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Kilkenny: Where History Walks the Streets
55 Plays8 days ago
Episode nineteen of the new season of Pieces of History takes us to the heart of Ireland’s medieval capital - Kilkenny. I’m joined by John Comerford, a local historian and tour guide, to explore the city’s rich past and enduring legacy.
Together, we’ll walk through Kilkenny’s Medieval Mile, uncovering stories behind its well-preserved cobblestone streets, soaring cathedrals, and, of course, the imposing Kilkenny Castle. John shares how the city’s unique blend of Norman, ecclesiastical, and civic architecture reflects centuries of power, faith, and community life.
From medieval guilds to political intrigue, from the Black Abbey to St. Canice’s Cathedral, we’ll reveal how Kilkenny’s monuments are more than stone - they are living markers of Ireland’s turbulent and fascinating history.
How has Kilkenny managed to preserve its medieval charm so vividly into the 21st century? And what do its landmarks tell us about Ireland’s wider story of conquest, resilience, and cultural identity?
Join us as we journey into the streets and stories of Kilkenny, guided by one of the people who knows them best.
Email: piecesofhistorypod@outlook.com
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Transcript
Introduction to the Episode
00:00:13
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Pieces of History. I'm Colin McGrath and in each episode explore both the well-known and the overlooked stories that have shaped our world. Today we're heading to the medieval heart of Ireland,
Exploring Kilkenny with John Comerford
00:00:26
Speaker
Kilkenny.
00:00:26
Speaker
I'm joined by John Comerford, a local historian and tour guide, to uncover the stories behind this remarkable city. From the commanding presence of Kilkenny Castle to the winding cobblestone streets of the medieval Malle, John brings to life the people, places and events that made Kilkenny one of Ireland's most historic and best preserved cities.
00:00:48
Speaker
We'll explore how faith, power and community have shaped this city throughout the centuries and why Culkinney still holds such a unique place in Ireland's cultural memory. Thanks very much for joining me. um i really appreciate it.
00:01:01
Speaker
I'm actually looking forward to this chat because um I've got a confession to make. I've never been to Culkinney. um I know I've been south plenty of times, but just I've just never made the trek.
00:01:14
Speaker
My family have, but I have myself. So it is it it's somewhere which which I tend to go because... again, they've been raving about it and and the history of it So yeah before we get into the history of Kilkenny itself, do you mind giving me um a bit of background about yourself and what sparked your own interest in history?
John's Background and Passion for History
00:01:32
Speaker
I was brought up outside of Kilkenny City in and the parish of Gordon, which is around 20 minutes from Kilkenny. Always going to school. I loved history. was my favourite subject, going to school.
00:01:45
Speaker
And but particularly, I loved kind of local history. And this is all the people telling stories about times long gone. And I really took, I'm lucky enough to have a very good memory regards things like that.
00:02:01
Speaker
It kind of stays with me. I read a lot. I was a member of the Kilkenny Walking History Group, which meets every Saturday. I've met over 600 times already and every Saturday, nonstop, even during COVID.
00:02:16
Speaker
And I'll tell you how much history there is around Kilkenny, we're able find out something to do every Saturday within the city and the county. Occasionally we'll go outside of the county, but it's just a voluntary organization, which just whoever turns up on a Saturday, is there's usually a leader, a man called Paddy Neary, he's the main organizer of it, and he has huge interest in Kilkenny and its history.
00:02:44
Speaker
So that's a little bit of my background. i I was offered redundancy around three years back and I took it. I was working in an engineering company and took it.
00:02:56
Speaker
i was intended to take a life a bit easy for a little while, but straight away, ah friend of mine told me there was a job going in the tourist office that I should it apply for it. I'd be good at But reluctantly, i applied for it and I got it and I worked for the summer months there the last two years, but In October 23, went off and I did a course on the tour guiding.
00:03:24
Speaker
It was level seven, eleven no, a level six, I think. And I got my badges and all like that in tour guiding. So um in order to put it into use, I set a breakout on my own this year, which I did. started in the middle of April and have been reasonably successful at the moment.
00:03:44
Speaker
I love giving the tours with regards promoting with myself and not as good at it. We have listeners on the podcast from all over the world. We have mentioned Kilkenny several times already, and it's in the episode title.
Kilkenny's Unique Location and Unity
00:03:56
Speaker
But for those people who aren't familiar with the county and the city itself, where whereabouts are we located then? It's in the southeast. but it it It doesn't touch the sea. It's in inland counties.
