Kilkenny heritage boost with new signs unveiled of old City Wall

Two beautiful new signs marking Kilkenny’s City Walls, and telling about its history, were unveiled at James Street on Wednesday to the sounds of traditional music from the young musicians of the CBS Trad Band. The colourful bilingual interpretive signs are part of Kilkenny County Council’s strategy to highlight our heritage, and provide information for local people and visitors about the former medieval city walls.

"They will help to develop interpretation and understanding of the City Walls, to provide an educational tool for schools and become part of the Kilkenny City Wall trail," Senior city Engineer, Simon Walton said.

Welcoming the new initiative Leas Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council Cllr Andrew McGuinness said: “As our city grows and develops it’s important that we remember, celebrate and showcase our history and heritage – this is what makes Kilkenny such a special place to live in.”

Although much of the original two miles of medieval city walls have been lost over the last hundreds of years, the foundations of the walls still exist beneath the streets of Kilkenny. And in some sections, such as beside the Mother of Fair Love School on James’s Street, an impressive section of the walls still stands.

St. James Gate, located on James Street near Tilbury Place, was one of seven gatehouses built in the city walls by the Anglo Normans in the 1300’s. Outside the walls was a thriving suburb where the poorer Irish craftworkers lived and traded. It was also a meeting place for Irish pilgrims to gather before they set off to the shrine of St. James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. In the 1800’s this area developed into a centre for education and religion with the construction of St. Mary’s Cathedral, the CBS and the Presentation Convent.

Archaeological excavations commissioned by the Kilkenny CBS Secondary School during construction of an extension to the school at James Street a few years ago uncovered the original medieval ditch on which the city wall was built.

Francis Coady, Kilkenny County Council Conservation Officer has worked closely with the CBS to record and highlight this valuable part of our city’s heritage, and says. “This project is a great example a positive partnership between Kilkenny County Council, the CBS, their architect and also the archaeologist and illustrators who were part of the design team for the new signs. The focus here was to create an interpretative piece that highlights the importance and value of our City Wall, a National Monument, to local people as well as the tourist”.

According to Kilkenny County Council Heritage Officer, Dearbhala Ledwidge, “What is particularly special about these signs is that the illustrations are evidence-based recreations of what the area would have looked like and they tell the story of life and conditions outside the city walls - from the perspective of the native Irish population. I think that they will be a really useful educational resource for history teachers and students around the county”.

One sign is located at the corner of James Street and Tilbury Place, and the other is on the grassy area in front of the City Wall on Chapel Lane.

The signs were co-funded by Kilkenny County Council, the Irish Walled Towns Network and Kilkenny CBS Secondary School. They are part of a series of City Walls signs developed by Kilkenny County Council to highlight the fascinating history and stories of Kilkenny’s medieval City walls. Design and artwork was by Ale Mercado; archaeological illustration by Philip Armstrong; and archaeological and historical research by Coilín O’Driscéoil, Kilkenny Archaeology.