Our Marble City’s 400th birthday was celebrated with a weekend of colourful and cultural activities which took place over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend at the castle.
The streets and castle grounds were filled with street theatre, entertainment and live performances, kicking off the nine months of celebrations in Kilkenny that will mark the 400th anniversary of Kilkenny's city status .
Entitled Fever 400, last Saturday's activities marked 400 years to the day from when King James I, then King of Ireland and son of the infamous Mary Queen of Scots, granted Kilkenny a charter designating it a city, a title much-coveted by Kilkenny people today.
The Kilkenny Borough Council made the decision to host Kilkenny 400 a number of years ago, a decision now very timely to boost tourism in the area. Kilkenny's commercial prosperity was hugely increased with additional trading capabilities awarded under city status in 1609. It is hoped that the Kilkenny 400 Festival will have a similar effect in providing a welcome boost to the area's tourism industry today. In a bid to attract visitors to Kilkenny in celebration of the City Charter, Kilkenny's many historic buildings, including Kilkenny Castle, Rothe House and Gardens and Kilkenny Design yard, threw their doors open to the public for free admission.
"Kilkenny has a unique history, having had a charter-right to local government since the early 13th century and this year celebrating 400 years since the granting of our city's charter" says Mayor of Kilkenny, Pat Crotty. "When the borough council began to provide seed funding for this project several years ago, none of us knew how important it would prove for Kilkenny. None of us knew that 2009 would be a year of great challenge to us all or that our celebrations could be a vital support to Kilkenny's biggest employer, the tourism industry."
Providing a much needed antidote to the current recessionary gloom, thousands of people attended Saturday’s festivities and were entertained by jousting tournaments, street theatre, art exhibitions, public lectures on the history of Kilkenny, Kilkenny's acclaimed Gospel choir, along with a spectacular finale of choreographed drum, dance, music, and fire displays on Saturday evening. An Army guard of honour with the Mayor of Kilkenny, Pat Crotty, escorted the original historic City Charter from 1609, a precious document preserved on parchment in the city's borough council building, through the streets of Kilkenny.
Organisers are promising that over the next nine months Kilkenny will be the place to be as the city bucks the national trend of doom and gloom with a packed programme of events running until the end of the year. Over the next nine months, Kilkenny 400 Festival will see a variety of family fun events; music, Kilkenny's first busking competition, craft exhibitions, and entertainment activities take place across the city's many landmark buildings and attractions including Rothe House, Kilkenny Castle, and St Canice's Cathedral, the city's first cathedral essential to securing its prestigious city status in 1609.
"Kilkenny people have always been so proud of our city status. We have held on to this tightly over the years and are delighted to celebrate this major milestone and mark Kilkenny's city status and strong heritage with our Kilkenny 400 Festival," says Cllr Paul Cuddihy, chairperson of Kilkenny 400.
“While the population of Kilkenny has significantly decreased from past times, in the County Kilkenny 1841 census standing at 202,420, we hope that Kilkenny's current and very proud 87,558 strong population and visitors alike will join us in celebrating our much revered city status."
For more information see www.kilkenny400.ie