00:04:10
Speaker
But Kilkenny City is right in in the middle of the county, which is is brilliant in a way because it's just a real one major town in the whole county. And there's no divides between it. In some counties, you would have towns similar sizes and there would be bit of rivalry between it.
00:04:27
Speaker
But it's right in the centre and everyone kind of rallies around Kilkenny City. regards to the GF thing, we're we' very united in regards to that. And I think it's because Kilkenny City being in the centre of the county.
00:04:41
Speaker
It's situated on the River Noor. It's rich farming land around Kilkenny City, quite fertile, built on um a lot of limestone
The Origins of Kilkenny's Name
00:04:52
Speaker
underneath.
00:04:52
Speaker
And actually, most of the buildings in Kilkenny were built on on on limestones, as we prefer a city now, as it's got chart by James I. The city itself was but originally the name Kilkenny comes up because there was a monk ah called St Canis,
00:05:10
Speaker
And he founded a monastery there in the sixth century. And then a little hamlet grew up around there. And that's how it got his name, Kilkenny. Kil, as you know yourself, being church, the Church of Canis.
00:05:23
Speaker
St. Canis, he was born up in Northern Ireland, in in near Dungibbon, I think, in County Derry. And he studied under a man called Finian, or St. Finian. Nearly everyone was saints at that time. um So he studied under him and he spent...
00:05:40
Speaker
a lot of time over in Scotland, and he was a good friend of St. Colm Kill. They were great friends. He was even told that Colm Kill, he saved Colm Kill's life on time, being nearly many miles away from, seemingly Colm Kill was out on the boat with his fellow monks, and a big storm came, and they were all worried about their lives, so all the monks started praying.
00:06:05
Speaker
Colm Kill didn't start praying at all. He said, um, The other monks asked him, why aren't you praying? he said, well, St. Our Canis is all my praying. So seemingly Canis was up in the monastery up in Narbo.
00:06:20
Speaker
He got intuition. It wasn't a text message anything like that and to say a prayer for him. So he rushed down to the chapel and he said a prayer. And after a while, the storm stopped and he's credited of saving Colm Cill's life.
00:06:35
Speaker
And I think, I'm not sure this, he's supposed to be the patron saint of sailors. I don't know how true that is. But there's another question. Where where is the man buried?
00:06:46
Speaker
He died in around the year 600, in a place, Aharboa, that's in County Leash, 35 minutes from Kilkenny. And the week was going on up there, and the group Kilkenny men came up and and and and ah took the the coffin and the body and headed back towards Kilkenny with it.
00:07:06
Speaker
But of course, people from Mahurboa wouldn't going to let them away with it. So then they followed they chased. And Colum Kil left down, the Kilkenny people left down the coffin down the ground beside back.
00:07:19
Speaker
As they left the coffin down into the ground, just disappeared into the ground. um But as it disappeared, two identical coffins appeared. But both sides then took it as this was the saint intervening.
00:07:33
Speaker
So one one coffin was buried in Kilkenny and the other one is buried up in Aherbo. And the people from Aherbo, we don't know where in Kilkenny he's buried, but the people from Aherbo maintain he has been buried in Kilkenny because Kilkenny has prospered since and Aherbo just only ruins the monastery there.
00:07:51
Speaker
That's just a little story about St. Canis. That's fantastic, John. So we're talking, did you say, 6th century onwards? So it's it's got a ah very long history anyway. When was the first settlement of, well, obviously it's the city now, but I suppose Hamlet Village back then? doing Do we have um written records of when it was first established? didn' and did it We're not really sure there because the 6th century, but m many roads and led to Canisys Monastery Catedral.
00:08:22
Speaker
i think there were seven roads moving and into Kilkenny at the time, and that was before the arrival of of the Normans. Kilkenny only came into Providence, really, with the arrival of the Normans. They built their castle there, right on the point of the River Nore, and it's seriously very important because they could govern whoever passed up and down the Nore.
00:08:42
Speaker
as as As you know, um rivers were very important for transport that time. So um and there there was there would have been a building or a castle before the Normans there, but the Normans built a castle there The Normans arrived in in and Ireland probably around 1270 around that time because they were invited over by Dermot McMurray and Strongbow.
Influence of Normans and Medieval Landmarks
00:09:05
Speaker
Strongbow, he built his castle there. He got married to Dermot McMurray's daughter and when McMurray died, had no sons ah surviving. They all had been killed in battles or died.
