Magical reindeer garden at Rothe House in Kilkenny

Rothe House has a fantastic line up of events to celebrate the festive season including a novel reindeer garden.
Manager of Rothe House, Trish Duffe came up with the novel idea to transform the gardens for the holidays and create something very special for people of ages to enjoy over the festive season.

“I wanted to find ways of getting people to see the garden and the many ways in which the space can be used. It is an open invitation for people to come and see these wonderful gardens, which are here in the heart of the city,” she said.
“All the reindeer are made by our own staff, Peter Heary and Alan Murphy, using fallen trees that came down during Storm Ophelia at Woodstock and Kilkenny Castle. It is upcycling at its best,” she added.
The project is a community venture and the team at Rothe House invited the people from the SOS and the Mother of Fair Love to help out decorating the tree.
“Working on the project has been great fun - it has been very inclusive and we have also had the support of a number of groups and agencies including the Public Participation Network and Kilkenny County Council.
“Every reindeer is unique and they all have been inspired by the natural forms of the wood and they have taken on characters by themselves.
“It is magical to visit from when the lights come on at 4pm each day. Each reindeer is unique with his/her own special personality, come see if you can figure out which one is which, and which one you are most like,” she added.
Teeto (4) and Aguirre (2) paid a visit last week and thoroughly enjoyed their time there.
“It is great, all the reindeers are different, it is very cool,” Theodore told The Kilkenny People.
Admission to the Reindeer Garden at Rothe House is €3 per adult and €1 per child.
Rothe House is open daily from noon to 6pm.except for December 24, 25, 26 and 31 and January 1. Due to the inclement weather the garden remained closed on Sunday so for up to date information check out the Rothe House Facebook page.
Meanwhile the ‘At the Medieval Table’ exhibition continues at Rothe House and displays artisan-made kitchen items and tableware inspired by Medieval times when equipment such as goblets, ceramic bowls, jugs, baskets and wooden platters were carefully crafted into wonderful varieties of shapes and designs.
There is also a storytelling event taking place at the house this Saturday afternoon when there will be festive storytelling when resident storyteller Steve will guide people through Rothe House telling traditional Christmas stories.
For more see www.yulefestkilkenny.ie