Rothe House in Kilkenny unveils its new Renaissance garden

TOURIST ATTRACTION:KILKENNY IS celebrating the unveiling by President Mary McAleese of its newest tourist attraction, a magnificent Renaissance garden at Rothe House.

Originally created by a wealthy merchant family, and now painstakingly restored, the Rothe Family Garden is Ireland's only urban garden to survive from the early 17th century.

Manager Róisín McQuillan said the half-acre site, which includes a wild-flower meadow, will provide "an oasis of calm in the middle of a bustling city and an opportunity to experience what an early 17th-century town garden would have looked like".

Rothe House is already established as a major attraction on Kilkenny's heritage trail. The complex of three cut-limestone town houses, linked by courtyards, was built between 1594 and 1610 by John Rothe to house his 12 children.

The house, on Parliament Street, has operated as a museum since 1966 and also offers a research library and family history service for people researching their Kilkenny roots.

The two-year garden-restoration project involved a large archaeological dig that unearthed about 2,000 artefacts and traces of the original planting beds.

Head gardener Mary Hanlon, with help from the Irish Seed Saver Association, has overseen the meticulous planting of trees, plants, herbs and vegetables that flourished in Ireland 400 years ago.

The result should appeal to gardening enthusiasts. Rare varieties include blood of the Boyne apples and lady's bedstraw, a flowering herb that Kilkenny ladies once placed beneath their bonnets to dye their hair blond. Visitors will also see long-forgotten varieties of traditional Irish vegetables, including the Tipperary turnip, the potato onion and the Gortahork cabbage.

Rothe Family Garden is open seven days a week from April to October, between 10.30am and 4.30pm from Monday to Friday and between 3pm and 5pm at weekends. Entry is free.