From Waterford we drove north to Kilkenny (Cill Chainnigh), seat of County Kilkenny and stayed at Celtic House B&B, a short walk to the downtown area. We walked by Kilkenny Castle and went browsing through the shops. There was a good crowd of visitors, many tour groups of young people from Spain. We decided we’d get dinner at Matt the Miller’s Bar & Restaurant on John Street. I would have my first pint … start light, work my way up to Guinness. Such are the plans we weave.

The church ruins are part of St. John’s (Church of Ireland) that we came upon as we walked into town from the B&B. It looks like there is an active church built on the same grounds. But the gates were closed by the time we came by. We did pass a St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church on the way into town. They were having a wedding on a Friday afternoon. The Kilkenny beer sign was on the outside wall of Matt the Miller’s Bar. But when we sat down, the waiter told us of a pale ale, which I decided was my entry into the world of Irish beer–Smithwick’s (silent “w”). I still have a week after this to work my way up. Fr. Kerry had the Kilkenny’s, somewhere between Smithwick’s and Guinness. The Irish music began as we were having dessert, a lovely bread pudding a la mode.

After dinner, we decided to walk up to Kilkenny Castle, convinced it was closed for the day. The gardens were still open. They were closing in a half hour and we were invited to head toward the upper gates so we could stay until closing.

After breakfast the next morning, we visited the Kilkenny Design Centre across the street from the castle. Then we headed off to Wicklow (Cill Mhantáin) to visit with friends of Fr. Kerry from Caringbah.

Rolo B Castillo © 2015