00:09:17
Speaker
So as a result, Strongbow, or the heir of Prenbroke, as he's known as well, um they built a castle in Kilkenny. But really it was their and son-in-law that really built Kilkenny. William Marshall, he was reputed to be the greatest knight in the kingdom.
00:09:37
Speaker
And he he really built a stone castle there. He laid out the streets of Kilkenny. Kilkenny hasn't changed a whole lot then. He laid out High Street going down is the main thoroughfare through the town heading down towards St Canis.
00:09:51
Speaker
And they also invited in a lot of merchants. This is up trading in Kilkenny and they became very, very wealthy people. and There were 10 particularly family, the Roths and the Arthurs and the Cheese being the most prominent members of of of that family, as were the Lanktons as well.
00:10:10
Speaker
And they even built a church for themselves which is now the medieval museum called St Mary's and that was and a kind of a private church for for for that those rich families and that's where they are mainly burie buried there the roads are there and the sheaves and the archers they're all buried inside the church because at that time if you were built inside the church or nearer to God the altars the roads have an altar there and a beautiful black marble altar and and outside it's bit
00:10:42
Speaker
not in good repair at the moment because it was much bigger is the sheaths had another altar there and they would have been buried in oak caskets lined with best quality leather stapled together or stuck with with with golden staples or pins.
00:11:03
Speaker
So that's how wealthy they were. The sheaths, which they were all sheaths, but they changed the name to sheath to sound like Norman to sound French, so they changed their names. they They were kind of property developers, but they're also in the legal and lawyers and all, but they had they bought most of the monastery lands in Kilkenny and they were kind of like speculators and they sold off a lot of their land and made a lot of money.
00:11:28
Speaker
And they're responsible for the building of the She-Am's house. which was built in 1582. easy two And that was for six widows over 50 years of age. and And six men, respectable poor men, and they were housed in that building. They were segregated. The front was for the women and upstairs was for for the men.
00:11:52
Speaker
And they never met, only for two-hour prayer. But if they didn't if they got married, they're out. that didn't And if they didn't abide by the certain rules, they're not. they were no longer allowed to live in the Almshouse.
00:12:05
Speaker
That's still surviving, but that house. and The Shees themselves had a mansion as well, which now is called Paris, Texas. In the 1930s, I think, the Woolworths built a house and some of the interior was a bit destroyed.
00:12:18
Speaker
and But outside you can see ah plaques, a plaque still there. um Also, then you had the Archer Mansion, which is now is O'Connor's Jewellers and there's new bridge silver there as well.
00:12:30
Speaker
And at the back you have a the hole in the wall, which was an old ancient pub. And that was their building. And down further, then you had the roads. And you still have a old roadhouse.
00:12:42
Speaker
That is probably the only fully restored townhouse of that era, fully restored. It was built in 1694. And it it's three buildings with court charts in the front of it. The roads would have made their money. There were mainly woolen merchants.
00:13:00
Speaker
And it would have made a lot of money dealing in wool. Had lot of mills situated down on the river Noor. And they used to trade a lot with Bristol.
00:13:11
Speaker
They used bring a lot of their stuff across the Bristol and let's sell it there. And had one particular good product. was called the mantle, which was very popular all over Europe at the time. it was kind of like a sheep's coat and just tie together.
00:13:24
Speaker
And they reckon it was retail and now it'd be around 500 euros. So they made a lot of money trading. And the return voyage then, they would bring back silks and and glassware, all types of silks and all glass, all that type of ware back and sell it in their shop in Kilkenny.
00:13:43
Speaker
So they were making money on both sides the team. All those families were immensely wealthy. There was the golden era of Kilkenny at that time. All went well till Mr Cromwell came.
00:13:55
Speaker
That was the end of them. Those brown families were very prominent during the confederation of Kilkenny. when Kilkenny was capital from 1642 to 1650, it was called Confederation of Kilkenny.
00:14:08
Speaker
Particularly around the Roth House, there was lot of activity went and went on there. I should have mentioned earlier on, the gardens there now fully restored. The gardens that existed back in the 16th century are fully restored. All the fruit and vegetables, flowers, everything,
00:14:26
Speaker
fruit and everything that were going back in the 16th century are growing there now. Bishop Roth, who was one of the leading people involved in the Confederation, he would would have met with Cardinal Rinicini, who was the Pope's envoy to Kilkenny at the time, and they would have walked many times around the garden and discussed important topics.
