Even when nobody was visiting, Kilkenny was busy preparing for when they would. The pandemic has been cruel and heartless, but the county has used the enforced hiatus of the last year to remind us that there is life beyond the castle and a night out in the city.
Not that either should be ignored. Like all of the Marble City's other attractions, Kilkenny Castle (kilkennycastle.ie) reopened in May, but entrance to the former stronghold of the Butler family is free following the decision of the Office of Public Works to waive all admission fees as part of the 'path ahead' plan. As this is one of the most popular heritage attractions in Ireland, booking tickets beforehand for your self-guided visit is essential.
No longer in the castle basement, however, is the Butler Gallery (butlergallery.ie), which moved to new premises in the 19th-century Evans House last year – the new double-height exhibition space (the O'Malley wing) offers plenty more room for big art, while the Muse cafe is one of the nicer new spots for home-made, seasonal produce.
The city's other big-ticket attractions, including Rothe House and gardens (rothehouse.com) – a former Tudor merchant's home that is actually three separate houses and includes extensive gardens – and the magnificent Medieval Mile Museum (medievalmilemuseum.ie) both reopened in May. The latter tells the story (via personalised audioguide) of 800 years of local history, but younger visitors will appreciate the Lego Minifigure Hunt, where medieval characters combine with witches and wizards from Hogwarts as well as Jedis from Star Wars.
Restaurants such as the Michelin-starred Campagne (5 Gashouse Lane; campagne.ie) have had something of a halo effect on the overall dining scene, bringing overdue recognition to a city where you can eat well in lots of places – even without a star. Zuni (26 Patrick St; zuni.ie) does stylish Irish cuisine and has an outdoor dining area, while Foodworks (7 Parliament St; foodworks.ie) is the place to try a pig's trotter from the restaurant's own farmyard. Now all we need is for indoor dining to reopen.
And when we're able to go for a pint, try John Cleere's (cleeres.com)in Irishtown, a beautifully cosy pub with a great music venue at the back. Sullivans Taproom (sullivanstaproom.com) on John Street has been brewing beer since the 18th century. It has done wonders with its outdoor space, where you can enjoy wood-fired pizzas. Also on John Street, Billy Byrne's Gastro Pub (billybyrnes.com) has revamped its expansive outdoor spaces and serves food from a snazzy double-decker bus in the garden (reopening on June 7th).
And no visit to the Marble City is complete without popping into the Kilkenny Design Centre (kilkennydesign.com) in Castle Yard – which also has a terrific cafe, where you can pore over your purchases (keep an eye out for the John Hanly blankets and the woollen goods by Cushendale as well the Bunbury cutting boards).
Beyond the city
The city gets most of the tourists, but the wider county has plenty going on – especially in these times that put a premium on the socially-distant outdoors.
If you need to stretch your legs, there’s a fine 12km walk in the Nore valley between Kilkenny and Bennetsbridge. Over the course of (roughly) two hours there’s plenty of riverside scenery and, the closer you get to Bennetsbridge, tons of local cafes and artisan crafts shops.
The big county attractions include the ruined (cheers, Henry VIII) Augustinian priory at Kells, which you can explore at leisure, without set hours or admission fees – at dusk on a nice summer's evening it's a stunner.
Kilkenny's other set of magnificent ruins are at Jerpoint (heritageireland.ie), 2.5km south of Thomastown, a once mighty Cistercian abbey also laid low by the 16th-century dissolution of the abbeys. Across the river, Jerpoint Park (jerpointpark.com) is a working farm (there are sheepdog trials for visitors), but on the grounds are the flattened ruins of an old church and, next to it, a graveyard where it is said lie the remains of St Nicholas – yes, Santa Claus is buried in Kilkenny.
Nearby Thomastown is home to the impressive Mount Juliet Resort (mountjuliet.ie), but it's also where you'll find the excellent Blackberry Cafe (Market Street; theblackberrycafe.ie) – the pumpkin-seed soda bread is delicious.
The county's other big attraction is Dunmore Cave (heritageireland.ie), 11km north of the city, home to the 7m-tall Market Cross, Europe's largest free-standing stalagmite. If you prefer to keep your visits above ground, an amble around tiny Inistioge and nearby Woodstock Gardens (woodstock.ie) or a loop walk around Windgap are highly recommended. And if you have the kids in tow, Castlecomer Discovery Park (discoverypark.ie), 11km north of Dunmore Cave, has a high-ropes course and zip-lining as well as woodland trails and boating lakes.
If you fancy some outdoor walks, in the south of the county is Tory Hill, where a two-hour loop walk to and from the summit gives you commanding views of Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary and Kilkenny. About 5km away is the beautiful Poulanassy Waterfall, surrounded by overhanging trees and with an isolated pool that is perfect for a summer swim – there are even picnic tables and barbecue spots. Kilkenny's tallest peak, however, is Brandon Hill, east of Inistioge. The 515m hill is topped by a cross that is reached via a 5km loop walk.
