Kilkenny 400 website launched

Kilkenny celebrates 400 years as a city this year. A new website - www.kilkenny400.ie - has just been launched and this includes information on the various events that will take place throughout the coming year.

New publication on St. Patrick’s Gate

The latest Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries includes a fascinating account by Ben Murtagh and Chris Corlett of the now lost St. Patrick’s Gate on Patrick Street. The article was prompted by the discovery of two previously unknown Victorian photographsof the gate in the collection of the RSAI.

This is one of the new photos. It shows St.Patrick’s gate in 1864 with Butler House to the left.

Medieval child’s wooden sword discovered at courthouse excavations

A rare example of a wooden sword has been discovered by archaeologists from Arch-Tech working on the excavations at the rear of Kilkenny courthouse. The sword is perfectly preserved (apart from its handle which had broken off in antiquity) and was found in a refuse pit on the site.