MICHAEL: Welcome to Ireland with Michael.

I'm Michael Londra and in this show, I get to tell you everything that I love about my home country the only way I know how, through music.

Today we're standing on the banks of the River Nore in the beautiful medieval city of Kilkenny, twice the capital of Ireland.

Now, this town is full of rich history, home to some talented musicians and proud as can be of their hurling heritage.

Now, coming from Wexford myself, I ought to despise the place as they are our main sporting rivals but this is my father's birthplace, and as he loves it, so do I.

So join me as we explore all that Kilkenny has to offer.

♪ ♪ ♪ ANNOUNCER: Ireland with Michael is made possible by... ♪ ANNOUNCER: Whether traveling to Ireland for the first time, or just longing to return, there's plenty more information available at Ireland.com.

♪ ANNOUNCER: CIE Tours, sharing the magic of Ireland for nearly 90 years.

♪ ANNOUNCER: Aer Lingus has been bringing people home since 1936.

If you re thinking about Ireland, Aer Lingus is ready when you are to take you home.

♪ MICHAEL: On the beautiful River Nore stands a medieval castle in the landmark city of Kilkenny.

Just a 90 minute drive and a world away from Dublin City is the unique County of Kilkenny and its famed capital, Kilkenny City.

I've said it before, Ireland is far from lacking in castles, but Kilkenny has one of the oldest and best preserved in all of the country.

(water pouring) The first wooden structure was built by Strongbow, a Norman invader and Senior Justice of Ireland in his day.

It was passed down to William the Marshal, popularly known as the greatest knight who ever lived, when he married old Strongbow's daughter, Isabel.

William was busy, a tournament champion who served five kings of England and was once regent of the kingdom, but he still found the time to put down the first stone castle on the site completed in 1260.

130 years later, the castle was bought by James Butler, his surname originally a title.

As chief butler to the king, he was responsible for feeding the royalty and their retinue whenever they visited the Emerald Isle and for pouring the first goblet of wine for His Majesty.

This duty is immortalized in the family crest, with three cups upon a shield.

The Butlers, Earls of Ormond, were based out of the castle until 1965 when it was sold to the Irish people.

Well, except for that brief stint in the 1640s, when we Irish did what we do best, we rebelled.

♪ Kilkenny Castle was the seat of parliament for this Irish confederacy until that perennial villain, Oliver Cromwell laid siege to the city, and even damaged the east wall and tower of the castle in 1650.

Not very sporting of him at all.

♪ Republican forces were again besieged in the castle by Irish Free State forces during the Irish Civil War in 1922.

Where were the Butlers during all that?

In the bedroom above the main gate, naturally, with a machine gun posted outside the door.

So you see, when I said there's history in this place, I meant it.

And there's more of it on the inside.

Let's take a look.

♪ Along the walls of this long room is every Butler that ever lived in the place.

These massive portraits really make their presence known.

They're a sight to behold, as both brilliant works of art and larger than life memorials to the many eras of history which that family and this castle persevered through.

And as you might have heard, the acoustics in this room are simply pristine.

There's really no one better to show them off than Patrick Rafter, Kilkenny native and premier Irish violinist, accompanied by his mother, Maura.

Let's have a listen.

♪ ♪ ♪ So Patrick Rafter, you are a Kilkenny native, for sure.

How come you ended up being a renowned concert violinist?

PATRICK: I'm definitely a Kilkenny native and still very proudly that.

Um, so I grew up into a musical family here.

My parents, whom you saw my mother on the piano.

My dad's a singer.

And siblings, music galore.

There was cello, singing, guitar, voice.

You name it.

And I just think I was very fortunate to grow up surrounded by music.

Got scholarships at a young age and then ended up studying in London and then Switzerland.

Thankfully, things have somehow just all come together and given me a career traveling the world playing the fiddle.

MICHAEL: Fantastic.

You're, now, being a Kilkenny man, you also have a, a, a sporting skill, I hear.

PATRICK: I do.

And you might know of it from being a man from Wexford.

Now, we're, we're not gonna fall out.

MICHAEL: We might.

PATRICK: But there's the hurling, of course.

And yeah, hurling was a huge part of my life.

And it came to, it came to blows with violin because you know, inevitably, there was the time I had to choose violin or hurling because the last match I played.

And I won't say the team.

