Kilkenny and Surroundings

On Wednesday, June 16th (yes, I realize that is now three weeks ago!), I went with our friends and visitors Jim and Leah to the town of Kilkenny, which is described as Ireland's loveliest inland city.  The main attraction there was Kilkenny Castle along with some old churches.

We also wanted to see a couple of things in the area surrounding Kilkenny, so we ventured out into the country where we tried to avoid getting lost in the middle of nowhere on narrow, curvy streets without good signage.  Our first stop was Kells Priory, which is HUGE . . . there are over three acres within the stone walls surrounding this medieval monastic settlement.  We had to pick our way through a field full of sheep excrement to see it, but it was so worth it!

After more confused driving, we came to Jerpoint Abbey, where we got the best guided tour that any of us had in Ireland.  A Cistercian abbey dating back to the mid-12th century, with other sections built in the 13th and 15 centuries, it was absolutely fascinating.

I found the carvings on the tombs to be very interesting.  On one, the figure on the tomb is stepping on a snake...but it is obvious that the artist didn't really know what a snake looked like (there are no snakes in Ireland, you know), since the snake is kind of funny looking and has a full set of teeth!  Can you identify the apostles in the below pictures?  Think Christian iconography.  I'll get you started (with the easiest one) - the one on the left in the first picture is St. Peter, holding the key.  Three of the apostles are missing...they figure that someone picked up a little souvenir for themselves back in the day when places like this were abandoned ruins where people had picnics and had no regard for preserving the integrity or history of the site.

Jerpoint Abbey's highlight is its sculpted cloister arcade, which had amazing carvings.  See the monkey, the squirrel, and the pig's head?

From Loving the Life We Live