Housed in the 13th-century St Mary's Church — considered Ireland's finest medieval church — this museum brings 800 years of Kilkenny history to life through carved tombs, civic treasures, and expert-guided tours.
Join a passionate guide for a 45-minute to 1-hour tour through the converted medieval church. Hear stories of William Marshall, the Rothe and Shee merchant families, and the archaeological discoveries made during the building's restoration. Tours run daily at 10am and 2pm.
Explore Kilkenny's cobblestone streets on a 75–90 minute guided walk from the museum through the medieval city. Pass Rothe House, Kyteler's Inn, the Tholsel, and Smithwick's Brewery site before ending in the museum graveyard — resting place of 40,000 citizens. Tours daily at 11am and 3pm; ticket includes museum entry.
Explore at your own pace with an interactive audio guide available in English, Italian, Spanish, French, and German. Child-friendly audio content is also available. You can download the guide directly to your own device.
Step inside the best surviving medieval chantry chapel in Ireland, built around 1560 by the wealthy Rothe merchant family. The unusually well-preserved tomb carvings offer a vivid window into the lives of Kilkenny's most powerful families.
Come face to face with the skeletal remains of three Kilkenny citizens — a woman, a teenage girl, and an infant — excavated in 2016. Forensic analysis and historical research reveal a dark and fascinating side of medieval life and death.
Visit the Kilkenny Room with its magnificent glass window overlooking the city. See the Liber Primus — Kilkenny's extraordinary medieval town book — and explore civic records tracing city life back to the 1200s, from letters and petitions to leases.
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