Kilkenny Tours - John Comerford walking Tours

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Kilkenny Tours - John Comerford walking Tours

Discover Kilkenny’s rich history, architecture, and hidden gems on a relaxed, flexible walking tour with John – your knowledgeable guide.

Whether you're a history enthusiast or just looking for a memorable stroll, our tours offers something for everyone

26/08/2026

There are few places in Kilkenny where the city's medieval past and modern engineering can be seen so clearly together as John’s Bridge. The crossing links John Street with the city centre and has served as an important route across the River Nore for centuries. A bridge was in place here shortly after 1200, connecting the developing town with the walled city and helping people, goods and trade move between the two sides of the river.

The present bridge has a much more recent story. During the great flood of 1763, Green’s Bridge was swept away and a large crowd gathered on John’s Bridge to watch the destruction carried downstream. When a floating cabin came into view, many of those watching moved towards the riverbank, but around sixteen people remained on the bridge. The structure suddenly collapsed, and all sixteen lost their lives. It was one of the most tragic events in Kilkenny’s history, and the story of that flood remains closely associated with the bridge.

The John’s Bridge you see today was completed in 1910 and was an important example of early reinforced-concrete construction. It used the Hennebique ferro-concrete system, with the bridge designed for the local authorities by Kilkenny County Surveyor A.M. Burden and the engineering designs signed by Louis Gustave Mouchel of London. Its single sweeping arch spans the Nore and was, at the time of completion, the longest single-span reinforced-concrete bridge in Ireland or England. When you're crossing it, it's worth taking a moment to look at the curve of the arch and the River Nore below.

John’s Bridge is one of the places I enjoy talking about on my walks because you can stand in the same spot and connect several different periods of Kilkenny’s history. If you'd like to hear the stories behind the streets and landmarks as you explore the city, come along and walk Kilkenny with me on one of my daily walking tours.

16/08/2026

Outside Kilkenny Courthouse, a striking sculpture tells the story of a 14-year-old boy from Callan whose life ended just weeks before the First World War came to an end. Thomas Joseph Woodgate was born on Mill Street, Callan, on 31 December 1903. In September 1918, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force, giving his age as 18, and on 10 October he boarded the RMS Leinster at Kingstown, now Dún Laoghaire, bound for Holyhead. The ship was torpedoed by the German submarine UB-123, and Thomas was among those who died.

For many years, Thomas's age was incorrectly recorded as 18. Research carried out by the Kilkenny Great War Memorial Committee established that he was only 14 years and nine months old when he died. The memorial outside the Courthouse was unveiled in October 2020 and commemorates Thomas alongside the young Irish boys who left the country to serve in conflicts overseas. The sculpture consists of two life-size figures on an iron plinth, with three torpedo forms representing the attack on the Leinster.

Thomas is buried at Grangegorman Military Cemetery in Dublin, where his headstone records his true age. His story also forms part of the wider history of Kilkenny during the First World War: more than 3,000 people with connections to the county served, and over 800 died during the conflict.

I like to include places such as this when I take visitors around Kilkenny because they add another layer to the city's history beyond its medieval buildings. If you'd like to hear Thomas's story or discover some of the other people and places behind Kilkenny's history, you're very welcome to join me on one of my daily walking tours.

08/08/2026

If you're looking to explore beyond Kilkenny City, Kilfane Glen offers one of the county's most peaceful day trips. Created in the 1790s, this romantic-era garden was designed to evoke a sense of wonder through carefully planned woodland walks, flowing water, and changing views. More than two centuries later, much of that original vision remains, making it a rare opportunity to experience an 18th-century landscape much as its creators intended.

As you follow the winding paths through the glen, you'll come across a cascading waterfall, rustic footbridges, moss-covered banks, and the charming cottage orné - a decorative rural retreat that was a defining feature of Romantic garden design. The gardens are recognised as an Irish Heritage Garden and received support from the European Union Cultural Commission in 1993 in recognition of their importance as one of Ireland's best-preserved examples of this style of landscape. Covering around 15 acres, Kilfane combines woodland, water, and carefully managed planting to create a garden that changes with the seasons while remaining true to its historic character.

