to offer.

Check out our related video: Kilkenny, Ireland

(Ann)