Here are some of the important Kilkenny, Ireland landmarks
St. Victoria’s relics (wax figure enclosing her entire relics) plus the Phial (Chalice) containing the blood of the Virgin Martyr. During the construction of this Cathedral in 1845, the Bishop of Ossory, Dr. Kinchella, visited Pope Gregory XVI in Rome. The Pope bestowed on him the wax figure and the Phial.
St. Victoria was born in Rome around 235 A.D. She was promised to a rich young heathen nobleman, Eugenius, but refused to marry him or to sacrifice to idols. Eugenius became enraged, took her to a country villa and tried to starve her to death. During that time, she prayed for many and converted many by her prayers and sufferings. From the villa, she escaped and joined a group of Christians being prepared for First Communion. The pagan King Constantine had a sword plunged through her heart.
The Abbey, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was founded in 1225 as one of the first houses of the Dominican Order in Ireland by William Marshall, the younger, Earl of Pembroke.
The south transept was added early 14th century. The tower was built by James Shortall, Lord of Ballylarkin in 1507. Suppressed and granted to the Corporation in 1543 the Abbey was used for some time as a Courthouse. Oliver Cromwell destroyed much of this priory in the mid-17th century. After a significant restoration, the Black Abbey reopened in 1816. The Dominican Order regained possession in the early 19th century and restored the nave and transept for divine worship. the 13th century stone coffins and slabs at the entrance were unearthed during restoration. The 15th century alabaster statue of the Holy Trinity was found hidden in a wall.
The largest stained glass window ever designed in Ireland. Made in 1892 by the Mayers of Munich with 15 large vertical panels of 15 decades of the rosary plus smaller stained glass above depicting angels and the Holy Spirit.
St. Canice’s Cathedral traces its origins to the 6th century when St. Canice himself, also known as St. Kenneth, founded a monastic settlement in the area. The cathedral, dedicated to the saint, was constructed on the same site where his original wooden church once stood. The earliest incarnation of the cathedral was likely a modest structure, reflecting the simplicity of early Christian architecture.
In the 12th century, as Kilkenny flourished as a centre of Norman power, the decision was made to erect a grander cathedral to accommodate the growing Christian community. The Normans, renowned for their architectural prowess, embarked on an ambitious project, giving rise to the magnificent edifice that we see today.
The Round Tower was built in the 9th or 10th century. It is 30m (100 ft) tall, tapering from 4.5 to 3.3m (15 to 11ft) in diameter. There are 121 steps (a series of 7 ladders) to the top. One of only two round towers in Ireland which can still be ascended today, the other is at St. Brigid’s Cathedral in Kildare.
The bishop’s chair, known as St Kieran’s Chair. It has been in use since the 5th century.