Preparations are on their way for a packed program for Heritage Week this year (2019).
17th – 25th August 2019
We will have guided tours of houses and gardens daily at 2:30pm. They will be €5.50 per person, children under 12 go free. No booking required.
For people with a keen interest in gardening, our head gardener Mary Pyke will give tours on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 12pm to 12:45pm. These tours are €3 per person, children under 12 go free.
If you’re interested in your family history, our genealogist Mary Flood might be able to help you on Tuesday, 20th August from 2pm on. For her to prepare your case, these consultations are by appointment only via kilkennyfamilyhistory@rothehouse.com. The fees for each consultation are €25.
Workshops
Since the theme of Heritage Week this year is Pastimes, we offer some workshops to learn historical pastimes:
First of, our staff member Anne-Karoline Distel will offer a juggling workshop for children and children at heart on the 21st of August from 2pm – 3pm. Booking is required, please contact reception@rothehouse.com. The fee for this workshop is €6 for children, adults go free. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Juggling equipment will be provided, but you can bring your own as well. (We recommend the Arts&Hobby shop in the Market Cross Shopping Center or firetoys.ie.)
Anne will also offer a trad music workshop for fiddlers and other trad musicians. She’ll be teaching a tune she wrote inspired by Rothe House garden from her recent publication Drawn to Tunes. The workshop takes place on Friday, 23rd August 3pm – 4pm. Again, children need to be accompanied by an adult. Booking is essential for €5 per person, regardless of age. Please bring your own instrument.
Thursday and Friday 12pm – 1pm, children are invited to Come out and Play in the garden. They will (re)discover nursery rhymes and oldtime outdoor games. This event is free, but booking is required via reception@rothehouse.com.
Kilkenny Archaeological Society are offering an Introduction to RePhotography on Thursday, 22nd August from 1pm to 2:30pm. This is a free workshop, yet booking is required, since there is a limited amount of places.
Book Reading
Rothe House is happy to host a book reading by local artist and author Judy Rhatigan. Judy will be reading from her recent publication Beyond the Briary Wood: A Life Journey. The reading will take place on August 23rd from 4 to 5 pm in Rothe House. In this publication, she remembers her life growing up in a Gate Lodge in Co. Kilkenny in the 1940s and 50s. It is a very interesting insight into the social history of Kilkenny. This is a free event.