Kilfane Glen is around a 20-minute drive south of Kilkenny City and will remain open to the public for summer 2026 until August 31st, making it an easy addition to a day exploring the county. Many visitors combine it with nearby Jerpoint Abbey, the picturesque village of Thomastown or a visit to see Cantwell Fada in Kilfane church.

Kilkenny has no shortage of historic places to explore, and each tells a different chapter of the county's story. If you'd like to discover the people, places and events that shaped Kilkenny City before heading further afield, I'd be delighted to welcome you on one of my walking tours.

01/08/2026

A short drive east of Kilkenny brings you to one of the county’s most rewarding historic sites. St Mary's Church has stood at the heart of Gowran since the late 13th century, when it was established as a collegiate church served by a community of secular clerics. Supported for generations by the powerful Butler family, the church became both a place of worship and a burial place for some of the region’s most influential families, leaving behind an outstanding collection of medieval stone carving and memorial sculpture.

As you explore the ruins today, you'll find beautifully carved tombs, architectural fragments, and work attributed to the celebrated Gowran Master, one of medieval Ireland's finest sculptors. His craftsmanship was admired centuries later by Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, who reflected on the sculptor's legacy in his writing. The church itself continued to evolve over the centuries, with substantial rebuilding in the early 19th century before remaining in use as a Church of Ireland parish church until the 1970s, when it came into State care as a National Monument.

Inside the restored section, visitors can trace almost fifteen centuries of local history in a single visit. Among the highlights is a 5th-century Ogham stone, carved with one of the earliest forms of written Irish, alongside monuments spanning from the early Christian period to the 20th century.

St. Mary’s, unfortunately, is only open to visitors on selected dates which you can find on the OPW website. While my walking tours focus on Kilkenny City, places like St. Mary's help complete the wider story of the county. If you'd like to begin that story in the city itself, I'd be delighted to meet you on one of my daily walking tours.

25/07/2026

Most people walk along Maudlin Street without realising they're passing an important part of Kilkenny's medieval past. Just a short stroll from the city centre, Maudlin Castle is the surviving tower house of what was once the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene. It offers a fascinating glimpse into an aspect of medieval life that's often overlooked - how hospitals were established outside the city walls to care for people living with leprosy.

The hospital was founded before 1327 and became one of the principal l***r houses in medieval Ireland. Protected by a substantial boundary wall, the complex included a chapel, burial ground, farmland, and accommodation for both patients and those who cared for them. The tower house that survives today dates from the 16th century, reflecting the site's continued importance long after the hospital was established. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, the institution gradually disappeared, leaving the castle as one of the few surviving reminders of the complex.

Today, Maudlin Castle sits near a route that many visitors take between the train station, John Street, and the Medieval Mile, yet its history is easy to miss without knowing what once stood here. It's also a reminder that medieval Kilkenny extended well beyond its famous castle and cathedral, with suburbs, hospitals, and religious foundations shaping everyday life around the walled city. It's one of many places that help piece together the wider story of Kilkenny beyond its best-known landmarks. If you'd like to explore those stories for yourself, I'd be delighted to welcome you along on one of my daily walking tours.

18/07/2026

If you're driving between Kilkenny and the Rock of Cashel on the M8, there's a remarkable hidden stop that's well worth the short detour. Just north of Johnstown, at Grangefertagh, stands one of Ireland's tallest and most slender round towers: Fertagh Round Tower. Rising above a peaceful churchyard, this early medieval landmark has watched over the ancient Ossory–Munster route for almost a thousand years and remains one of County Kilkenny's lesser-known treasures.

The site has its roots in an early Christian monastery traditionally linked with St. Ciarán of Saigir, one of Ireland's earliest saints. Beside the tower are the remains of a medieval church, later adapted as a handball alley - a practical reuse that, while preserving the building, unfortunately concealed many of its original architectural details. Nearby, you'll also find the weathered 16th-century table tomb of the MacGullaparick family, complete with a rare double effigy carved by the celebrated O'Tunney family of master masons, whose work can also be admired at Jerpoint Abbey and St. Canice's Cathedral.

One of the pleasures of exploring this corner of Kilkenny is that you can easily combine several fascinating heritage sites in a single journey. Before reaching Johnstown, take time to visit St Lachtain’s Church in Freshford, home to one of Ireland's finest Romanesque doorways. Together, these sites reveal a quieter side of the county that many visitors never discover, yet they tell some of Kilkenny's oldest stories.

