The charming medieval city of Kilkenny in Ireland’s Ancient East has been revealed as the inspiration for a song on ABBA’s long-awaited new album
The Swedish supergroup’s first album in 40 years, ‘Voyage’, has created quite a buzz, and Irish fans were especially delighted to discover that the second track on the album, ‘When You Danced With Me’, is set in Kilkenny.
The story of a jilted lover begins “I can remember when you left Kilkenny”, and with a rousing score of pipes and accordion it blends the characteristics of Irish and Swedish folk music.
Speaking about the song, ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus revealed that it was inspired by a visit to Kilkenny with his family in the 1990s.
“I drove around the coast from Limerick to Dublin with my family in the 90s and we stopped in Kilkenny. It was beautiful and very romantic, I thought. Castle, churches and the surroundings, County Kilkenny with its little, charming villages. It has stayed with me.”
Sometimes referred to as the Marble City, because of the black ‘marble’ quarried around the county, medieval Kilkenny is one of Ireland’s most popular destinations.
The compact city has a rich heritage combined with a modern cosmopolitan vibe and is also known for its bustling crafts and design scenes, as well as its highly respected international arts festival.
Packed with historical gems, Kilkenny city’s heritage can be best appreciated with a guided tour of its Medieval Mile. Beginning at Kilkenny Castle, a Norman bastion, and winding through alleyways and cobbled streets, the tour takes in a seventeenth-century merchant’s townhouse, the Black Abbey founded in 1225, the fourteenth-century Kyteler’s Inn and the gothic St Canice’s Cathedral and round tower.
Beyond the city, beautiful County Kilkenny has been described as having a fairy-tale landscape with its necklace of towns and villages dotted along the River Nore.
As well as inspiring ABBA, the county was the inspiration and backdrop for the 2020 Oscar-nominated animated feature film ‘Wolfwalkers’. Created by Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon, the Wolfwalkers’ story draws upon Irish history and folklore including the local tale of the Wolves of Ossory.
The beautifully produced animation, which uses traditional hand-drawn techniques, has acquired a huge fan base, thrusting Kilkenny and Cartoon Saloon into the international spotlight.
