Kilkenny

Kilkenny in Irish is Cill Chainnigh, the church of Cainnech or Canice (515-600 AD), and the first settlement grew up in the 6th century around what is now St Canice Cathedral. It was seized by the Normans in 1170, led by Richard de Clare or "Strongbow"; he built the fortress which became the castle. The ford across the River Nore was replaced by a bridge and medieval Kilkenny grew up as three districts each protected by their own walls: High Town around the castle, Irish Town around the cathedral, and St John's on the east bank of the river.

The English Tudors strengthened their grip on Ireland by "plantations", colonies of loyal English and Scots (mostly Protestant) to keep the natives in check. Irish resentment flared into rebellion in 1641. Rebellion was crushed in Dublin and Ulster but gained strength elsewhere, and led to the de facto state of Confederate Ireland. This controlled two-thirds of the country, and Kilkenny was its capital. It had a governing assembly, minted coins and levied taxes; it was continuously at war but backed with money and weapons by friendly Catholic nations, especially by the Pope. Nominally however it was not independent, but Royalist in support of the deposed King Charles I. In 1650 Oliver Cromwell, the commander of the English New Model Army, arrived outside the city walls of Kilkenny to discuss the finer constitutional points of this stance. And when he'd done discussing, the walls and city were rubble and Ireland wasn't a confederacy any more.

By plane:

Dublin (DUB IATA) is a good choice for its wide range of flights, competitive fares, and good onward public transport.

Cork (ORK IATA) is another possibility but has fewer flights.

By train:

Trains from Dublin Heuston take 90 min to Kilkenny via Newbridge, Kildare, Athy, Carlow and Bagenalstown, and continue south to Thomastown and Waterford (another 35 min). There are eight M-Sa and five on Sunday. See Irish Rail for timetables and tickets.

1 Kilkenny MacDonagh Station is central, enter from the south off Dublin Rd. Don't go into MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre, there's no passageway to the station from that side. It's named for Thomas MacDonagh (1878-1916), one of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising. The station is wheelchair friendly and has a left luggage facility.

By bus:

Dublin Coach 600 runs daily every two hours from Dublin Burgh Quay (not Busáras) and Red Cow P&R to Kilkenny (1 hr 45 min) and continues to Waterford, Dungarvan and Cork.

JJ Kavanagh Bus 717 runs daily every two hours from Dublin airport and city centre, and continues to Clonmel.

Bus Éireann 73 crosses the Midlands from Athlone via Tullamore, Portlaoise and Carlow to Kilkenny, and continues to Thomastown and Waterford. There are two F & Sa and one on Sunday.

Bus 374 runs once on Thursday from New Ross via Thomastown to Kilkenny. Otherwise you have to backtrack via Waterford.

BK Bus 881 runs twice M-Sa from Graignamanagh, taking an hour via Borris, Goresbridge and Gowran. Bus 882 runs twice M-F from Inistioge.

The rival bus companies use different stopping points in Kilkenny, but they're all close to the railway station.

By road:

From Dublin take N7 / M7 west then M9, leave at Junction 8 for N10 into town. Reckon an hour.

From Carlow or Waterford it's a straight run on M9.

From Cork take M8, and at Cahir follow N24 through Clonmel then N76 for Kilkenny.