Kilkenny

Went to the village of Kilkenny in August. It is just south of Dublin and is the Arts capital of Ireland. It was a long weekend and the streets were full of tourists and partyers! Wish i had my camera with me after i checked into my hostel. The streets were full of people and balloons every where. The ivy covered building is Butler House which is now a hotel. It belonged to the Butler family that had owned the castle at one point. The castle was amazing! About 30 years ago, it was sold to the city for 1€ and has been restored to it's former glory. When it was purchased, it was missing floors and most of the roof. I think it was built around 800AD. It was absolutely incredible. The cathedral was very interesting, especially since it had tombs right in the floor! I loved the arcitecture and had to take some photos. The round building is Kilkenny Arts. There is one also in Dublin and i love going there and seeing all the Irish artists. It is devoted 100% to the Irish arts. I have bought some of my jewelry there. Silver and Irish! What more could you ask for. I will go back to Kilkenny just to buy from some of the silversmiths there.