But there were several members of, of, of our team and their team that had broken fingers.

And it was a semi -final.

Sadly, we lost.

So I decided at the end of that match I had to leave my hurling boots behind.

Hang them up.

I retired very young.

I didn't get a payout like some of the footballers, but, uh, I've always enjoyed it.

Yeah, so.

MICHAEL: Yeah, you wouldn't want to be doing anything to those fingers.

Uh, keep away from the, the playing hurling and- PATRICK: I'll try.

MICHAEL: The slaps that you get doing it.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: You're playing a beautiful piece of music uh, today.

It's one of my favorite slow airs.

Can you tell us a little bit about it?

PATRICK: I can, indeed.

It's, um, called The Coolin, and to our audiences across the sea, it's, uh, one of the most incredible old Irish melodies.

Uh, it's the "fair-haired", kind of "curly-headed" one often translated as, as well.

And I would've learned this as a child, initially.

My parents playing it on piano.

My dad playing it a lot on piano.

So I learned my own version of it and played it many times on the street of Kilkenny, actually as a busking, playing the violin.

And that's how I bought my first fiddle.

And this version, being Irish, ironically, is by an Italian man.

Lived in Dublin in the 19th century.

Was a teacher up in the academy and was fixated and fanatic of all these amazing melodies.

So he took them all and put them into little adaptations for violin and piano or harp or whatever.

And his name was Esposito, and he did this amazing, amazing version of The Coolin.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: So, we are on the grounds of this beautiful castle in the heart of the city.

What does the castle mean to you and what does it mean to play in it?

PATRICK: Well, Michael, you, you see that great hall.

It's extraordinary.

And the acoustics are lovely and it's just a pleasure to play in.

I've played in there throughout my entire life.

So it's something, every time I come back, there is just that experience, that familiarity, and that connotation of as my career has progressed, I always get to come back.

And it means the same thing playing there as a little child as it did now.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (water pouring) ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: If you find yourself at the castle, don't miss out on having a stroll around the grounds.

♪ On the east side, you'll find an expansive greenery, where locals love to picnic and to the west is this rose garden, just perfect for a wander around the fountain.

One of the things I love most about Kilkenny is how well they've made use of their medieval heritage.

For example, just across the street from the castle, in these old yards and stables, is the Kilkenny Design Centre.

Here you'll find the handiwork of some brilliant local artisans selling everything from ceramics to glassware, to elaborate fiber work.

♪ Each piece sold here is a work of art and it's absolutely not to be missed.

What's more, the walls encircling the center make for an atmosphere of total peace.

It's like an open air art gallery where you can take home any of the masterpieces.

Even further in from the hustle and bustle of The Parade, Kilkenny's main street, is the Butler family manor.

That's right, the castle just wasn't enough space for them.

♪ This ivy-covered mansion was originally the dowager's house, reserved for the widows and mothers of the butlers in the castle, although the Earl did stay here a while in the 1830s.

And it served as a soup kitchen during the cholera outbreak of 1832.

Nowadays, you can stay in the house or as I'd recommend, enjoy a lovely cuppa tea in the old stables.

And after you've finished your cuppa, have a leisurely stroll through the walled gardens.

There's a little treasure of Dublin's history hidden away among the trees and shrubbery.

Encircling the lily-padded pond are numerous stone blocks.

Now serving as nothing more than seating, they were once part of a massive monument to the famed British Admiral Nelson.

Well, the IRA saw it as a symbol of imperialism in the heart of the Irish capital, and so they blew it up.

The bits of the column which survived the blast ended up here, inscribed with the locations of Nelson's most famous battles.

I could spend the rest of the day here in the garden, but I've got to get back across the street to the rose garden at the castle to meet an old friend.

MICHAEL: There is one person that, when I heard we were coming to Kilkenny, that I had to phone.

And that was you, sir.

DARREN: And I'm glad you did.

MICHAEL: Darren Holden.

Uh, how many years uh have I known you?

DARREN: 21 years exactly.

Riverdance on Broadway.

MICHAEL: Riverdance on Broadway.

DARREN: 21 years.

MICHAEL: 2000 and 2001.

DARREN: Yeah.

MICHAEL: We played eight shows a week in the Gershwin Theatre.

DARREN: My god.

How did we get through that?

That was just the best times, ya know?

