The Kilkenny Witch Trials, 1324.
The story of the Kilkenny Witch Trials is iconic in Kilkenny history but also has broader significance. On 3rd November 1324, Petronilla de Meath became the first person in Ireland to be burned at the stake for heresy for the practice of witchcraft in a dark episode of Kilkenny’s history that would have reverberations around the world for centuries to come.
The Kilkenny Witch Trials centered around a wealthy Kilkenny woman called Alice Kyteler. Alice was from a family of Flemish merchants who had come to live in the Norman settlement of Kilkenny sometime in the twelfth century. Alice married her first husband William Outlaw in 1280. Outlaw was a merchant and wealthy moneylender and together they had a son called William who would later become involved in the family business. By 1302, after the death of her first husband, Alice was married to her second husband, Adam le Blund of Callan, also a moneylender; and by 1309, after the death of Le Blund, Alice had married husband number three Richard de Valle, a prosperous knight from Co. Tipperary. By 1324, when she was accused of witchcraft, Alice had acquired a fourth husband, the knight Sir John Ie Poer. By this time, Alice’s wealth was so vast that even Edward II, King of England was featured in her list of debtors.
The first accusations of witchcraft were leveled against Alice by her stepchildren, the children of her second husband Adam le Blund who felt aggrieved that their father had decided to bequeath all of his property to Alice’s first and only son, William Outlaw. This accusation was brought to Richard le Drede, Bishop of Ossory. Le Drede was an English clergyman who had been radicalised in the papal court of Pope John XXII at Avignon. As a papal appointee, Le Drede attempted to put into practice in Ossory the principles that he had learnt at Avignon from the trials of the Knights Templar and the accusations against Alice Kyteler and her accomplices provided the perfect opportunity.
What followed was a lengthy trial which tested the boundaries of secular and clerical law in Medieval Ireland. The dramatic series of events included the imprisonment of Bishop le Drede in Kilkenny Castle, political wrangling in Dublin and a finding of guilty to six counts of heresy for Alice Kytler and eleven of her associates in Kilkenny. Alice managed to flee and avoid her fate but after seven rounds of torture her associate Petronilla de Midia was burnt at the stake on 3rd November 1324. William Outlaw who was among those found guilty, evaded execution by, amongst other commitments, undertaking to lead the roof of St Canice’s Cathedral. Little is known of the fate of the remaining convicted.
This extraordinary trial became a template for the witch burning craze that was to spread across Europe over the following centuries. Featuring themes of power; wealth; church and state, there are many elements of this story that still resonate in society today and many reminders in our built landscape of the locations where the key moments of this story took place.
In 2024, 700 years later, a programme of commemoration was held during which members of the public were invited to delve into the details of the Kilkenny Witch Trials through a series of events including a weekend-long conference, re-enactments and specialised tours along with author talks, exhibitions and a podcast. Kilkenny County Council Heritage and Library Services also produced an educational resource pack which was delivered every primary school child in the county. An intergenerational women’s history project called Mná Feasa/Wise Women in which transition year students were trained to record the life experiences of elderly women in their communities was also carried out. Members of the public will also had the opportunity to see the Red Book of Ossory, written by Bishop Le Drede and on public display for the first time in 700 years at St Canice’s Cathedral. The programme of events will culminates in a Civic Service of Atonement and Forgiveness in St Canice’s Cathedral on 3rd November, 700 years to the day, of the burning of Petronilla.
Many of these events were co-funded by Kilkenny County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
For the podcast ‘Kyteler’ written and produced by Fin Dwyer (Irish History Podcast) see here:- Kyteler Full Episode 16 July.mp3
The Kilkenny Witch Trial Short Video Series
Hover over any of the images below and click view to play the video in YouTube
