Kilkenny

Ryan and I hopped on the train back to Dublin Sunday morning and rested the whole day. On Monday, we took an early train to Kilkenny! We spent the rest of the day exploring this small town.

We stayed at MacGabhainns Backpacker Hostel. Lucky for us, there were only a few other couples staying at the hostel so we got our own room!

The reason we went to Kilkenny was because Ryan's ancestors came from this area. His ancestor from the direct bloodline, Piers Butler, ruled Kilkenny Castle and the area.

We went to St. Canice's Cathedral, thinking it was just an old cathedral with nothing special in it.....

When we found the tomb of Piers Butler!

He was the 8th Earl of Ormond and the 1st Earl of Ossory, and was also known as Red Piers!

Piers Butler is here with his wife, Margaret Fitzgerald. He died in 1539.

We also saw a black and white cat, who we thought was the reincarnation of Piers, but who we named Daisy anyway.

Next to it was the tomb of James Butler, 2nd Marquess of Ormonde, who died in 1854.

I don't have a picture of him, but there was a tomb against the cathedral wall that belonged to James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond. His parents were Piers and Margaret.

OH UPDATE. I found a picture of him. Thanks Wikipedia!

"Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1533. This image is disputed; while it is traditionally held to be a likeness of Thomas Boleyn, historian David Starkey believes it may actually be that of his cousin, James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond."

We then climbed up the round tower!

You can see St Mary's Cathedral straight ahead.

And then made our way across town to Kilkenny Castle.

We visited St Mary's Cathedral, which was one of the tallest buildings in Kilkenny, but was just marked as a small spot on the map.