When the French travel-writer Aubry de la Mottraye visited Kilkenny in 1723 Kilkenny Castle was apparently in a dreadful state and only inhabited by a gardener: '[the castle] is so much neglected that it rains therein thro' the Roofs which have not been supply'd since with Slates when wanted (tho' a thing so common all over the Country;) it is only inhabited, I think, by a Gardner with his Family who does hardly take care but of his Lodging, and not much better of the Gardens, nay these Gardens are so far neglected that he keeps only the Usefull in most of them, I mean Fruit-trees, Pulses and the like, he lets wild Grass for Cattle grow in the rest'. The view of Kilkenny castle is from a panorama of Kilkenny c.1760 by the English painter Thomas Mitchell.

In 1542 the Corporation of Irishtown, Kilkenny passed a by-law that forbade the sale of whiskey to the native Irish. Presumably there was a fear that by giving whiskey to the Irish, rampant hoards of whiskey-sozzled men and women would attack the town and cause mayhem! The whiskey that was produced in Irishtown was also a great source of pride to the citizens and fennel, cummin and raisins were specially imported to flavour the distillation. However, a bottle was expensive, costing 12d., or around 12 days wages for an average labourer. This was of little concern to the likes of the earl of Ormond Piers Butler, who was so impressed with Kilkenny whiskey that he sent a bottle of it to Henry VIII's chief minister Thomas Cromwell.

Sir Richard Shee, whose magnificent tomb is to be seen at St Mary's, Kilkenny, was the second wealthiest person in Tudor Kilkenny, after his employer the earl of Ormond. By all accounts Sir Richard led a 'colourful' life. One example of this occurred in 1582 when he was accused by the ruthless city sheriff Lovell of having murdered a local miller. To make matters worse this particular miller had been living under the protection of the lord deputy, Sir Francis Walsingham, and as a result Sir Richard was accused of the ultimate crime: treason. In an effort to save his skin he pulled out all the stops: he got the earl of Ormond and others to intercede with Walsingham on his behalf and he even sent a bottle of his finest home-made whiskey ('aqua-vita') to the lord deputy's wife! His methods seem to have worked, for after a spell in the hell-hole jail of Dublin castle, he was released and he quickly returned to his life of splendour in Kilkenny.

Anyone for tennis? One of the earliest tennis courts in Ireland was situated on the north side of James's Street, Kilkenny. This 'town court' was constructed by the tenth earl of Ormond 'Black Tom' in around 1600. It is marked on John Rocque's map of 1758 and its site is now built over by the rear of the Oxfam shop on High street.

French and Spanish wine was one of the chief imports into medieval Kilkenny. The wine was brought in casks upriver from the ports of Waterford and New Ross, but before it reached Kilkenny the wine had to be transferred onto smaller boats owned by the fishermen at Inistioge. In 1537 there was a complaint made by the city to the king's council in London that the fishermen of Inistioge were breaking open the casks, drinking the wine, and then filling them again with water!

In the seventeenth century one of the most famous members of the Langton family was Nicholas Fitz Michael Langton. His extraordinary life began quietly in Kilkenny where he was educated and brought up to take over the family merchant business. In 1648 as many teenagers do these days, he was sent to France to learn the language. However, en route to France he was captured by the notorious and dreaded Sallee rovers pirates and sold into slavery in Morocco. Because Kilkenny was in turmoil thanks to Oliver Cromwell no ransom could be paid to have Nicholas freed and he remained a slave. However, after a few years he escaped and swam across the straits of Gibraltar (no mean feat in itself) with his prayer book and beads wrapped to his head. From Gibralatar he made his way along the Spanish coast and eventually returned to his mother, then living in 'banishment' in Ballinakill. His epic journey home ended in 1663, and surely with great joy, when he regained the old family mansion house next to the Tholsel.

Hidden tapestries and a 'hanging ground at Kilkenny Castle in 1752. 'The castle is a noble house situated on a height over the river with a hanging ground under it, covered with wood. There is a grand Corinthian gate at the entrance of this house, and at each angle in front a noble round tower: it was very finely furnished, and the furniture was bought by one Hacket a Creature of the family, who when he came to take down the hangings and tapestry, found a second set under them, which no one knew of, the others being as 'tis suppos'd put up in haste' (from Bishop Pococke's Tour of Ireland 1752).

We are working today with archaeology students from Liverpool John Moore University scanning one of the 17th century skulls excavated at St Mary's church, Kilkenny. This is part of a collaborative project between Kilkenny Archaeology, Liverpool John Moore's University, Dr Linda Lynch osteoarchaeologist, and The Medieval Mile Museum/Kilkenny County Council, in which a range of scientific techniques are being used to build up a detailed life history of the individual. These include facial reconstruction, DNA analysis to identify the family origins and to provide information on eye and hair colour, and isotope analysis to tell us about diet and where he was born, and where he lived throughout his lifetime.

This 14th century seal matrix was 'found in nurseries, Flood Street, Kilkenny, in 1859'. Flood street is now called Parnell street and is near St James's Green, where a great fair was held once a year. The seal shows a spurred cockerel and it is conceivable it was lost by someone involved in the then popular 'sport' of cock fighting. The inscription on the seal reads *INMVTABIL SIGN, ie. unchanging sign. It is now in the British Museum, London.

Middle Bronze Age (c. 1400-1100 BC) twisted gold torc from the great prehistoric cemetery at Dangan, Columbkill and Kilmurry near Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. The cemetery contained at least 36 barrows spread out over the three townlands. Some of the barrows yielded urns containing bones and others had small cist-like graves. The torc was found by a 'peasant' in 1846 in a ploughed field near one of the barrows. Unfortunately its exact find-spot remains unknown. The torc is currently in the British Museum.

'All Hallows Eve' in a Kilkenny inn 1860, from the Illustrated London News. The late medieval fireplace on the left suggests the inn in question could be the Bull Inn or perhaps the Hole in the Wall.

Foliage carvings at the base of the male effigy from St Mary's church, Kilkenny, on display at the Medieval Mile Museum. This distinctive form of decoration is common to a group of limestone effigies in Kilkenny city that were all produced by an unidentified school of gifted stonemasons that were working in or around the city in the mid 1300s.