Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Monday, August 5, 2013 – Heavy rain showers and wind overnight muffled the sounds of pub nightlife as late as 3:30 a.m., as shouting revelers “pub-crawled” the streets of this medieval city. But we slept well in our wonderfully located B&B, a historic manor house used by the local Earls while their nearby castle was being renovated. You can see the castle from our windows, which overlook a large garden and the restored horse stables of the castle. Both the Butler House, where we are staying, and the horse stables – now a wonderful local craft center – were restored with public dollars, and are now run by some sort of trust.

Renovation was the theme of the day, as we toured Kilkenny Castle. The Anglo-Norman stone castle was originally built in the 12th century, and has been remodeled extensively over the 600 years that the Butler family was in residence as the local noble family and landowner. The family finally auctioned off all their furniture and books in 1935, as they left Ireland for England in the wake of Irish independence and Irish hostility to the Anglo-Irish overlords of yore.

The place fell into ruin until the 1970s, when renovations began. Today, the castle is being slowly restored, room by room, and the results are beautiful. Guides explained how the history of the castle reflects the tensions of Irish history – Kilkenny residents today are very proud of their castle, a major tourist draw. But not long ago, it was a painful reminder of the English domination of Ireland. It is a painful to think about the juxtaposition of opulent Chinese and Moorish decorations added in the 19th century – the same time as the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s. Apparently, the ruling noble Butler at the time, who kept a meticulous diary, never once mentioned the famine, though dying people would have been visible everywhere had he left the castle, noted one guide.

We then ventured through the streets of Kilkenny, down narrow medieval alleyways and shopping streets. We ate in Kyteler’s Tavern, famous as the home of a noble woman named Alice Kyteler, accused of being a witch. She escaped to England, but her poor maid was burned at the stake on the site of the town hall. Today, the pub is famous for its music, and marginal bar food – Dad stuck to a strict whiskey-and-apple-pie diet, just to play it safe.

We then wandered past the Black Friary, named for the black robes of the Dominican friars, and ended up at the Cathedral Church of Saint Canice, for which Kilkenny was named. Will and Rick climbed up the 100-foot-tall tower built in 849 AD. They said it was the scariest tower they have ever climbed – the wooden steps were narrow and crooked and very cramped. It’s amazing it is still standing. The cathedral itself was built between 1202 and 1285. It has an evocative graveyard, and the cathedral itself is filled with sarcophagi. We found one particularly interesting one, containing a Butler nobleman and his wife, one Margaret Fitzgerald. It turns out she is a daughter of the Earl of Kildare, which means she is probably related to Will’s friend Kazu Fitz-Gerald, who is also related to the earls of Kildare. Cool Kazu! We said hi! And her husband carried a huge sword! Perhaps he fenced sabre, we are not sure.

Rick and the kids are now headed to the beautiful green lawn of Kilkenny Castle, a wonderful park, to play “hurling” with Will’s new hurling stick and ball. I don’t know much about it, but it appears to resemble cricket somewhat.

We were supposed to take a short drive this afternoon to see some famous monastery ruins, but slowness was the word of the day and the black Mercedes remained firmly parked in the car park. Tomorrow, off to Glendalough, the Wicklow Mountains and Trim, ancestral home of the Plunketts (but perhaps not our Plunketts.) Stay tuned.