THERE WAS A warm welcome for Prince Charles and his wife Camilla today, as the pair enjoyed their trip around a sunny Kilkenny.
The royal couple went down to the farmers market shaking hands with hundreds of members of the public.
In the market they chatted to a number of different people who run the stalls.
At one point the Prince was offered some home-brewed health tonic, which he politely turned down after taking a sniff. The garlic was too strong for him, he later said.
Inside the Castle he proceeded to play hurling with Henry Shefflin and Brian Cody and scored a goal.
He told them he used to play hockey when he was younger so was somewhat used to the sport.
When they entered the castle the royal couple signed the visitor book upon entering.
They went to the drawing room where they were shown the city charter and a mace by Mayor Pat O’Neill.
They then proceeded to the civic function for the speeches.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall then stopped off at the twice Oscar-nominated animation studio, Cartoon Saloon where they enjoyed tea and were shown a glimpse of their upcoming film, The Breadwinner.
The Prince has a keen interest in art and was shown work of a number of upcoming projects, including Wolfwalkers and Pete the Cat.
CEO of Cartoon Saloon, Paul Young chatted with the Prince about his family’s roots in the North of Ireland while Tomm Moore spoke to the Royals about traditional methods of animation compared to newer, digital methods of creating animation.
After a busy morning at Kilkenny Castle the Royal couple graciously accepted an offer of tea and chatted about animation and the story behind the studio’s upcoming film, The Breadwinner.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall spent time talking to crew members after being introduced by Paul Young to the team which he joked ‘is a bit like the United Nations’.
Tomm Moore then presented the Prince and Duchess with artwork from the Oscar-nominated film, Song of the Sea while Nora Twomey gave them a piece of art from The Breadwinner.
The pair later made their way to the Phoenix Park in Dublin, and also visited the Curragh Defence Forces Camp.
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