Kilkenny Castle

Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation or Confederacy, was a period of Irish Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1649, during the Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristocrats, landed gentry, clergy and military leaders after the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the Confederates controlled up to two thirds of Ireland from their base in Kilkenny; hence it is sometimes called the "Confederation of Kilkenny". The Confederates included Catholics of Gaelic and Anglo-Norman descent. They wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination within the Kingdom of Ireland and greater Irish self-governance; many also wanted to roll back the plantations of Ireland. Most Confederates professed loyalty to Charles I of England in the belief they could reach a lasting settlement in return for helping defeat his opponents in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Its institutions included a legislative body known as the General Assembly, an executive or Supreme Council, and a military. It minted coins, levied taxes and set up a printing press. Confederate ambassadors were appointed and recognised in France, Spain and the Papal States, who supplied them with money and weapons. At various times, Confederate armies fought Royalists, Parliamentarians, Ulster Protestant militia and Scots Covenanters; these controlled the Pale, parts of eastern and northern Ulster, and the region around Cork. Charles authorised secret negotiations which in September 1643 resulted in a Confederate–Royalist ceasefire and led to further talks, most of which proved unsuccessful. In 1644, a Confederate military expedition landed in Scotland to help Royalists there. The Confederates continued to fight the Parliamentarians in Ireland, and decisively defeated the Covenanter army in the Battle of Benburb. In 1647, the Confederates suffered a string of defeats at Dungan's Hill, Cashel and Knockanuss. This prompted them to make an agreement with the Royalists, leading to internal divisions which hampered their ability to resist a Parliamentarian invasion. In August 1649, a large English Parliamentarian army, led by Oliver Cromwell, invaded Ireland. By May 1652 it had defeated the Confederate–Royalist alliance, although Confederate soldiers continued a guerrilla warfare campaign for a further year.

Butler House is an 18th-century Georgian Dower house located in Kilkenny, Ireland. It is currently working as a 4-star hotel and conference centre.

County Hall (Irish: Halla an Chontae, Cill Chainnigh) is a municipal facility in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland.

Shee Alms House was founded by the Shee family in 1582 'to accommodate twelve poor persons' in the city of Kilkenny, Ireland. It is a nationally significant Tudor period Almshouse.

St. Mary's Church was a church in Kilkenny, Ireland, going back to the Norman settlement of the town which was deconsecrated in 1957. The building is used as the Medieval Mile Museum since 2017.

Butler Gallery is a contemporary art gallery and museum in Kilkenny, Ireland. It presents a collection of works by Irish and international artists from the 18th century to the present day. A wing has been devoted to the work of the Callan artist Tony O'Malley and his wife Jane.Established in Kilkenny city in 1943 by George Pennefather, the Butler Gallery is named in honor of Susan (Peggy) and Hubert Butler. The gallery, previously based in the basement of Kilkenny Castle, is located in the redeveloped Evans' Home, a former almshouse built in the 19th century for impoverished domestic servants.

The Tholsel on High Street, Kilkenny, Ireland was built in 1761 by Alderman William Colles as place for collecting tolls, but has also been used as a customs house, a courthouse and a guildhall. It is used today as the city hall, and this is the name by which many local people know the building. Key features of the building are the open arcade on the ground floor, which straddles the pavement; the copper-clad octagonal tower projecting from the hipped slate roof; the clock, and the tower's viewing platform. On the southern façade is a relief sculpture of the town coat of arms. The Tholsel commands a central position on High Street and contributes significantly to the street's unique character. The Tholsel's arcade is an ideal place for carol singers or buskers to perform, and is a traditional meeting point, acting as a covered piazza. It is used as a temporary exhibition space during Kilkenny's annual Arts Week and at Christmas time it traditionally houses the Christmas Crib. On 20 September 1985 the Tholsel was gutted by fire. That evening, fireman Joe Stapleton was completing his duties as the Town Sergeant when he discovered a fire on the upper floor of the building. He called the fire service, opened the main gates for the fire tenders and brought the 17th-century charters of the city to safety. It took 35 firemen and six fire engines to fight this fire, which was started by a small electrical fault.

Kyteler's Inn is a public house located in the centre of medieval Kilkenny in Ireland.With parts of the building dating to the 13th or 14th century, the building is traditionally associated with the Kyteler family and with Dame Alice Kyteler, an alleged witch from the area. The building has housed an inn since 1639.A restoration was carried out in the late 1960s. However, an archaeological survey to date the building was not undertaken. Archaeologist Conleth Manning expressed particular regret over this since the building has a "fine groin-vaulted undercroft" that makes a 14th-century date plausible. He regrets the fact that a "fine fireplace" was disassembled and rebuilt elsewhere in the building. Manning also condemns the removal of the "original stone stairs to the undercroft" and of the surviving "medieval roof timbers" without any expert examination. Only the lower story dates to the medieval period.When it was offered for sale in 1975, it housed a restaurant and pub. In 1986 it was sold to its present owner. Noted for offering traditional Irish music, in 2012 it won an award as the best music bar in Ireland.According to a New York Times article from the late 1970s, the entrance level was then "modernized drab, but down one flight of dark stairs is the 13th century".

The Church of Saint John the Evangelist, or John's Church, is a Gothic Revival style church in Kilkenny, Ireland. The Church was designed by William Hague and built from 1903 to 1908 on the site of an earlier church located in the graveyard. The grounds contain a trees and greenery.

Maudlin Castle is a tower house which formed part of a medieval hospital and National Monument located in Kilkenny, Ireland.

Switzer's Asylum also known as Saint James Asylum was founded by James Switzer of Kilkenny in the 1800s for the housing of twenty poor widows.

Highhays is a townland and the location of a 14th-century medieval pottery site. The pottery was discovered in 2006 during excavations led by the late Emma Devine and Cóilín Ó Drisceoil. The excavations revealed a previously unknown suburb of Kilkenny which seemed to be the location of an industrial site dedicated to pottery. Amongst the 9,000 finds were a firing kiln, sherds of pottery, a ring-brooch, an ear scoop and decorated buckles. The type of pottery produced there has since been attributed the name Highhays Ware. It is found throughout Kilkenny city as well as other towns and castle sites in the Southeast of Ireland along the River Nore and River Barrow.The 2022 publication "Highhays, Kilkenny: A Medieval Pottery Production Centre in South-East Ireland" describes the excavation and finds in much detail.