Michæl McFarland Campbell

We were lucky last year and this year to see an orchid growing in our front garden. This occurred because neither Andrew nor I is an intrepid gardener. We quite enjoy letting the grass grow long and then getting it cut back later in the summer, which gives the orchid the chance to grow and be seen.

Many people across Ireland are helping to record the island’s wildlife. We can do this by recording what we see with the National Biodiversity Data Centre. There is an iPhone app, an Android app, and Ireland’s Citizen Science Portal to record entries. I encourage everyone to get involved.

Last year, 163,502 records were submitted through Ireland’s Citizen Science Portal.

Records were received from 8033 individual recorders across all 32 counties. An interesting trend with data submitted through the Citizen Science Portal is that more than half of recorders only submit one record during a calendar year. In contrast to this we had 38 recorders who submitted over 1000 records, nine of which submitted over 2000 records.

https://biodiversityireland.ie/irelands-citizen-science-portal-recording-activity-2023/

Will you join me in recording the wildlife you see?

I look forward to using the app as I walk around the country. I am sure I will be able to get my entries up from the four current ones in the coming days and weeks. Will you join with me in recording the wildlife of Ireland?

We have been very busy in the last few weeks. Yesterday was no different. We got up very early (for us) and caught the seven minutes past seven train from Monasterevin to Kildare, waited there and then got the train to Waterford. We didn’t go as far as Waterford on this occasion, disembarking in the cathedral city of Kilkenny. The purpose of yesterday’s outing was to visit the Rothe House and have a day wandering in the city as a day out to celebrate Andrew’s birthday which was during the week.

On arrival in MacDonagh Station, we walked down St John’s Street and across the bridge over the River Nore. We then walked down the walkway out of Canal Square below Kilkenny Castle for a little while. Along the way, we heard the weir but didn’t see it as the river flowed over it away from the bank we were on. On arrival back in Canal Square, we decided it was time for some refreshment before heading to the merchant’s house. So we enjoyed the sun as we drank our drinks and ate a pain-au-chocolate (in my case) on the first floor of Wild Tails Cafe, just above the hurling statue in Canal Square. The upstairs of the cafe allowed us to sit in the sun and watch the world go by. Should I find myself travelling to spend the day in Kilkenny again, I am sure that it will become a firm favourite place to sit. Were I on my own, I suspect that I would find myself writing in a book. That is something for which I should look forward.

We came up with a new phrase whilst in the cafe, it is sort of an answer to anyone suggesting that we were loitering with intent:

No, we’re not loitering with intent. We’re meandering with purpose.

That was really how we visited; we were there to have a day out, and we meandered the city’s mediaeval street layout and enjoyed ourselves.

Having finished our refreshments, it was time to walk into the city and visit the Rothe House, which we had wanted to visit for many years but just needed to manage.

Visit Ireland’s best-preserved medieval Merchant House

Located in the heart of Kilkenny on Ireland’s Medieval Mile, Rothe House & Garden was built between 1594 and 1610. This was once the home and place of business of John Rothe and Rose Archer, one of Kilkenny’s wealthiest, most influential merchant families. The three-storied houses are connected by cobbled courtyards, expansive enough for a family that grew to have eleven children, as well as the house & garden staff that would have been necessary to run such an important household.

rothehouse.com

As the top of the first house was the most glorious attic room that I have seen for a long time. On the wall was a catholic banner that brought to mind the seventeenth century banner that is now in the care of the National Museum of Ireland on loan from the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. This banner was believed to to date from the Confederacy hidden in the walls of Rothe House. It depicts the Coronation of Mary by the Holy Trinity. It is understood to have been displayed in a procession that welcomed the Papal Nuncio, the Most Reverend John Baptist Rinuccini to Kilkenny city in 1645. The banner on the wall depicts the Blessed Sacrament in a Tabernacle.

The second house is full of artefacts, and the third house has an event space in the ground floor where the kitchen was formerly. Behind the third house is the restored seventeenth-century garden which extends to the end of the burgage at the mediaeval city wall.

As I said before, the reason for visiting Kilkenny was to visit the Rothe House, or at least that was what I thought it was. It turns out that the real reason was lemon meringue pie (at least according to my now diabetic husband, Andrew).

After I helped Andrew finish his lemon meringue pie, which, as he says, was delicious, we went on to visit Kilkenny Castle. The castle has been a mediaeval castle, a restoration château, and a Victorian stately home. I got thoroughly confused about what was going on and how it was in such good state now because we went straight from the ticket office in the imposing gate house to the door of the castle without watching the audiovisual show which we saw at the end of the walk round the castle. It would have been very much more understandable if I had seen this first. I may yet suggest that this is highlighted to visitors by the OPW staff. Although, to be fair to them, Kilkenny Castle is a huge tourist attraction and there were hordes of visitors yesterday.

Andrew has some photos of the inside of the castle on his post about yesterday’s trip on typo2.ie. I only took one looking towards the city — where you can make out the mediaeval cathedral of St Canice and the round tower to the right of the photo.

More to follow…