Kilkenny Castle is in the town of Kilkenny, which is in County Kilkenny. (That’s a lot of Kilkennys.)
On this spot, there was once a wooden castle, built by Strongbow, a famous Norman lord. He came to Ireland to help an Irish chieftain get his land back. Strongbow stayed because he wanted to marry the chieftain’s daughter.
The castle that we see today was built in the year 1213 and was made out of stone. It was originally shaped like a square with towers in the corners. There are only three towers and three walls remaining. The fourth wall was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in 1650. At that time, all of Ireland was part of England. Cromwell was a British military and political leader. He thought Kilkenny was full of Irish rebels. So he attacked the town.
This is what the castle looks like:
On the day we went to the castle, only my mom and brother came because my father was sick. He and my sister stayed in the hotel room. (We could see cows from our window. We had to wear bathing caps in the pool. It is the law in Ireland.)
In the castle, there was a big hall of pictures and a library. We may have found a secret passageway. The courtyard is shaped like a cross.
Also in Kilkenny, we saw the Black Abbey and went on a trolley tour. We met a tour guide who gave us our own personal tour. He showed us a cool restaurant Hole in the Wall. It was actually in a wall. Here is a picture:
There also is a tower in a church that you could climb up, but you have to be 12. (It was really annoying.)
This is Cosmic Celt, signing off until next time.
(Thanks to //www.kilkennycastle.ie/ for the thumnail image.)