00:14:47
Speaker
Just going back on Cardinal Rinicini, in the 13th century, There was a stained glass window in in St. Carnic's Cathedral. It was commissioned by Bishop Le Drede, who was quite famous for the witch trial of Dianna Ellis.
00:15:05
Speaker
He commissioned that window there. It was called the Great East Window, and it's the passion. and When Gardiner Inchini came there, he loved the colour of it and off the window and wanted to buy it.
00:15:17
Speaker
and offered £700 for it, but it wouldn't be sold. But he got his draftsman to drop the plans the way it was drawn out, and he he was hoped that he could bring it back to Italy and he'd get it made over there.
00:15:33
Speaker
both But within five years, Commonwealth came and his soldiers made bits of the window, destroyed the window, and used them to lay out the window to make bullets.
00:15:44
Speaker
But for around 200 years later, the Bishop, but it was now Church of Ireland, Anglican, which they put back a stained glass window. And then they came across the old drawings.
00:15:55
Speaker
The window was in it now, was similar to one that was first installed there in the 13th century. And just going back on Bishop Lydred, the famous witch trial here in Kilkenny was Dame Alice Kittler.
00:16:11
Speaker
And she was a daughter of a, a rich merchant banking family here in Kilkenny. She was married four times. First husband lasted a little while, a good little while, but two and three and four died quite quickly under aitcious suspicious circumstances.
00:16:30
Speaker
I think if there was DNA around now, it probably would have been poison because her nails happened to be turned black. So I reckon they could. She also dabbled a little bit in herbal medicine and things like that, so.
00:16:42
Speaker
It might have been Poison. We don't know. And what year was this, John? twenty four This was 1324.
The Witch Trial of Dame Alice Kittler
00:16:52
Speaker
And that was a famous witch trial.
00:16:54
Speaker
Bishop Lodred, he came to Kilkenny around that time. She was a very, very powerful lady in Kilkenny and probably in the 13th century for a woman to be that powerful and that wealth.
00:17:05
Speaker
You know, he wasn't very happy with it. So he was determined to put a stop to her. And then after... trying and trying, along with her stepchildren.
00:17:15
Speaker
He got her put in trial for witchcraft, and she was proven guilty for sorcery and heresy. And she was sentenced be burned at the stake, but she was sir far too clever to be burned at the stake.
00:17:28
Speaker
She escaped and before she was due to be burned at the stake. Probably she called in a lot of her debts and everything like that, and she was gone. No one knows exactly where she was again, but she was never to be seen again.
00:17:41
Speaker
um but As the bishop wasn't very happy over that, ah because also her poor maid called Petronella, the mead, and her son also, William Oetlaw, they were put on trial as well.
00:17:56
Speaker
And um ah poor Petronella, she wasn't from Kilkenny. poor servant hadn't really anyone to speak up for had no money she was made a scapegoat of and she was burned at stake and that was anniversary that was I think was 700 years ago was last year in the second of November second said November 19 in in 1324 she's burned at stake what happened to her son he got away he told Bishop of the Dread I'd put a new roof on St. Canister's Cathedral, so he got off. And i think the name Sildur survives in Kilkenny.
00:18:34
Speaker
Now, under the name Lawless, there is there is families of lawlessness around Kilkenny. So that's a bit little bit about the witch trial. John, do we have any documentation about the witch trial, which maybe if visitors were going to Kilkenny, they could see? There's very little documentation. It's only going back on hearsay. But there is a little bit, and very little bit of it around.
00:18:57
Speaker
But there's very little documentation. But also the but the pre Libra Primus of Kilkenny, which is housed now in in in the Medieval Museum, which used to be St. Mary's Museum, they they have all the documents going back to probably 1230 from there on.
00:19:19
Speaker
It was written in Latin and Old French, and that's on display there along with other documents in in the museum. How did the town fire under Cromwell and then post-Cromwell he pushed up the centuries then?
Cromwell's Impact on Kilkenny
00:19:33
Speaker
Can you go into a bit more depth about the history of the town and the expansion of it from then?
00:19:38
Speaker
Yeah, cro Cromwell came in 1650. He took Kilkenny. Actually, he knocked... Kilkenny Castle was a foresight castle at the time, but he knocked down one of the walls now it's then.
00:19:51
Speaker
I think it was by design now, because it blends in beautifully with the castle. Well, he knocked down the wall. he preach He got into the Watergate, which is down another part of Kilkenny.
