Mention Kilkenny and the first thing that often springs to mind is Kilkenny Castle or the sport of Hurling.
The County of Kilkenny has a wealth of hidden antiquities and places of interest to visit which are off the beaten track and more often than not very quiet and picturesque.
Kilkenny has City status although the medieval town (city) is small enough to be thoroughly enjoyable in it's own right for visiting, if a little crowded at times.
Saint Canice's Cathedral is my favourite place to visit in the City and it's also close enough for a comfortable walk from Kilkenny Castle making it easy to enjoy visiting both in a single day if you're not on a bicycle.
The County of Kilkenny is literally "plastered" in hidden gems which are seldom visited.
Thousand year old High Cross's, monastic Round Towers, ruined Abbey's, Castles, Tower Houses and Ramparts, and ancient Megalithic structures such as Dolmens and Passage Tombs..... take your pick.
Jerpoint Abbey is a nice place to visit however the impressively large fortifications at nearby Kells Augustinian Priory (circa 1193) are an outstanding example of a large ecclesiastical settlement replete with defensive perimeter walls.
Places such as Saint Mary's medieval Church (circa 1460) in Callan or Saint Mary's Collegiate Church in Gowran,while lesser known, are quiet and beautiful, tranquil and historic. Both are National Monuments.
The remains of Knockroe Passage Tomb contains examples of five thousand year old Rock Art.
It is possibly the only Neolithic Passage Tomb in Ireland where both passages are astronomically aligned, such that one passage faces the rising and the other passage the setting Sun on the Winter Solstice.
It would be impossible to make an exhaustive list of places to visit or sites of interest in Kilkenny on a single Web post. Suffice to say the countryside surrounding Kilkenny is a delight to explore and more often than not nice quiet and peaceful.
From the forgotten Round Tower, Church, and Effigy tomb of Grangefertagh to the imposing structure of Kilkenny Castle, from hidden Saint Mary's medieval Church and the Famine burial site in Callan to Saint Canice's Cathedral in the City, Kilkenny is a County you could spend a month exploring....
These are just a small few of the sights worth visiting and exploring in Kilkenny.
It's a great County to cycle in with plenty of small quiet roads and little by way of traffic if you get off the beaten track.
As usual I don't think my photographs do these sights and sites justice.
Keep the wheels turning.
