Kilkenny Events, Things to Do and Festivals 2014 / 2015

(Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland)

If there's one thing the Irish love, and do so well, it's a great festival, whether religious or secular in focus. Most festivals and events occur during the summer months and are an added attraction for the high number of visitors who arrive in the city during the tourist high season, looking for things to do.

Particularly notable in the Kilkenny area is the Smithwicks Rhythm and Roots Music Festival in late April, the Cat Laughs Comedy in May, and the Ballykeeffe Midsummer event in July. However, it is August which sees the arrival of one of the city's principal events, the Kilkenny Arts Festival, which successfully combines international art, music, film, Irish handicrafts and literature.

Kilkenny Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• New Year's Day (Lá Bliana Nua) - January 1st, an Irish public holiday, when locals enjoy a quiet day off work after partying hard the night before
• Kilkenny Music Festival - late January / early February, based at the Watergate Theatre on Parliament Street and featuring an array of entrants, live music and related activities

February

• Valentine's Day - February 14th, a romantic time for couples visiting the city, with local restaurants offering seductive meals for two. Tables for two generally need to be reserved well ahead of this commercial day of love

March

• St. Patrick's Day - March 17th, the patron saint of Ireland's annual festival is celebrated wherever there are Irish, and Kilkenny is no exception. The best venues for this totally Irish extravaganza are the city's local pubs. Don't expect an early night
• Easter Monday (Luan Cásca) - late March / early April, an Irish public holiday

April

• Smithwicks Rhythm and Roots Music Festival - late April / early May, honouring more than 300 years of local traditional brewing in this area, staged in various central venues over the May Day bank holiday weekend. Expect folk music, blues, jazz, Indie bands, roots rock, alternative country and American music all over the city

May

• Labour Day (Lá an Lucht Oibre) - first Monday each May, an Irish public holiday

June

• Cat Laughs Comedy Festival - early June, exactly what it says in the title, a feast of comedy, from alternative to stand-up, accompanied by football matches and other crazy events. Cat Laughs is held over the bank holiday weekend at the beginning of June and lasts around five days, with some 50 comedians performing almost 100 gigs
• Ballykeeffe Family Fun Day - mid-June, with storytelling, magicians, handicrafts, displays and demonstrations, face painting, live music and a bouncy castle

July

• Ballykeeffe Midsummer Festival - kicks off in July with theatre and all kinds of music, from traditional to rock, in a spectacular setting at the Ballykeeffe Quarry Amphitheatre. Picnic and suitable clothing may be required. These Shakespearean plays are usually performed by the Chapter House Theatre Company Garden

August

• Kilkenny Arts Festival - lasting around ten days, this famous Arts Fest takes place every year in the second and third weeks of August and draws international crowds to its exhibitions, music, dance and other varied cultural events, which are held all over the city
• Iverk Agricultural Show - running annually since 1826 and still going strong, on the last Saturday in August. One of the biggest agricultural shows in the country, this is a great family day out, with competitors in the agricultural classes even arriving from the UK

September

• Castlecomer Writers' Festival - takes place throughout September at Castlecomer Discovery Park - unsurprisingly as the Irish love their literature and poetry, and even a month may not be long enough
• Graiguenomanagh Town of Books Festival - another indication of the Irish passion for literature, with this massive two-day book fair in September drawing huge crowds. Readings, country food and craft fairs extend the appeal of tens of thousands of books, from antiquarian to second-hand, all for sale
• Fiele Freaney - at Graiguenomanagh, running parallel with the Book festival in mid-September, a celebration of traditional Irish music and theatre

October

• Kilkenny Celtic Festival - Celtic music, song, dance, theatre and language come to the city at the end of September through to early October
• Kilkenny Racing Festival - if there's anything the Irish love as much as literature, it's horses, and this National Hunt two-day event takes place at the beginning of October at the racecourse, seeing some magnificent equine examples
• Irish Conker Championships - late October, needs, hopefully, no explanation for anyone whose schooling was UK based, and takes place at Freshford during the last week of October, with a huge programme of alternative events, as well as the Conker Contest

November

• Duiske Concert Series - set in the beautiful medieval Duiske Cathedral, this event attracts both traditional and classical musicians from all over the country, being funded by the Arts Council, the County Council and various local sponsors

December

• Christmas Day (Lá Nollag) - December 25th, with raucous parties in the city centre pubs the night before
• St. Stephen's Day (Lá Fhéile Stiofáin) - December 26th, the official feast day of St. Stephen, with local celebrations staged around the city centre
• New Year's Eve (Oiche Chinn Bliana) - December 31st, with dinner dances at the largest hotels, such as the Ormonde on Ormonde Street, and the Lyrath Estate Hotel on Dublin Road