Towering above the rest... I’m the king of the castle
THE weekend started for us when we ascended five flights of stone spiral stairs, and ended having to conquer a descent of 350 slippery steps into the dark bowels of the earth.
We were introduced to Ballybur Castle on the first day of our break in Kilkenny by Mhairi Gray, who gave us a tour of the 16th-century towerhouse, 8km outside Kilkenny City. Mhairi’s father Frank and mother Aifric painstakingly restored the rundown castle to its former glory using the materials of the original builders. It took over 25 years of hard labour to complete its restoration.
Mhairi, who now runs the towerhouse as a self-catering accommodation and a small wedding venue, guided us through every floor upon our arrival.
The ground floor is a large kitchen area which has a cosy, welcoming feeling and leads to a spiral stairs and the master bedroom on the first floor.
The second and third floors consist mainly of guest bedrooms (including the unique chapel bedroom with its vaulted ceiling) and a dining room.
The very spacious drawing room on the top floor has a swing chair in one of the window spaces (which my two children Rebecca and Sarah loved) from which you can enjoy the magnificent views of the surrounding countryside.
The roof is rumoured to have been blown off by Cromwell in a fit of rage, but Frank has lovingly restored it to its original state with its wooden beams proudly on show.
The castle, which can sleep at least eight people, seemed a little empty with just our family of four, so that spurred us to invite members of our extended family to join in the experience. Pretty soon our collective fitness levels improved with all the marching up and down stairs exploring every nook and cranny.
The Visitors Book gives a very good idea of the type of people who are drawn to this quirky place, from American visitors looking for their roots, artists seeking inspiration or solitude and the more intrepid travellers who do not mind climbing five floors of spiral stairs!
THE odd cobweb and the quirky layout of the castle may not suit everyone, but it’s a hell of an adventure for anyone who steps inside its doors. Though the kitchen has all the modern appliances needed, and wifi is available in certain areas, the castle retains a wealth of its rustic character.
However if you do fancy venturing outside, there’s plenty to do. On our first evening we ventured cross-country to Ballykeeffe Amphitheatre . Nestled at the foot of an old slate quarry, it’s a great open-air music venue run entirely by volunteers.
Cork band The Frank and Walters sounded fantastic in this natural arena, even my daughters were impressed by them!
Many big-name acts including The Stunning, Sharon Shannon, The Saw Doctors and The Riptide Movement have played here, where the audience looks down on the stage under its state-ofthe-art steel canopy.
The following day, we made our way into Kilkenny City, where there always seems to be a festival on the go.
On this occasion it was the Arts festival, which suited our tastes nicely, (but it could well have been the Cat Laughs, the Craft Beer, the Gospel, the Heritage or the Country Music festival!)
The city was abuzz with artists showing off their wares and food stalls creating a vibrant and smoky atmosphere. There was plenty of choice on the street whether it was top-class arts and crafts you were after or a tasty bite. The city is sprinkled with historical jewels – St Canice’s Cathedral, Rothe House and Butler House are the obvious ones, but it’s Kilkenny Castle that shines the brightest.
A great deal was were spent on restoring the castle, which dates back to the 13th century and sits in prime position in the city overlooking the River Nore.
Its pleasure grounds include formal gardens, a playground and plenty of space for a family walk.
The Architects of Air Lumanarium had taken over the rear garden for the Arts Festival. This was a mind-bending experience that consisted of multiple giant plastic bubbles which allowed the sunlight shine through to create colour optical illusions as you wandered through its maze. The kids were left dizzy after the experience.
Kilkenny Castle itself is stunning, especially the stately dining room, the Moorish Stairwell, the library and particularly the art gallery.
After leaving the marble city, we spent our last day exploring Dunmore Caves, just 11km away.
These caves are said to be one of the three darkest places in Ire- land- Newgrange and Knowth being the others, and are also managed by the OPW.
An official tour guide slowly led us down the slightly slippery steps through the subtropical haze at the entrance to the cave before we reached the darkness of the cavern.
On our tour we were accompanied by the resident mascot of the caves, a small terrier who seemed to know his way around every crack and crevice even in the darkness.
The little fella was much better at managing his way around than any of the rest of us.
These are both a historical and geographical wonder, boasting a wide variety of calcite formations.
They include large stalagmites and stalactites, sometimes joining to form pillars or colliding to create epic calcite sculptures.
The caves even house a few bats too.
Historically the caves were the scene of one of the biggest Viking massacres on Irish soil – or beneath it, in this case.
The locals who hid within were followed by the Vikings who lit fires to try to smoke them out. The fires were so large that most people died from asphyxiation.
Over a thousand people perished at the site.
Precious artefacts from that era were found in the cave by a conscientious worker in 1999 which archaeologists dated to 970 AD.
After the obligatory lights-out session on the cave floor to prove it was really one of the darkest places in Ireland, we slowly made our way up the 350 limestone steps into the sunlight and left Kilkenny, exhausted, but fitter and fulfilled after a whirlwind weekend.