Kilkenny: An Ancient Irish City
Where Hurling is a Religion
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
The ancient Irish city of Kilkenny [Cill Chainnigh] is situated in the south east on the banks of the River Nore, and it is considered by many to be second only to Dublin in its visitor attractions.
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MARTIN BRETT, the Mayor of Kilkenny.
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The old winding narrow streets lend an atmosphere of old world charm, and the terraces of handsome Georgian houses give it elegance - and with all of that, it is a busy modern town and market centre for a fertile agricultural area.
From time immemorial Kilkenny has been divided into three districts of wards: Irishtown, where the cathedral is its central landmark; High Town to the south, dominated by Kilkenny Castle; and, on the other bank of the River Nore, the eastern district, with St. John's Priory.
The famous Kilkenny Castle was built in 1200 and occupied by the Butler family until the mid 1930s. A magnificent structure, the castle also occupied 40 acres of prime land and in 1969, the family transferred the ownership of the castle to the state for the sum of £1,000.
Although once rundown as it had not been inhabited for a long period of time, the Butler family restored the castle, and it is now probably one of Ireland's premier tourist destinations. Over 300,000 people from around the world visit the castle each year.
In pre-Norman times, Kilkenny was the seat of the kings of Ossory, and later it passed into the hands of the Ormonds. During the Fourteenth Century a number of parliaments met in Kilkenny, including the one in 1366 which passed the infamous Statute of Kilkenny.
The Statute made it high treason for an Anglo-Norman (i.e. an Englishman settled in Ireland) to marry an Irishwoman, adopt Irish customs, speak Irish or wear Irish dress, and prohibited Irishmen from living in a walled town.
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ST. PATICK'S DAY festivities in Kilkenny include a big St. Patrick's Day parade and activities for the whole family.
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Although rigorously enforced, the Statute ultimately failed in preventing the assimilation of Anglo-Normans and Irish. From 1642 to 1648, the town was the seat of the Confederation of Kilkenny, an independent Irish parliament which brought together both the Old Irish and the Anglo-Irish Catholics.
Later, however, the Confederation split into two camps and the Anglo-Irish allied themselves with the English. In 1650 Cromwell took the town, and the Irish garrison was allowed to march out with full honours.
I recently spoke to Martin Brett, the Mayor of Kilkenny, about his town and some of its tourist attractions. The population of the town is now approaching 27,000 and there is also the surrounding areas for which it provides services.
Before moving to Kilkenny, Mayor Brett was a native of Charlestown, County Mayo. Along with serving in a civic capacity, he is also a businessman in the insurance industry. "Being the Mayor of Kilkenny is a fairly prestigious operation," said Brett, "so it's important that you do it right."
He has been a Counselor since 1999 and he made history in Kilkenny by serving twice as Deputy Mayor for two years, and twice as Mayor for another two years, since the start of the new millennium.
"I have the unique distinction of being on both the City Council and the County Council. A big part of my job is the voluntary part, and you also have the business association situation. The one thing we don't do is endorse products. We help businesses establish themselves and work on an ongoing basis."
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NARROW winding streets lend an atmosphere of old world charm to the ancient medieval town
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Speaking about his community, he said, "over here we are a very religious orientated community, and predominantly Catholic. One of the things that I am involved with from a parish perspective is the Lourdes Fund, which means we raise funds to send people to Lourdes, France."
Mayor Brett said, "Kilkenny is known as a hurling county, and hurling is the real religion in this area. It's bred into people and it transcends generations. You would get more people at a training session than you would at a match. There would be serious interest in it now.
"Many of the great hurling stars have come from Kilkenny. Cups were meant to go around and I suppose we have been very lucky as we have won 29 All Ireland titles since the foundation of the GAA in 1884. We also lost about 22 or 24. Cork has more titles with 30.
"I suppose many people wonder where the name of the hurling club, The Kilkenny Cats came about, and I think the name came about when the English were in residence here...there were an awful lot of cats here at the time."
Just before Christmas, Kilkenny honoured one of their famous sons, Arthur Oliver Wheeler with a memorial. Wheeler, who was born in Kilkenny, came to Canada in 1876 to work as a Dominion Land Surveyor .
He was involved in surveying the Crowsnest Pass in Alberta and the Selkirk Range in British Columbia. While in the Canadian Rockies, Wheeler became interested in climbing and in 1906, together with Elizabeth Parker, he co-founded the Alpine Club of Canada.
Along with the many beautiful and historical buildings in Kilkenny, the city will also host six or seven festivals every year, including everything from comedy to Celtic arts. These festivals run from April right through until October.
Speaking about St. Patrick's Day in Kilkenny, Mayor Martin Brett said he will spend the day in the city taking part in the big parade and street festival which attracts many people from the surrounding areas.
"Whether you look at Kilkenny, or Ireland as a whole," said Mayor Brett, "we're very interested in the tourist industry and we do our best to attract people here. We want them to enjoy themselves here and when they leave, spread the word about the good things they enjoyed here."
In closing, Mayor Martin Brett of Kilkenny offered the following greeting to all our readers saying:
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THE FAMOUS KILKENNY CASTLE was built in 1200 and occupied by the Butler family until the mid 1930s. Over 300,000 people from all around the world visit this destination each year.
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On behalf of the citizens of Kilkenny, I wish all the readers of The Celtic Connection, a very happy St. Patrick's Day and I hope that you enjoy the festivities.
St. Patrick's Day has always been celebrated in Ireland and it is testament to the spirit of the generations of Irish people who emigrated from our country that St. Patrick's Day is now celebrated worldwide, wherever our emigrants set up home.
Kilkenny is a very beautiful medieval Irish city and I encourage you to visit Kilkenny, where readers of The Celtic Connection will receive a warm welcome.
[Ar son shaoránaigh Chathair Cill Choinnigh, guím Lá 'le Phádraigh shona do shaoránaigh uile The Celtic Connection, agus ta súil mór agam go mbainfidh sibh sult as shiamsa an lae.
Comóraíodh Féile Phádraigh in Éirinn ó chianaibh; agus is tiomna é do spriod na nÉireannaigh a d'imigh i gcéin uainn thar na nglúnta go gceiliúrtar Lá 'le Phádraigh anois ar fuaid an domhain, i ngach tír a gcuiredar fúthu.
Cathair deas álainn, ársa í Cathair Cill Chainnigh; agus ba mhaith liom sibh a mhisniú teacht ar chuairt chughainn ann, áit a mbeidh fír-chaoin fáilte roimh muintir The Celtic Connection! - Mairtin de Bhrett, Mheara Chill Chainnigh.]
For more about Kilkenny and what the city has to offer its visitors, visit: www.kilkennytourism.ie, or www.shamrock.org.
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