Whether you're heading towards Cashel or returning to Kilkenny, Fertagh is a reminder that some of Ireland's most memorable places lie just beyond the main road. And when you're back in the city, I'd love to help you uncover the stories behind Kilkenny's streets, buildings, and hidden corners on one of my daily walking tours.

11/07/2026

Turn right at the top of John Street onto the Dublin Rd. and you’ll see one of Kilkenny’s most striking landmarks rising above the rooftops. The Church of St. John the Evangelist, whose foundation stone was laid in 1897, is the youngest of the city’s four great churches, yet it feels entirely at home among Kilkenny’s older buildings. Its soaring Gothic design and finely crafted interior speak to the confidence and generosity of the era in which it was built.

The church is also known as the O’Loughlin Memorial, a tribute to Martin O’Loughlin of Castlewarren, whose fortune from the Victorian goldfields of Ballarat made the project possible. Working with the distinguished architect William Hague, he left Kilkenny a place of worship of remarkable scale and beauty. The site itself was gifted by the 3rd Marquess of Ormonde, James Butler and the church was solemnly consecrated in 1908 by Bishop Abraham Brownrigg.

Visitors often find that the best view of the church is from across the road on the MacDonagh junction side, where, when viewed head-on, with its great spire, it almost looks like a fortified structure. It is a reminder that Kilkenny’s story did not end in the Middle Ages but continued to evolve into the modern era. If you’d enjoy discovering how places like this fit into the wider history of the city, I’d be pleased to welcome you on one of my walking tours of Kilkenny.

03/07/2026

It's easy to walk past this part of Kilkenny without realising you're standing where merchants, pilgrims, and travellers once queued to enter the medieval city. St. James' Gate was one of seven fortified gateways built into Kilkenny's 13th-century town walls, controlling who came and went while protecting one of Ireland's most important medieval settlements. Every cart, trader, and visitor arriving from the west would have passed beneath its arch.

The gate was far more than a checkpoint. Tolls were collected here, guards patrolled the wall walk above, and each evening the gatekeeper locked the city until dawn. Beyond the walls, a busy suburb grew where potters, butchers, tanners, and other skilled craftspeople lived and worked, supplying the growing town inside. St. James' Gate also became an important gathering place for pilgrims setting out on the long journey to the shrine of St. James in Santiago de Compostela, making it a place of both commerce and faith.

Although the gate itself no longer survives, its story lives on in the streets around it. As you explore this part of Kilkenny today, it's worth imagining the sounds of traders arriving, pilgrims preparing for their journey, and guards watching from above the walls. It's one of the many places where the city's medieval past still shapes the streets we walk every day. If you'd like to uncover more stories hidden in plain sight, I'd be delighted to show you around on one of my daily Kilkenny walking tours.

25/06/2026

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24/06/2026

If you enjoy discovering places that feel untouched by time, Kells Priory is well worth the journey. Situated beside the King’s River about half an hour from Kilkenny City, this vast medieval complex is one of the most remarkable monastic sites in Ireland. Founded in the late 12th century by Geoffrey FitzRobert, the priory was built on an older ecclesiastical site associated with St. Ciarán and became part of a thriving Norman settlement that included a castle, mill, and marketplace.

What surprises most visitors is the scale of the place. With its curtain walls, towers, and fortified enclosures, Kells looks more like a small walled town than a monastery. These defences were added during turbulent times, earning it the nickname "The Seven Castles of Kells". The priory was also drawn into one of Kilkenny’s most famous medieval episodes in 1324 when Bishop Richard de Ledrede's pursuit of Alice Kyteler and her associates under accusations of witchcraft and heresy brought political and religious tensions to a head. Today, Kells is a National Monument managed by the Office of Public Works.

Kells Priory is an easy day trip from Kilkenny, whether by car or on the Local Link 891 bus. I suggest visitors combine it with nearby Jerpoint Abbey or the village of Bennettsbridge, famous for its pottery and riverside setting. While my walks focus on the streets of Kilkenny itself, the stories of places like Kells help explain the wider history of the county. If you're curious to see how all these threads connect, I'd be delighted to share them with you on one of my daily walking tours.

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