Kilkenny Castle (Caisleán Chill Chainnigh)

A commanding riverside castle, seat of the Butler dynasty for 600 years.

Built in stone from around 1260 above the River Nore, Kilkenny Castle was home to the powerful Butler family until 1935. Its grand rooms, picture gallery and sweeping parkland anchor Ireland's finest medieval city.

At a glance

• Norman castle from c. 1260
• Home of the Butlers for ~600 years
• Overlooks the River Nore

In County Kilkenny

Kilkenny Castle is in County Kilkenny, Cill Chainnigh in Irish, which means “church of St Cainnech (Canice)”.

More in Kilkenny

• Kilkenny (Cill Chainnigh): Ireland's finest medieval city, with a great castle, narrow lanes and a rich craft tradition.
• The River Nore (An Fheoir): One of the Three Sisters, flowing through the medieval city of Kilkenny.

Other places of this kind

• The Cliffs of Moher (Aillte an Mhothair): Sea cliffs located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region.
• Newgrange (Sí an Bhrú): A prehistoric monument in County Meath, older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.
• The Giant's Causeway (Clochán an Aifir): Around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the Antrim coast, a UNESCO site wrapped in the legend of Finn McCool.
• Glendalough (Gleann Dá Loch): A beautiful glacial valley of two lakes, home to one of Ireland's most important early monastic settlements.
• The Rock of Cashel (Carraig Phádraig): A dramatic outcrop crowned with medieval buildings, once the seat of the kings of Munster.
• Clonmacnoise (Cluain Mhic Nóis): A great early monastery on the banks of the Shannon, once a renowned centre of learning.

The Irish name

The Irish form of Kilkenny Castle is Caisleán Chill Chainnigh. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.