The castle seems formerly to have been a quadrangular building flanked by towers, having its entrance on the south side opposite the present gate-house. The building now forms three sides of a square, but in 1861 the foundations of the south curtain and the two bastions which protected the entrance were uncovered during alterations.
Thus up to the beginning of the eighteenth century the castle practically had its back to the town, and it is therefore
KILKENNY CASTLE.
likely that the architects of the Norman stronghold followed the ground plan of the old Irish fort, where King Donnchadh held his court during the greater part of the tenth century, and which existed long before the English town was built.
In the northern side of the building is situated the hall, billiard room, ante-room, library, and drawing-room. The west wing is occupied by the private rooms of the family, while the picture gallery forms the eastern block. This wing was added by the 2nd Duke of Ormond. It is 120 feet long by 30 broad, and contains some valuable portraits by Vandyck, Holbein, Lely, Kneller, &c.
The dining-room is part of the original building, and its walls measure some 15 feet in thickness.