Children’s Summer Camps in Rothe House & Garden!
Join us on Saturday June 13th between 10am and 6pm for the annual plant sale and garden day. Throughout the day will be a large range of plants for sale, all of which have been propagated, tended to and grown by our very own gardener using seeds and cuttings from the restored 16th century garden.
Also on the day there will be a number of craft and food stalls selling locally made goods and produce! With free admission to both the plant and craft sale it’s the perfect opportunity to pick up some bargains, gifts, novelties or some freshly produced food and at the same time have a stroll in the garden before taking a wander of the houses and courtyards!
There will also be a children’s workshop, talks and a seminar, the details of which are listed below:
Children’s Summer Sun Workshop – June 13th – 10.30am to 12.30pm.
Get your little rays of sunshine set for yet another of our sell out workshops! For kids aged 5 to 11 years this summer themed two hour class will have them celebrating all things summer and creating little masterpieces of their own to take home with them.
Places cost €8 per child and pre-payment is essential as places are limited, contact reception at 056 77 22 893 or email at reception@rothehouse.com
A Veggie Garden in Containers – Dee Sewell. June 13th – 11am to 12pm.
Dropped the kids into the workshop, or hoping to take on growing your very own vegtables but have limited space? Then this workshop is for you! Dee Sewell of Greenside Up will hold a workshop that teaches you the basic skills of growing and maintaining vegetables in limited space without the use of chemicals!
Admission to this workshop is €5pp.
A Holistic Garden – Seminar with Fiann O’Nuallain. June 13th – 2 to 3pm.
Fiann, who is a best selling author, presenter, award winning gardener, health journalist, outreach horticulturalist and ethnobotanist will give a one hour seminar on the topic of holistic gardening. It promises to be a very interesting talk and not one to be missed. Any questions or queries that you may have on the topic will be addressed by Fiann.
Admission for this seminar is €5pp.
The Rothe Family Garden – talk and tour with Coilín O’Drisceoil and Mary Pyke. June 13th – 3.30 to 4.40pm
Avail of an indepth talk and tour through the restored late Tudor period garden with Coilín of Kilkenny Archaeology and Mary, resident gardener at Rothe House.
Ever wonder why the garden was laided out in the manner it is? What was discovered during archaeological digs in 2007 and what does this tell us about the Rothes? How and why were the current plants chosen and what was their important in Tudor times?! Take part in the talk and tour and find out.
Admission to this talk & tour is €5pp.
It’s that time of year once more when Kilkenny celebrates all things medieval and locals and visitors alike are treated to an array of medieval themed events, talks, fun and games for all ages and levels of interest taking place in city and county.
Rothe House & Garden with its rich history dating back to the late medieval
period and earlier will be hosting a number of events for the celebrations kicking off on Saturday the 17th April with a Medieval Games day in the garden! For more information on events see the listings below:
Date/Time: Saturday 18th April – 11am to 4pm
Event: The Medieval Games at Rothe House & Garden
Join us for a day of medieval fun and games at Rothe House & Garden. Experience the majesty of European and Japanese archery or why not challenge the chess masters at their own game! Try on some medieval armour, learn how to play medieval games such as pitch & toss, queek, hopscotch and much more.
Admission: Entry to the house and garden is free for the day although donations are requested for individual events.
Event: Guided tour of Rothe House
Admission: €5.50 (concession rate of €4.50) Group of 10 or more €3.50pp and
must be booked in advance.
A medieval themed children’s workshop for kids aged between 5 and 11. The activity filled two hours allows the children to be creative and have fun with creating medieval themed works of art which can be brought home after.
Admission: €8 per child – pre booking essential.
Date/Time: Friday 24th – 7p.m.
Event: Survival in a Medieval Crisis – The Bruce Invasion and Black Death inmedieval Kilkenny; a talk by Finn Dwyer.
Based on research for his upcoming book on the Black Death, historian Fin Dwyer will recall a Kilkenny where life was a constant struggle for survival. This was a world where violence was endemic and starvation all too common. Witchcraft trails, violent feuds and social upheaval left the city and surrounding areas increasingly divided. Focusing on daily life in the period, this talk will look people how people reacted to these extraordinary events and how they changed Irish history.
Admission: €7 (€5 for members of Kilkenny Archaeological Society)
Take the opportunity to visit Rothe House & Garden through to sunset. For one night only we will be open to visitors until 9pm; allowing you to experience our amazing townhouse, cobbled courtyards and garden as never before
Admission: Adults €5.50pp – Concession €4.50pp – Family €15
On Saturday March 28th Denise O’Connell of MySkin will be holding a very special morning workshop in Rothe House, where you can create your own lip balms, facial serums and body butter. This fun, informative and creative workshop beginning at 10am lasts two and a half hours and at the end you can take home your beautiful handmade products worth €45 or avail of the opportunity to purchase home kits.
The workshop costs €45 and places are strictly limited so pre-booking is advised by calling into Rothe House & Garden reception on Parliament Street or calling 056 7722893
For more information on the course Denise can be contacted at: 087 1315947 or info@myskin.ie
Over the coming months, Rothe House and Garden will become an oasis of calm, mindfulness and energy. Already, each Wednesday lunchtime in the setting of the stunning Tudor mansion, people have been taking part in half-hour Mindfulness sessions guided by Erica Balfour.
