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A castle in the wilderness in Ireland

The History of Medieval Kilkenny City

If you’re looking for places to explore to connect with your Irish family heritage, we’re here to help. Let’s check out how Kilkenny city will be valuable in your journey:

The Marble City

Kilkenny is also known as the “Marble City” because of the numerous quarries of black marble found in the area. James I, the king of England, established this land as a city.

Kilkenny was also the capital city of Ireland from 1642 to 1649. Today, the Roman Catholic Bishop is situated in the city, and so is the Bishop for the Church of Ireland. It was the first major Norman settlement, leading to many cultural influences today too.

Kilkenny Castle

The Lord of Leinster’s son-in-law, William, ordered the construction of this medieval majesty, which was finished in 1213. A ditch encapsulates the castle, which can be observed on Parade Day.

You can visit the National Gallery on your cultural tour in Ireland here. There is a lot of historical information you can extract for your ancestry research.

The Rothe House

This should be a must-visit on your heritage tour in Ireland. This landmark comprises three large houses with courtyards and a beautiful garden that transports you back to the 17th century, reliving how life used to be back then.

This place houses many historic items and artefacts from the previous eras, and the Archaeological Society looks after it in Kilkenny.

The St. Francis Abbey

Now this place has been turned into Smithwick’s Brewery. But this landmark is famous due to the Friar of the abbey who was working during the period of the Black Death plague. The abbey is in ruins, which can be explored within the brewery. You can also look for the artefacts from the Black Death era, such as the accounts of Friar John Clyn.

                                       Kilkenny Castle in a heritage tour in Ireland
Explore Your Irish Family Heritage with My Irish Family Heritage!

Explore the rich heritage of your Irish roots, and get in touch with My Irish Family Heritage. Our company provides in-house guided Irish genealogical tours and family heritage tours in Ireland. Our expert team of genealogists and tour guides is trained to help you with genealogical research about your Irish heritage. Contact us now to learn more.

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Customised Genealogy & Historical Tour

Review of My Ireland Heritage Tours Presented on Trip adviser Oct 2024 By • Family TomBarron2013 New York City, NY2

Once in a lifetime experience

Oct 2024 • Family

We highly recommend My Ireland Heritage for anyone who wants to learn and be guided to their Irish “roots” and much, much more. Sean Quinn and Ian Darragh of My Ireland Family Heritage have deep knowledge or the areas we wanted to visit in Meath, Sligo and Kilkenny. While we knew about one side of the family history back to 1690, there was nothing known about the other that arrived in the US in the 1870s.

Ian, Sean, and Nicola did thorough research on our localities and locations from which our ancestors left for America in 1849 and later. In addition, Ian and Sean did separate day-long “recons” in advance of our time with them, seeking out local people and the specific properties with maps and whatever records still available. Their results were absolutely outstanding! In both our cases, they found and took us to our still-existing cottages and shops from the early 1820s.

It was so enjoyable to be with Ian for three days and for a special day with Sean. Whether it was the Newgrange World Heritage sites 5,500 years old , the Battle of the Boyne 1690 , or the local cemeteries and churches of our ancestors. Ian was especially attentive to my wife throughout the travels after she twisted her ankle in a rain-soaked old cemetery.

Throughout the process of trip preparation over months to giving us the final, wonderful books of Meath and Sligo, Aisling was highly professional and responsive with all the many details. The bound books she prepared are treasures! Thanks to all for truly exceptional experiences.

Newgrange World Unesco Site 5500 years old
Battle of the Boyne 1690 AD
Customised Historical Tours Trim Castle
Entrance stone at Newgrange

Self Drive Product

Review of My Ireland Heritage Tours Presented on Trip adviser by Shelley L @ sjlively

Exceptional in every way!

Over the last few months of preparing for our trip, every single detail was meticulously attended, not only professionally, but helpfully, and in such a friendly manner, that I felt as if I knew Sean, Aisling and Ian before I even stepped off the plane.

The amount of work these wonderful people put into our personal history is mindboggling. My mother was an avid amateur genealogist, and had worked for decades to bring to light the trail our family took, but our resources are limited.

Sean knows exactly where to look, and was able to fill in so many gaps that had eluded us for generations. Some of the information he found, unbeknownst even to him, actually solidified the findings we had amassed over the years. Ours was a family in coal mining – I only found on our tour that they had originated from a mining area, and their arrival on the  border coincided exactly with the decline in the mining industry in County Wicklow.

I would have been overjoyed simply with the knowledge of why they left when they did, about 12 years before the famine. Breaking through our brick wall of great grandparents even farther back on the family tree was a dream come true, but to be able to set foot on not only the area they lived, and find that the house is still there was overwhelming. Seeing the family church and cemetery where our ancestors and extended family still rest is a truly moving experience.

The care taken by this company in each and every aspect of the journey cannot be overstated. Only about 2 weeks prior to my trip, Sean contacted me to let me know that he had also stumbled across some of my husband’s family name in the process and included them as well in his research. How often can anyone say that they not only got what they paid for, but more than they ever imagined? I can say that. They were even kind enough to answer a few follow-up questions after my return home, as I was so stunned on my tour with Ian that I didn’t think ask at the time.If you have the opportunity to make the trip to Ireland, contact My Ireland Family Heritage before you go.

If your family was there, Sean will go above and beyond to find them. Even without family, contact them anyway. Ian is a walking encyclopedia of history, and so fun to talk to. Aisling will make sure every “I” is dotted, and every “T” is crossed.  Thank you so much for the trip of a lifetime, and the opportunity to pass on everything we have discovered to future generations

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