00:20:03
Speaker
That was the weakest point. But the main thing that happened to Kilkenny was that all those merchant families, they lost all their power. It was the Heller to Connacht. that ter That was the end of those.
00:20:16
Speaker
And really, it was the end of Kilkenny. and If you read the cooperation books and all, the names change from Archer to Roth to Archdeacon, all like that, the Cromwellian names.
00:20:27
Speaker
Cromwellians, I think, weren't as good at running the town as what the Anglo-Normans were. Cromwell, he done a lot of damage to St. Canis's Cathedral, was in a ruin after that.
00:20:40
Speaker
Also the Black Abbey, he done a lot of damage there. He housed his horses there. Also, there was statue still remaining, a wooden statue of of St Dominic.
00:20:52
Speaker
He damaged that, but it's still on display down there, but he cut off the the arms. It has no arms. But really, really Kilkenny suffered a lot through Cromwell. Could you maybe touch on the role that Kilkenny played um in relation to the Civil War and then in the War of Independence? Again, it's it's something I'm not too familiar with.
00:21:12
Speaker
and The Civil War, or not the Civil War, But the War of Independence Kilkenny played a bit a huge part in Kilkenny. One of the biggest jailbreaks at that time was from Kilkenny jail, which no longer exists.
00:21:28
Speaker
But and there was a group of political prisoners ah led by a man called Martin Keeley and a priest called Father Delahunty. They organized a jailbreak from there.
00:21:38
Speaker
They dug a tunnel from one of the cells out, it tunneled out there, and there's 42 known people escaped there. They had all their relations and friends and neighbours and everything, picked them up and poorly entrapped and them out the countryside.
00:21:53
Speaker
But that was in November 22nd, 1921, just shortly before that the treaty was signed. It was one of the biggest kids escapes and at the time and a huge morale boost to the cause.
00:22:08
Speaker
all All over Kilkenny there had been a lot of of of activity around there. But in it any played a very important part in in the election. There was a by-election in 1917.
00:22:19
Speaker
nineteen seventeen There was a by-election there and the Home Rule Party and Sinn Féin. W.T. Cosgrave stood for Sinn Féin, the future president of the executive of Ireland. He stood there and he wandered he won the election.
00:22:35
Speaker
He beat man called Jack McGuinness. And the McGuinness family are still involved in some of his relations are still involved in politics. They're involved in the Field Fall Party now. that was That was huge because they were pretty worried at the time, the nationalist movement in Sinn Féin, that Kilkenny mightn't return Sinn Féin Canada, but it did.
00:22:57
Speaker
And then in 1918, Sinn Féin won a landslide victory and know in most of the constituencies in Ireland, apart from your part the country up in the northeast.
Balancing Medieval and Modern Kilkenny
00:23:09
Speaker
And then, John, like if we move on through um the 20th centuries, we have, like you've this described in great detail, um this fantastic medieval town and city now. How has it managed to cope with modernity?
00:23:23
Speaker
Has it been able to strike a balance between the old and the new as the decades have gone on? I think they have. i think Kilkenny were lucky. They were lucky that our city's fathers were far seen.
00:23:35
Speaker
ah castle The castle was handed over the city by them. The Butler family, who were there in 1969, who wanted a castle from 1390, they handed it over to the city, who in turn handed over to the state, and no P.W. have restored it the way it was.
00:23:54
Speaker
And that's a huge benefit to Kilkenny. there's and There's over 50 acres of parkland there. There's beautiful rose garden in the front. Huge, hugely popular with the local people in the county because it's free around. There's beautiful trees and everything. Beautiful to go for a walk.
00:24:10
Speaker
Very, very popular now, but particularly during COVID. very popular because it was one of the few places that you could go for for and walk and for a walk at the time.
00:24:21
Speaker
But Kilkenny also and says the government set up in in nineteen early 1960s, set up Kilkenny Design, which promotes Irish crafts, such as silverware and potter and all like that.
00:24:34
Speaker
And that really prospered. And that was the old stables belonging to the castle. That is very popular. Two very, very famous silversmiths there. There's Desmond Byrne, who was responsible for making of the Sam McGuire Cup.
00:24:48
Speaker
He made that, done it in the 1980s. And also um James Mary Kelly, who was responsible for making the Liam McCarthy Cup. And I think that was first, that was and done in 1992, I think.
