Kilkenny City’s Medieval Walls
Kilkenny City’sMedieval Walls:Talbots Tower
ny’s Medieval WallsTaxes and TollsDefending the CityA Soldier’s LifeThe Seeds of HistoryFrom Watchtower to Garden TowerExplore Kilkenny’s Medieval Streets and Buildings (Map)Produced & Edited: Kilkenny County Council Heritage Office & Municipal District ofKilkenny City (2018)Text: Kilkenny ArchaeologyOriginal Graphic Design and Illustration: Alé MercadoArchaeological Illustration: Philip ArmstrongBrochure layout and print: Modern PrintersFor further information email: heritage@kilkennycoco.ie 2018 Kilkenny County Council and the illustrators. All rights reserved. No part of thisbrochure may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without thepermission of the publisher.Ordnance survey data reproduced under OSi licence no. 2018/27/CCMA KilkennyCounty Council.This project is an action of the County Kilkenny Heritage Plan
ForewordThe City Walls of Kilkenny are of great importance both locally and nationally. Thehistory of Kilkenny City is a major reason for our attraction as a tourism destinationand is also a key driver of the local economy. The City Walls define the extent, layoutand status of the medieval city.Local democratic processes have ensured that concerns to ensure the long-termsurvival of the City Walls are to the forefront of local policy development andimplementation. In particular the collaboration between Kilkenny Borough Council,the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, An Taisce, theKilkenny Archaeological Society and the Heritage Council to produce and publish theKilkenny City Walls Heritage Conservation Plan (2006) was key. That Conservation Planprovides an impetus and a foundation on which a better understanding of the CityWalls can be communicated, provides guidance and prioritisation as to the ongoingprotection, conservation and restoration of the Walls and outlines how access to andinterpretation of the Walls can be better communicated.Talbot’s Tower is the only surviving complete defensive tower of the City Wall Circuit. Thewalls of the High Town were begun in the mid 13th century and this corner would havebeen part of the main circuit forming the south-west angle of the City’s defensive wall.Building on the provisions of the 2006 City Walls Conservation Plan Kilkenny BoroughCouncil, largely via the City Walls Steering Committee, with significant support fromthe Heritage Council, the Irish Walled Towns Network and the Kilkenny VEC, set aboutrestoring, conserving and interpreting this part of the City Wall Circuit.Huge numbers of Council staff, consent authorities, funding authorities, consultantsand contractors have, over the past 12 years, ensured that Talbot’s Tower has beensuitably redeveloped and will be available as a public space to future generations.The huge efforts of all of these people and agencies must be acknowledged at thispoint in time.And so it is with great delight that the time has finally arrived to open Talbot’s Towerto the public. Ex Chairwoman of the City Walls Steering Committee, Betty Manning,in promoting the redevelopment of Talbot’s Tower to her Committee, once quotedarchaeologist and historian John Bradley who said that Talbot’s Tower was ‘the finestpiece of military history in these islands.’ We know that the people of Kilkenny andbeyond will now enjoy and respect this significant addition to the City’s public realm.Cllr. David Fitzgerald,Cathaoirleach,Kilkenny County CouncilCllr. Michael Doyle,Mayor,Kilkenny CityMunicipal DistrictColette Byrne,Chief Executive,Kilkenny County Council
AcknowledgmentsThe repair and conservation of Talbots Tower would not have been possible withoutthe contribution and support of a vast number of people over a number of years.Thanks to Kilkenny County Council, the Heritage Council and the Irish Walled Townsnetwork for jointly funding the project, in particular to the members of the KilkennyCity Walls Steering Committee.Thanks to the Carlow Kilkenny Education Training Board and Coláiste Pobail Osraí.Many people have worked on, and contributed to this project. With gratitude wewould like to thank: Philip Armstrong, Michael Brennan, James Cahill, Eamon Cody,Francis Coady, Joe Costello, Tommy Dowling, Aine Doyle, Ian Doyle, Nikolah Gilligan,Claire Goodwin, Evelyn Graham, Kieran Fitzgerald, Richard Jennings, Philip Kavanagh,Philip Kenny, Kilkenny County Council Gardening Crew, Dearbhala Ledwidge, SeamusLoughlin, Ivor McElveen, Con Manning, Phelim Manning, Liam Mannix, PaddyMathews, Alé Mercado, Fred Morton, Una ní Mhearain, Colm Murray, Ben Murtagh,Noreside Construction, Maeve O’Callaghan, Coilin O’Drisceoil, George O’Malley,Cormac O’Sullivan, Nessa Roche, Emir Slattery, Tallis Construction, Simon Walton.We would also like to thank the neighbours of Talbots Tower who have supported theproject, and endured the on-going works, including Clare Costello, David and GraceSmyth, Margaret Hyland and the late Lily and Vera O’Connell.To anyone we have omitted unintentionally, we offer our sincere apologies.
IntroductionKilkenny City was a centre of political and ecclesiastical power in Ireland betweenthe 9th and 17th centuries. In 1300 it was the country’s largest inland town, boundedby city walls built by the Anglo Norman invaders. The walls were a symbol of powerand a defence against attack. Talbots Tower was one of nine towers on the city walls.During the 500 years of the turbulent middle-ages soldiers were stationed at TalbotsTower to defend the city. Oliver Cromwell successfully breached the walls, after a briefsiege, in 1650. From 1700’s onward Kilkenny enjoyed a sustained period of relativepeace and the walls fell into disrepair. In the 19th century a pleasure garden wascreated at the top of the tower for a nearby dwelling house. By the 20th century thetower and adjacent walls were in ruins.In 2005, Kilkenny Borough Council, in partnership with the Heritage Council, producedthe Kilkenny City Walls Conservation Plan, in order to provide a strategy for the longterm survival of the city’s walls.The rebuilding and conservation of Talbots Tower, the most intact tower in the citywalls, began in 2006. It was a massive undertaking involving many professionalsincluding engineers, architects, archaeologists, building historians, stone masons,illustrators, landscape architects, gardeners and grounds staff. The project wasmanaged by Kilkenny County Council, with support from the Heritage Council andGovernment Departments. It was co-funded by Kilkenny County Council, the HeritageCouncil and the Irish Walled Towns Network.Each of the beautifully illustrated interpretive panels at Talbots Tower, reproduced inthis brochure, tell the story of Kilkenny’s City Walls and Talbots Tower. It is intendedthat they will be a useful educational resource for schools in County Kilkenny, andthat they will encourage locals and visitors to explore our rich medieval heritage.
Kilkenny Archaeological Society and the Heritage Council to produce and publish the Kilkenny City Walls Heritage Conservation Plan (2006) was key. That Conservation Plan provides an impetus and a foundation on which a better understanding of the City Walls can be communicated, provides guidance and prioritisation as to the ongoing
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