Tuesday, 7th of October, 2025
Train to Kilkenny
Have you watched the movie, The Quiet Man? Well, it is an American movie that takes place in Ireland and the reason I bring this up is because in the first scene in the movie, where the main character hops off the train, there is a fun song in the title sequence. Dum dum dum dum dum dum dun na na na dum dum… and so on. Right now, on the train to Kilkenny, that song is stuck in my head. I quietly hum it to myself as we make our way through Ireland’s quiet towns and green pastures by rail.
We arrive in Kilkenny while the sun is still shining. The town is not that large, and easy to navigate; it is almost a straight path from the station to the castle. After a short walk, we start to cross a stone bridge and see the lovely Kilkenny Castle peeking out from the trees on the river bank. I cannot help but just stare and think how picturesque this is.
We are a few minutes early to the castle opening, so we walk around town for a bit. There are stone streets, modern streets, cobblestone streets, and skinny meandering streets. All of this within a brief walk. As the clouds roll in, we make our way back towards Kilkenny Castle to explore its treasures.
We buy our tickets at the entrance of the castle and make our way to the subterranean level of the southeast tower to watch a video about the castle’s history. The video helps map out the castle’s original forms, how it has changed over time, and explain why the courtyard is missing its eastern wall. Kilkenny Castle’s history starts around the 12th century, when it was owned and restored by William Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke, and is later passed down to the Butler family in the 14th century. Eventually, the castle was sold to the Kilkenny Castle Restoration Committee in the 20th century. The castle we will see today, both inside and out, will contain a number of features from the various homeowners and inhabitants.
To explore the castle, we go back out into the courtyard, and then go into the main entrance on the western wall of the castle. Here, I see the beginning of the gorgeous interior design details, including simple stained glass windows. Though, in the rooms above, I am in love with the various wallpaper designs and tapestries. The Picture Gallery is probably the room I am lingering in the longest as I cannot take my eyes off the painted wooden ceilings. Flora and fauna decorate the ceiling, with numerous patterns covering the wooden beams. For the protruding beams at the base of the roof, I can see fantastical animals carved out of the wood, reaching out to the middle of the hall. With all the various types of art on display, I could get lost in here for hours.
The pitter-patter of raindrops on windows breaks me out of my trance and leads us to walk through the rest of the castle. We seemed to have explored the castle fairly quickly, so we walk through the raindrops from Kilkenny Castle to the Medieval Mile Museum. This museum serves as a perfect and quirky pairing to Kilkenny Castle as we were able to explore documents, artifacts, and tombstones that impacted the people of this town. The reason why I label this museum as quirky is because hidden throughout the exhibits are Lego figurines performing different Irish summer activities. An adorable side quest for us to keep a look out for as we meander through the museum.
A visual motif that has followed us throughout our trip, but makes its biggest impact on me here, is the intersection of Christian and pagan art forms coexisting. When we look at the replicas of the Ahenny High Crosses from the 8th-9th century (the originals in Ahenny, County Tipperary), our audio guide tells us how the circle represented the sun in pagan religions, and of course, the cross a symbol for Christianity. I know this is not unique to Christianity in Ireland, but it is kind of beautiful how you can see odes to the Irish’s cultural past woven into its Christian history.
With the sun starting to shine, we take the opportunity to go back outside and walk to lunch. We ate at a small family restaurant called La Rivista, and noticed how things slowed down. To be honest, I probably need this as I feel we have to explore every last part of Kilkenny and Ireland up until the last moment we have to leave. Instead, this lunch set the tone for me to slow down and relax.
After lunch, we head towards the Black Abbey. From its name, it sounds spooky. Yet, it is not spooky at all - only stunning. The inside of the church is dimly lit, though this allowed the beautiful stained glass windows to sparkle. Both the traditional and contemporary styles leeave me flabbergasted. Thus, I choose a pew to sit in and just look at these pieces. Sketch a little bit here and there, but mainly look and absorb it all. While the church is mainly empty, I believe that the magnificence of these windows commanded the silence in the room. Images really do speak a thousand words.
When we left the abbey, we began our wandering through the town, as we have completed our main list of things to do. The winds before a thunderstorm usher us into another church, St. Mary’s. In comparison to the Black Abbey, St. Mary’s is a cathedral looming over us, standing tall over its landscape. What surprises me most about this church is that the designers and planners chose where to include a large amount of colour, decoration, and ornamentation, and where to leave stones grey and bare. This design choice leads my eyes to be drawn towards side chapels and altars, and skipping over thick pillars and bare walls. Most likely, this was employed to help people stay focused during mass and know where to look. I know I can get distracted myself.
With a blend of cold winds, spurts of rain, and a hint of sunshine, the afternoon felt like a chill montage. We meandered more throughout the town, in and out of shops, until we took a break by a coffee shop. Here, we are sitting outside as I draw castles in my sketchbook over an iced coffee, and Ramón reads his book. Once again, not something we planned, but the break we needed. Also, a perfect opportunity for me to practice sketching architectural elements.
After a couple of hours, we make one last stop to see Kilkenny Castle once again before dinner. The sun is out, and we can explore the beautiful rose gardens. Moving through the gardens and around the castle, I am reminded of a previous trip to Sands Point Preserve in New York (below is a picture of one of the castles in the preserve). I can how Howard Gould was inspired by Kilkenny Castle, and wanted to create his own medieval escape on Long Island back in 1902. With the castle being open on one side, it is easier to move through and between stone structures and nature. The garden does not feel separate and inaccessible, but part of the whole castle experience.
Our views of the castle does not end here, as we choose to have an early dinner at the Riverview Bar & Terrace. We pick a table on the terrace, under the awning as a storm is coming, where we can still see a portion of the castle and its grounds. Over a warm bowl of soup and an Irish coffee, we enjoy people watching, looking out to the kayakers below, and laughing at silly stories. Our soups slowly diminish, and with the rain clouds running away in the distance, we continue our walking.
We end up walking for quite a while as I booked our train (a month in advance) to leave around 19:00 in case we needed extra time. I cannot change the ticket at this point, but that is fine as we start to notice the little details in town. Sculptures of music, what seems like a hundred murals with cats, and more words in Irish. When the time came, the train rolled into the station slowly. Once boarded, we find our seats (labeled with our names on a nearby screen) and sit to watch the scenery go by again. Even though I know we will board our plane back to the US tomorrow, I know we will be back to see this handsome landscape again.
Until next time.
As a new addition to my blog posts, I will be responding to questions left on my Instagram and Buy Me a Coffee Page that relate to the previous post. If you would like to leave a question you have regarding this post on Kilkenny, feel free to head to either of those pages and leave your question there.
Q & A for Pray, Read Guinness
Q: Is Dublin safe?
A: I would say so. I felt comfortable walking around the city, both when it was busy and calm. However, I would like to note that I did not stay out super late in Dublin. So, I cannot comment about how it feels late at night.
Q: How would you describe the food?
A: Homey. Comfort food. Delicious. The soups and dishes warm you to the core, just like the lovely people that live in Ireland.