00:25:04
Speaker
But then you have places like Roth House, was taken over by the Archaeological Society, who were a tremendous organisation in Kilkenny, regarding recording history and keeping account of history in Kilkenny.
00:25:16
Speaker
They bought Roach House and and fully have fully restored it now back the way it was back in the 16th century. One of the only surviving and ah townhouses of that of that period in in in Ireland.
00:25:30
Speaker
So yeah that's one of the things I've done. Also, i spoke about St. Mary's Church, which now is the museum. There's a lot of work being done on now on the town hall, which is previously known as the Townsend, which is an old name for tax house.
00:25:45
Speaker
And that's been redeveloped now at moment. And that's been going to be turned into a museum as well. you You have places like... um The old jailhouse, which is now the courthouse, has still been used there.
00:26:00
Speaker
They also have done up places like the tea houses up there. The tea houses were very important back in the 18th century, and they have been fully fully restored. Well, two of them, there was five one time, just well, just two of them, fully restored down by the River Nor.
00:26:17
Speaker
Then you have another, you have Butler Gallery Art Gallery, which was an old barracks originally back in the, up to 1800s. And then it was taken over by the Evans family and it was an almshouse as well that was used to house poor people.
00:26:31
Speaker
And a number of years back, the government or the P.W. took it over and now it's it's it's it's called Butler Gallery. A very nice place to visit it's free of charge as well.
00:26:43
Speaker
like you're You're walking the streets of Kilkenny. you know, on a daily basis. If you were going to give someone and somewhere where you would think is a hidden gem, it's kind of off the beaten path, where would you suggest they go and visit?
00:26:57
Speaker
I particularly like um and the Black Abbey, which is celebrating over 800 years this
Hidden Gems of Kilkenny
00:27:03
Speaker
year now. They're celebrating this year because it's a beautiful church. It's called a Black Abbey because it's run by the Dominicans and they were black robes.
00:27:13
Speaker
And I ah spoke about the statue that was, then some of it was destroyed by Cromwell. There's a beautiful stained glass window there, the Holy Rosary window. I think it's the largest stained glass window in in in in in Ireland.
00:27:26
Speaker
And then there's another alabaster kind of Holy Trinity found statue. over 100 years ago in in in the walls of the church. I really don't know how old it is, but it's very, very ancient.
00:27:40
Speaker
And the church itself is in daily use. but and And what makes it even better free of charge. And just up from that, then, you have some of the old medieval wall, kind of fully restored now, and an old medieval gate, the last but remaining old medieval gate in the Kilkenny, it's there. called the Black Fern Gate.
00:28:00
Speaker
That's there. And down a little bit further, you even can see where the gun loops and arrow loops used to be. But there's a lot of the old Anglo-Norman town wall still surviving around Kilkenny.
00:28:13
Speaker
And there's a move on now, and maybe to join up to us, and maybe we could have a walking, medieval wall walking toward Kilkenny. what But Kilkenny was kind of separated. You had both Irish town and Anglo-Norman town.
00:28:28
Speaker
and both Irish town is that area down around Canis and that was a wall town but there's very little that wall left only a little bit on the out on the outer part of St Canis but there's a lot of the other wall built and then you have Talba Tower which is fully restored there back and that's well worth the visit as well.
00:28:50
Speaker
Kind of tells the story quite well there and because it's mainly told in and pictures and and stories and little written history.
00:29:01
Speaker
It's well worth the visit as well. If anybody's interested in going to Kilkenny anyway, I would highly recommend
John's Tours and Closing Remarks
00:29:09
Speaker
looking up. John, you KilkennyTours.com, is that right? okay Yeah, www.kilkennytours.com, yeah.
00:29:15
Speaker
And then your tours run on a daily basis? usually run them on a daily basis, 10.30, 2.30 and 6.30 in the evening.
00:29:28
Speaker
But if they give me a ring, I should be able to fit them in at some time, you know.
00:29:34
Speaker
That was John Comerford, tour guide and storyteller of Culkenny. A huge thank you to John for sharing his knowledge and passion for a city that stands as one of Ireland's most remarkable links to the past. If you're planning a visit, the medieval mine is a must.
00:29:48
Speaker
From St Canis's Cathedral and the Black Abbey to Culkenny Castle itself, every step tells a story. Make sure to subscribe and rate Pieces of History on iTunes and Spotify and you can also reach out to me at piecesofhistorypod at outlook.com or follow the podcast on Instagram and Facebook at Pieces of History.
00:30:08
Speaker
Thanks for listening.