On learning that Bishop Kearney was buried in a tomb within St Canice’s Cathedral;
“I have to admit it was very exciting and it was great to finally prove conclusively that Barack Obama’s sixth generation grand uncle was the Bishop of Ossory who died in Kilkenny city at the Bishop’s Palace in 1813. It is now the headquarters of the Heritage Council."
Local Academic Gabriel Murray
The annals tell of a terrible massacre which took place in Dunmore Caves, with 1000 people killed by attacking Vikings in 928AD. Over the years there have been numerous finds of human bones, which together with finding of the Viking artifacts, seem to bear out that terrible tale.
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.
"The dearest thing I know is a memory of sunny Sunday mornings in Kilkenny; the lovely line of castle, roof-top, spire and round tower against the pale blue sky, the sun revelling in the quiet colours of old stone, old walls, old tree; the tip-tap of the feet of people on the flagstones, and above all the flocking floating notes of the church bells. Sunday has a flavour of its own there, a clean, sweet, warming flavour."
Francis McManus, Kilkenny-born writer
All-time top scorer in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is TJ REID with 641 points in 82 games, scoring 30-551.
Kilkenny's most one sided All-Ireland finals win was in 2008 when they beat Waterford by 23 points with a scoreline of Kilkenny 3-30 to 1-13 Waterford
Kilkenny Castle has soared past some incredible competition to take the title of the most popular paid visitor attraction managed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in Ireland.
AKA is a voluntary run arts festival that showcases the hard work and talent of independent artists and community groups across Kilkenny county and city.