One of the most instantly recognised buildings in Ireland, Kilkenny Castle has been an important site since Strongbow constructed the first castle, probably a wooden structure, in the 12th century.
In 1650 invading Cromwellian forces mounted an attack on Kilkenny castle and although it was initially successfully defended they eventually managed to take control of the city by another route.As of 2011, Kilkenny had played a total of 371 championship games, winning 265, drawing 16 and losing 90. They had played Dublin the most times(82) .
All-time top scorer in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is TJ REID with 641 points in 82 games, scoring 30-551.
Kilkenny is 117 kilometres (73 mi) away the capital Dublin and 48 kilometres (30 mi) north from the nearest city Waterford. Wexford is 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the south-east and Limerick is 122 kilometres (76 mi) to the west.
The "Kilkenny Cats" nickname stems from the feral felines that once inhabited the Dunmore caves in the north of the county.