And now, from the 27th of January, Breda Gardner will offer a four-week course to help you get energised and make the most of 2015. The first two sessions are about energising your body and overcoming fatigue. Breda will guide the group in some gentle exercise to music, followed by a brief talk and some meditation. “People will come away feeling rejuvenated, refreshed and relaxed’, says Breda – a published author in the area of alternative wellbeing and a registered nurse.
Each evening will run from 8pm to 9.30pm in Rothe House and will cost €10 per session. Enquiries can be made to Rothe House, 056 7722893 or info@rothehouse.com. Proceeds will go towards the ongoing upkeep of Rothe House and Garden.
27th January – Energise your Body and Overcome Fatigue. Part 1
3rd February – Energise your Body and Overcome Fatigue. Part 2
10th February – The Power of The Now.
17th February – How Your Personality Type Effects Your Health
Oscar Wilde and Micheál MacLiammóir help to fundraise for the Rothe House Renaissance Project.
A unique link is being revived between Rothe House and Micheál MacLiammóir this month, with a performance of his play ‘The Importance of Being Oscar’ at Kyteler’s Inn on 31st of January at 8 pm ( with pre-show reception at Rothe House at 7 pm).
The eloquent actor, stage designer, wit and playwright, wrote his tribute to Oscar Wilde in 1960 and performed it in New York and London as well as Dublin. This piece is now being presented by Banba’s Crown Theatre Company, in an informal setting at Kyteler’s Inn, as part of the fundraising campaign for the Renaissance Project at Rothe House.
Michael Judd, of Banba’s Crown, has had a long relationship with ‘The Importance of Being Oscar’:
“From the first reading, I felt an affinity for Micheál MacLiammóir’s beautifully written tribute to Oscar Wilde. I first performed excerpts from it in March 1997 in Soho, New York, as part of a festival of Irish Culture. I went on to work on other projects over the years, but always felt a desire to revisit this play and explore it more fully.
In 2012, my wife Sinéad and I re-established “Banba’s Crown”, a Production Company which we started in New York City to adapt and revive older Irish works. We began work on adapting “The Importance of Being Oscar” with a view to presenting it to modern audiences. We both had a sense that it would be more interesting to present the work in diverse settings other than conventional theatres. Since then, our journey has taken us to some unexpected and remarkable spaces! “
– Michael Judd
Micheál MacLiammóir is well remembered for his outstanding performance at Rothe House in 1968, when he was invited to visit during the filming of ‘Lock Up Your Daughters’. In an extract from Maureen Hegarty’s memoir of that visit, she suggested that ‘he come back later and give us a night?’ And he did. In November 1968, he performed ‘I Must Be Talking to My Friends’ in the stunning Phelan Room, which was packed to the rafters. Maureen’s amusing account of that night is captured forever in the 2010 Old Kilkenny Review – the Journal of Kilkenny Archaeological Society.
This charming account will be recited on the 31st January, at a pre-show reception to be held at Rothe House.
Tickets for this event are €15 (€20 to include the pre-show reception and recitation), and are available at Rothe House, by telephoning 056 7722893, emailing reception@rothehouse.com, or calling in.
All proceeds from the night go to the Renaissance Project at Rothe House (www.rothehousefundraising.com).
Rothe House & Garden are delighted to invite you to participate in our mindfulness sessions which will take place in conjunction with Mindfulness Kilkenny. The lunchtime sessions, lasting thirty minutes will be conducted by Erica Balfour amid the historic late Tudor merchants townhouse & garden in the heart of the city.
Beginning on Wednesday, January 7th at 1.10pm to 1.40pm it is the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and train your mind to be calm this new year. These mindfulness sessions will help you return to work or your daily life and deal with stressful situations more skilfully.
Admission is just €5 per session (€3 for KAS members) and all are most welcome.
Looking forward to our Christmas Market on December 13th?
Why not treat yourself beforehand and drop in on the 10th of December at 8pm for our annual Christmas Miscellany!
Seasonal readings and essays, traditional music with a festive touch and mulled wine will make this a perfect evening!
Admission is €10.
We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting a truly festive Christmas Market on Saturday, 13th of December. The market lasting between 10am and 5pm will take place through the charming courtyard and beautiful rooms of the late 16th century merchants townhouse on Parliament street.
We’re throwing our doors open for the day and over 20 craftspeople and vendors will join us selling handmade treats and gifts. There will be music and hot drinks available throughout the day and hot food will be supplied by the one and only Bula Bus.
So, if you’re looking for the perfect gift or something a little unusual or different you’re sure to find it on the day!
A visit to Rothe House is high on the list of things to do in the Marble City. Built between 1594 and 1610 this was the home of the renowned merchant, landowner and Mayor of Kilkenny City, John Rothe Fitz Piers, his wife Rose Archer, and their twelve children.
Rothe House & Garden
Parliament Street
Kilkenny
Ireland.
Email: reception@rothehouse.com
Phone: +353 (0)56 7722893