Perhaps the most surprising city I found on a two-week organized tour of the Homeland (with a name like Murphy, go figure☺) was Kilkenny. The group stayed at the pleasing Pembroke Hotel, where I was treated with extreme hospitality and wonderful meals at the two on-site restaurants. I found Kilkenny Castle (Caisleán Chill Chainnigh, in the Irish language) to be the best restored of the two dozen that I visited.The surprise came on a Saturday morning in July. The tour had organized a stop at the most famous maker of hurling bats, something that vaguely resembles a combined golf club and cricket bat. He actually carved the rough form out of a single piece of ash wood, which was passed amongst the 40 group members. At that demonstration I squatted down to retrieve a ball dropped at my feet by an older dog. A younger but full-grown dog joined the fun by leaping against my chest, knocking me onto my back. Because of a neurological condition from a previous spinal injury, the sudden bending exacerbated pain to the extent of spending two days in St. Luke Hospital. The tour group moved on to the hurling demonstration. All I saw of it was photos taken by group members. I hope to return next year, to complete my journey.
I had never even heard of hurling until a few months prior to my trip to Ireland. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Kilkenny Way was highly rated on Trip Advisor when I was looking for activities in Ireland. There's a reason it's rated so highly--it's so much fun! I loved learning about Hurling and the instructor was super enthusiastic about the sport (it was contagious). I highly recommend this activity. As a Mother of three ranging in age from toddler to teen, I could see all of my children enjoying this, I did not have them with me for the trip but I will happily take them when we return to Ireland.
Kilkenny way was one of the best experiences I had while staying in kilkenny. It was a blast to go out onto the field and learn how to play hurling. The guides were informative and helpful and made the experience a great time.
most places visited were on level ground. The town plan was very easy to understand and all areas visited were in easy reach of our hotel
The Kilkenny Way hurling tour is the most fun thing you can do in Kilkenny. PJ who runs the tours knows almost everything about the GAA and hurling and is a great guide. He took me through the history of the sport, from the myths through to the modern day legends and then showed me how to play. We headed over to a hurling field 5 minutes from his pub (Lanigans - another must do!) where I was schooled in the basics. It took a few minutes to get in the swing of things, but the first time I hit one properly was amazing. I could easily have stayed all day hitting the 'sliotar' (ball) with PJ. It's just great fun - you have to do it!
What a great introduction to hurling. Owen took the time to do the tour even though there were only the two of us. He even arranged for Hurls to be custom-made for our two grandsons. He was very personable and funny. The overview he gives around not only the rules and skills of the game, but also the history and culture, make the time spent both fun and worthwhile.
It's a nice walk, just don't get distracted on the way. There's a path, be sure you don't wander away from it.
We came to Kilkenny specifically to do the Kilkenny Way experience, as I am a hurler from Virginia in the USA. After arriving at Lanigan's, we were disappointed to hear that there would not be a tour that day, as we were the only people to be there for it. Fortunately, PJ Lanigan, the owner, heard about this from my wife while she was touring the (amazing) hurling museum upstairs, and set about to give us a PRIVATE TOUR!!! I was shocked and thrilled that the owner of this amazing establishment would take the time out of his busy schedule to do this for us. PJ's tour was incredible! He is an expert on the history of the game, in addition to being a brilliant hurler and teacher. For me, as someone who knows the game, just being in Nolan Park was singularly exciting; at the same time, the hands-on structure of this tour is brilliant for folks that have never played or even heard of the game ... I cannot imagine that you would not have fun at the Kilkenny Way, and I highly recommend it. Finally, a huge thank you to PJ for going above and beyond to make sure that we were taken care of ... we will see you again soon!
I was fortunate enough to learn hurling one day in Kilkenny as apart of my winter session study abroad. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me, as the guys were great teachers and we had an amazing time playing around and learning such a classic sport.
Interesting historic facts, it is well marked. It takes about two hours to see the whole way. It's interesting for adults and for children.