KILKENNY is Ireland's finest medieval city. Above the broad sweep of the River Nore sits the castle, while a pretty, humpbacked stone bridge leads up into narrow, cheerful streets laced with carefully maintained buildings. Kilkenny's earliest settlement was a monastery founded by St Canice in the sixth century, but all that remains from those days is the round tower which stands alongside the cathedral. The city's layout today owes more to its medieval history. Following continual s... [More]