Avoca then Kilkenney

Thursday was our last day in County Wicklow and our first day of rain since arriving in Ireland. We left Ballyknocken House and drove south through the Vale of Avoca. Upon arriving in the town of Avoca, we did a quick self-guided tour through the weaving facility and then went to the Avoca Handweavers outlet store. Of course our good intentions to purchase nothing went awry.

We then went to Fitzgerald's Pub for a pint and lunch. The BBC series "Ballykissangel" used Avoca and Fitzgerald's as the center of their story and many of the scenes were shot on site. As much as we loved the show (and we do highly recommend it), we were a little disappointed in our visit; possibly our expectations were too high.



We drove for about two hours to the town of Killkenney, in the county of the same name. By then the weather had cleared and it was a nice drive. We stayed at the Butler Court. For dinner, we went to Kyteler's Pub which is located in a fourteenth century building, former home of Mrs. Kyteler. The story is that the lady and the local bishop had a falling out and he accused her of being a witch; some say she still haunts the pub. After a great meal of Irish lamb stew with mash and brown bread & butter (the bread and butter in Ireland are the best!), topped off with Sticky Toffee Pudding, we were entertained by some live traditional Irish music.