St Canice's Cathedral — Attraction in The Municipal District of Kilkenny City

I made two visits to this Cathedral because I arrived too late on Monday to gain access to the interior of the church.

St Canice's Cathedral, also known as Kilkenny Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Kilkenny city, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin.Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Ossory, it is now one of six cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory.

The present building dates from the 13th century and is the second longest cathedral in Ireland. Beside the cathedral stands a 100 ft 9th-century round tower. St Canice's tower is an example of a well-preserved 9th-century "Celtic Christian" round tower. It is dedicated to St Canice. It is one of only two such medieval round towers in Ireland that can be climbed to the top.

Dublin has two cathedrals and both are Church Of Ireland. If you travel around the island of Ireland you will begin to notice that all the ‘interesting’ cathedrals are owned by the Church Of Ireland and this presents a bit of a problem which I will explain below.

Last year I visited St.Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast and there was a sign at the entrance indicating that contributions were appreciated. However, while in the building an aggressive lady approached me and informed that I as I did not have a ticket I must come back to the desk with her and pay a 6 pounds sterling entrance fee. A few days later I wrote a negative review on TripAdvisor describing the cathedral as a commercial enterprise rather than a house of God and this upset the management at the Cathedral.

While in Belfast I visitedsome other churches [RC and Presbyterian] and the experience was completely different.

Since then I have visited many churches and I have noticed the pattern in that the Church Of Ireland charge entrance fees while other religions do not. RC churches often request a donation. I object to fixed entrance fees to churches because they exclude people who do not have money. The other issue it is that once a fixed fee is introduced the church in question becomes a commercial museums rather than a place or worship.

In the case of St.Canice’s Cathedral the entrance fee is low at four Euro [there is an additional charge for access to the round tower] and I cannot dispute that it is good value for money if you are interested in history both European and local. If you are interested in religion you may be disappointed to discover that the Cathedral’s purpose was to glorify the ruling classes and God is/was...

Has to be on your list of places to see in Killkenny. We have been up to.tge castle many times and missed St Candice's.

There is a small car park across the road, and a family ticket was around €24. Note you can visit just the Cathedral, or the Cathedral & round tower. I would highly recommend you don't skip the tower, but do not there are ladders and tight areas on the accent!!

The cathedral itself is a a peaceful place to explore. Lots of interesting people buried in tombs, with information displayed as u explore. There are a few bits to keep the kids busy, wooden blocks to build a cathedral and some drawings. The cathedral also contains the red book of ossory. If I'm honest while it has huge historical significance, it's not much to look at 😂

The round tower is located directly adjacent to the cathedral. The enyrave is up a metal ladder. There is an attendant sitting just inside the tower, they will tell you if you if you need to wait based on who is already inside. Once u start climbing you will understand why rate limiting is so important! It's narrow/low and sometimes difficult on places. If u are a large person I'd avoid. The view from the top is great!!!

Good spot to visit, don't skip it...

A real gem of Kilkenny. Must visit when you are in the medieval city.

The round tower is 6 levels high and has ~120 really steep steps to climb. Space inside the round tower is limited and hence entry is restricted. There could be a little bit of wait time at times. The view from the top of tower is very nice, you can see the entire city.

Cathedral is really beautiful both inside and outside with a detailed handout provided outlining a short summary about the different artefacts. There are really beautiful stained glass windows.

There are separate entry tickets for cathedral and tower in case you want to skip one. There is a combination ticket too. Small but pretty shop inside to shop a few souvenirs. The road connecting Cathedral and the Castle is the Medieval mile.

Special call-out to the ladies (sorry don't know their names) who are at the ticketing kiosks, they're very very nice...