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The Butlers, who lived in Kilkenny Castle, were the principal patrons
of St. Canices Cathedral and most of them are buried here. Lisa and I got a chance
to visit the cathedral on the way out of Kilkenny. Like most churches of the time,
it included a tail safe-tower where clerics would retreat to in times of attack |
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On the way south to Waterford, we went by the first Cistercian Abbey in Ireland called Jerpoint.
Like all Abbeys in Ireland, it was deserted when Herny VIII confiscated the lands of the
Church in the 16th century. It is mostly intact and is kept up by Duchas, the Irish Heritage
Society |
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Waterford is an ancient coastal city that dates back to pre-viking days. Indeed when we
visited they were closing up a major acheological dig that exposed much of viking Waterford. Due
to our crazy schedule, we only spent a couple of hours there before heading off to Waterford's
premier attraction, Waterford Crystal. |
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From Waterford we raced to make it to Cashel before night. Be this time we started
to realise there was no way we would see half what we wanted to on this trip so we started to take
it easy after this point. Being somewhat centralish, Cashel is best known for the large rock outcropping
in the centre of the town, called the Rock of Cashel. It is a religious site because of the monastery and
Cathedral that top the rock but it is also quite mystical when the fog shrouds the rock.
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