That was the best fun.

We loved what we were doing, I think, ya know?

I mean it was just one of those magical things, wasn't it?

MICHAEL: Everybody thinks of Broadway as as being, you know, a, a joyride, but it was hard work.

It was eight shows a week, and you know, you didn't have the, the wild life that we would, we would love.

Uh, but, um you not only did Riverdance on Broadway, you went on to amazing success doing what, Darren?

DARREN: Movin' Out on Broadway, playing Billy Joel for four years.

I did six months on Broadway, then took the national tour out.

And played Japan, also and Canada.

But it was just great.

MICHAEL: From Billy Joel on Broadway and touring America, you came home to Ireland to do something completely different but just as successful.

DARREN: Just as successful, thank God.

Around the time I finished Movin' Out I was looking for an excuse to return to my Irish roots, and Celtic music and folk music in particular.

♪ I was 18 years old ♪ ♪ When I went down ♪ ♪ To Dublin with a fist full of money ♪ ♪ And a cart load of dreams ♪ ♪ Take your time said me father ♪ ♪ Stop rushing like hell ♪ ♪ And remember us not what it seems to be ♪ They sold me the whole thing of The High Kings, and I just thought it was a great, great idea.

And it felt to me like this is what I had been looking for and waiting for.

So I knew when I found out who was involved, the backroom team, the other people involved like Finbarr Clancy, I just knew that there was gonna be a great history there as well and a great story from all of us.

And uh yeah, I signed up immediately.

And thank God, 14 years later, still at it.

♪ I'll never forget the green grass ♪ ♪ And the rivers ♪ ♪ As I keep law and order ♪ ♪ On the streets of New York ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: The best thing about it, probably, is that it took you home to Kilkenny.

DARREN: And I'm so grateful because even though I live an hour and 15 minutes up the road in Dublin, I don't get down here as often as I would like at all.

MICHAEL: Oh, right.

DARREN: And when I do, I go 30 minutes south to my home village Mooncoin, and I bypass the city.

But every time I come into the city I always say, "Oh, I've got, I've got to come down here more often."

There's just a magic about this place and it never changes.

It's just, there's a great feeling around the city.

The characters around the city.

Just everything.

There's, you know, a really good vibe.

♪ MICHAEL: I'm here in the village of Mooncoin, about half an hour south of Kilkenny City.

It's the home town of Darren Holden.

And it's the home of my father's favorite song, "The Rose of Mooncoin," which embodies his love of his county, his love of hurling, and his love of Kilkenny.

♪ Oh how sweet 'tis to roam by the sunny shore stream ♪ ♪ And to hear the doves coon ♪ ♪ 'Neath the morning sunbeam ♪ ♪ Where the thrush and the meddle ♪ ♪ Their sweet notes entwine ♪ ♪ On the banks of the shore ♪ ♪ That flow down by Mooncoin ♪ ♪ Flow on lovely river, flow gently along ♪ ♪ By your waters so pure ♪ ♪ Sang the lark's merry song ♪ ♪ By your green banks I wonder ♪ ♪ Where first I did join ♪ ♪ With you lovely Molly, fair rose of Mooncoin ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh Molly dear Molly it breaks my fond heart ♪ ♪ To know that we two now forever must part ♪ ♪ But I'll think of you Molly ♪ ♪ When sun and moon shines ♪ ♪ On the banks of the shore ♪ ♪ That flow down by Mooncoin ♪ ♪ ♪ Flow on lovely river, flow gently along ♪ ♪ By your waters so pure ♪ ♪ Sang the lark's merry song ♪ ♪ By your green banks I wonder ♪ ♪ Where first I did join ♪ ♪ With you lovely Molly, fair rose of Mooncoin ♪ ♪ MICHAEL: Poke around Kilkenny long enough and you'll start to notice a special reverence for cats around these parts.

Perhaps you've heard the phrase "To fight like Kilkenny cats."

There are loads of versions of the story which gave rise to the saying, but they've all got a few things in common.

A Kilkenny fellow notices two cats fighting ferociously in the street, and out of some morbid curiosity, locks the two away in a box to see who will win.

Well, wouldn't you know it, when he returns the next day, all that's left in the box is the both of their tails.

The cats having otherwise eaten each other whole.

And if that sounds like a load of bull to you, that'd be because it proudly is.

