SNIPPET: Kilkenny is truly a city of medieval charm. Built in the 12th century by William the MARSHALL, Kilkenny Castle became the home of the earls of Ormonde in 1392, remaining so until 1967. Canice's Cathedral was built in the 13th century on the site of a monastic settlement founded in the 6th century. Today, all that remains of the monastery is the tall Irish round tower. Contained within the cathederal are a number of sepulchral monuments, carved out of black marble in memory of members of the BUTLER family, dating back to the middle ages. Kilkenny city is home to approximately 52 pubs of which the Marble City Bar, established in 1709, is one of the oldest and best known, having appeared on numerous postcards over the years. Visitors to the area might be interested in 'The Long Cantwell' a carved upright (human) effigy which dates from about 1320 and is thought to be the lid of the burial chamber of Thomas CANTWELL, the head of the Anglo-Norman CANTWELL family who were local landowners around the town of Kilfane, where the effigy now stands. . Kilkenny is, in essence a medieval town, with a great castle, a magnificent cathedral, well-preserved merchant house and abbeys, churches and inns from the Norman period. By size it is a market town; by ancient charter, and from its cathedral status, it is a city. Its location made it a convenient place for the holding of parliaments. One of these (1336) introduced the 'Statutes of Kilkenny,' an early form of 'apartheid' which aimed to separate the Irish from the Normans. Intermarriage was forbidden, the use of Irish surnames and dress. Clerics and monks of Irish origin were refused admittance to churches and monasteries under Norman control. The ancient Irish game of hurling was expressly prohibited. These drastic measures were taken because of fears that the Norman colonists were becoming overly Hibernicized in dress and tongue and recreation. By the time the statues were introduced, however, the process of assimilation had advanced to such a stage that most of the Norman inhabitants had Irish blood and many Irish were part-Norman and it became impossible to distinguish between one race and the other. The futility of this attempt at racial separation is apparent today when one sees young men and boys walking through the city's medieval streets with their hurleys tucked under their arms. In Kilkenny, a county which has won the All-Ireland Hurling Championship more than 20 times, the game has acquired an almost religious fervour among its players and supporters. The failure of the statutes has produced in Kilkenny a unique cross-fertilization between old Irish and Norman which is epitomized in the city itself, a place in which more medieval architecture and lore is compressed into such a small area than in any other town in Ireland. Built in 1172, Kilkenny Castle has been altered significantly since its original construction by STRONGBOW, the first Norman conqueror of Ireland. On his death, his nephew, William the MARSHALL, replaced the original structure with a stone fortress. The BUTLERs, one of whom had been made Chief BUTLER of Ireland, took over the castle in 1391, from which time Kilkenny became an Anglo-Irish town with his original inhabitants clustered around St. Canice's Cathedral in a small area which is still known today as Irishtown. For the next six centuries, the BUTLERs, who later became the earls of Ormonde, kept their eye on their lands by establishing Catholic and Protestant branches. If the regime in London favoured Protestant ownership, there were Protestant BUTLERs to fit the bill; if, as it did on occasions, Catholic ownership found favour, there were Catholic BUTLERs on hand to take over. The castle and some of the grounds were finally handed over to the Irish state by the 6th MARQUESS OF ORMONDE in 1967. At the bottom of the gently sloping hill from the castle, the old city begins at Shee's Almshouse, which was built in the Rose Inn Street in 1588 by Sir Richard SHEE and his wife as an institution for the relief of the poor in the town. Nearby in St. Mary 's Lane is the 13th century church of St. Mary and, close at hand, St. Kieran's Lane which is famous for its inns and hostelries. The 'Slips,' a collection of narrow alleyway which run up from St. Kieran's to High Steet, were the principal thoroughfares of the medieval town. Today, modern shopfronts mask much older facades. Close to 'The Ring,' once a centre of medieval bull baiting, stands the remains of the Franciscan Friary, built in 1232, where Friar John CLYN was an annalist in 1348 and 1349 when the Black Death devastated the city. Friar CLYN's annals end; 'I leave parchment to carry out the work if perchance any man survives...' After that entry, the annals continue in a different hand. The Friary now stands in the grounds of SMITHWICK's Brewery, a GUINNESS subsidiary, famous for Kilkenny Beer. Towering over the town, is the magnificent St. Canice's Cathedral which was built by Bishop de MAPPLETON in 1251-56. The second largest medieval church in Ireland (after St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin) St. Canice's stands on the site of an ancient monastic settlement founded by St. Cainneach (anglicized as Canice or Kenny) the only remnant of which is its 100 foot tower. During CROMWELL's brief stay in Kilkenny, in 1650, he left his iconoclastic mark on the cathedral, destroying the 'idols' and using the nave as a stable for his horses. Just to the south is Kilkenny College or 'the Grammar School,' built by the 1st DUKE of ORMONDE in 1666. Among its famous alumni are Jonathan SWIFT, the great satirist and later Dean of St. Patrick's in Dublin; poet and playright William CONGREVE. George BERKELEY, philosopher and Bishop of Cloyne, who gave his name to the university city of Berkeley in CA. Kilkenny, the unique city in which they received their secondary education before moving to Trinity College, Dublin and onwards, undoubtedly played a part in developing their imaginations and preparing them for their internationally-renowned careers. -- Excerpts, "Irish Counties," ed. J. J. Lee - (London) 1997