(bells chiming) Irish bull is a special sort of wit for stories and sayings that may sound sensical at first, but under any kind of scrutiny reveal themselves to be totally absurd.

But as John Pentland Mahaffy, once Provost of Trinity College, put it, "An Irish bull is always pregnant."

That is, there's always some truth to our nonsense.

I should know.

In Kilkenny, the cats may be those occupants of the two cities within the city here.

Divided as Kilkenny was into the walled high town, Protestant and Norman, and the surrounding Irish town, Catholic and fiercely independent.

Like the cats, the tolls to pass between these two neighborhoods, not to mention many a lawsuit, were to both towns' detriment.

Nowadays, the people of Kilkenny get along just fine and have even reclaimed the famous phrase, affectionately nicknaming their hurling team, The Cats.

As fierce as those fictional feline fighters.

♪ In Kilkenny, it is reported ♪ ♪ They have marble stones there as black as ink ♪ Well, almost.

In fact, this marble is a limestone from local quarries and seen within it, the white fossils of ancient sea creatures.

Still, Kilkenny's marble is one of the city's most unique features.

♪ Now this building, the most impressive on The Parade, is a staple of most any medieval town, though few remain today.

It's called the Tholsel.

♪ It was once the center of civic life, serving as city hall, the court, town jail, and the site of the market.

If you were a medieval Kilkennyian, the Tholsel was the center of your world.

And it was here in 1324 that the first witch was condemned in Europe.

Alice Kyteler was born in her family's expansive house, now an inn, the only child of Flemish merchants.

Alice's first strike in the eyes of the church was being a woman.

Her second was being a moneylender.

And her third was the suspicious death of her four husbands.

After her fourth husband's death, his children and those of the last three got together and brought charges of poisoning.

In addition, a charge of heresy meant that her substantial fortune would go to the church.

So the local bishop got interested and brought her to court at the Tholsel.

Though she fought it, Alice was eventually forced to flee the country.

Fortune would not be so kind to her maidservant Petronilla de Meath who, after being forced to confess to the crime of witchcraft, implicating her mistress along the way, was burnt at the stake here in Kilkenny.

This tragedy is the blueprint for much of what we associate with witches.

Alice Kyteler was said to fly in a wooden beam and commune with a demonic familiar who took the form of a black cat, among others.

Nowadays, Petronilla, the maid who died, is honored as the namesake of one of Kilkenny's finer dining establishments.

Kilkenny's famous medieval mile ends at St. Canice's, the oldest cathedral in town, with a tower dating back to the ninth century which was used by the monks at the time to spot and defend from Viking attacks.

But just down the hill, you've also got St. Canice's the Catholic Church, which dates back to the 1730s.

Not only that, but we're here at St. Mary's and this is St. Mary's.

So why the doubling?

Because the Protestants stole the Catholic churches and when the Catholics got a chance to build again, they built bigger and named it the same.

♪ Thanks for joining me on my travels around Kilkenny.

I'm Michael Londra, and I hope to see you next time on Ireland with Michael.

But for now, Sláinte!

Cheers.

ANNOUNCER: Want to continue your travels to Ireland?

A deluxe Ireland with Michael DVD, featuring all episodes of Season one and two plus bonus concert footage is available for $30.

A copy of the Ireland with Michael companion travel guide featuring places to visit as seen in Seasons one and two is also available for $30.

A set of both is available for $55.

MICHAEL: To learn more about everything you've seen in this episode, go to IrelandWithMichael.com.

ANNOUNCER: Ireland with Michael was made possible by... ♪ ANNOUNCER: Whether traveling to Ireland for the first time, or just longing to return, there's plenty more information available Ireland.com.

♪ ANNOUNCER: CIE Tours, sharing the magic of Ireland for nearly 90 years.

♪ ANNOUNCER: Aer Lingus has been bringing people home since 1936.

If you're thinking about Ireland, Aer Lingus is ready when you are to take you home.

MICHAEL: OK, put your hands up in the air!

Come on, let's get a-waving.

♪ In my heart its rightful queen ♪ ♪ Ever loving, ever tender ♪ MICHAEL: That's it.

♪ Ever true ♪ ♪ Like the sun your smile has shone ♪ MICHAEL: Go on, Wexford.

♪ Gladdening all it glowed upon ♪ ♪