Kilkenny Guide by Panoramic Ireland - Updated April 2024

Check out our PDF downloadable guide to Ireland's medieval city.

PDF here: https://panoramicireland.com/images/PDFs/Panoramic-Ireland-Kilkenny-Guide.pdf

Online Kilkenny Guide by Panoramic Ireland. From Kilkenny City to the scenic country villages such as Inistioge, above.

Kilkenny is one of Ireland's most charming places. Filled with medieval buildings that are still in use today, a castle, cathedral, round tower and wooded river it is also home to many of Ireland's best places to eat, drink, shop and stay.

It's a city that Panoramic Ireland knows well, the lively small city features as one of our most popular photography destinations - find out more here.

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Panoramic Ireland's Guide to Kilkenny - May 2019 https://panoramicireland.com/images/PDFs/Panoramic-Ireland-Kilkenny-Guide.pdf

Kilkenny City

There is no doubt that Kilkenny is one of Ireland's most charming places. Its narrow streets made from the local black limestone and lively pubs serving good food and live music combined with numerous festivals leave it obvious that Kilkenny deserves its status as Ireland's friendliest city. Kilkenny is also known as the Marble City because of the local black limestone that has been traditionally used here. When polished - as it gets with thousands of people walking over it daily, it becomes smooth and shiny, just like marble.

The small city of 26,000 inhabitants feels busier with the many tourists who flock here often on day trips from Dublin - only 90 minutes away by car, train or bus.

Kilkenny Castle, pictured above, makes for a good place to start a visit to the small and very walkable city.

Commanding a small hill overlooking and, often reflected in, the River Nore Kilkenny Castle was built in the 13th century on the site of an earlier fortification. Originally enclosed on four sides Oliver Cromwell destroyed the main wall in 1650 and it remains open to this day. Continuously used for 800 years the castle is one of Ireland's longest serving buildings.

Find Kilkenny Castle's Website here - http://kilkennycastle.ie/

At the other end of the city's 'Medieval Mile', in Irishtown, lies Saint Canice's Cathedral.

The cathedral also dates to the 13th century but is built on a site with a much older heritage. It dates to the 6th century when Saint Canice, from whom Kilkenny gets its name, founded a monastery here.

Often guarded by cats, long associated with Kilkenny, Saint Canice's is also the site of a round tower approximately 1,000 years old. As part of a visit to the cathedral it's possible to climb the 30m-high tower via a narrow staircase to the commanding views from the top.

Find Saint Canice's Website here - http://www.stcanicescathedral.ie/

Kilkenny is known as Ireland's Medieval City and it certainly is filled with plenty of unique buildings including Rothe House, a merchant's house dating to the 17th century. The tourist information office is located in another fine medieval building, Shee Alms House, pictured above.

One of the more interesting things to note about Kilkenny is it's long historical association with brewing beer and ale. Franciscan monks brewed here from at least the 14th century and a commercial brewery was established by John Smithwick in 1710, brewing Smithwick's and Kilkenny - ales enjoyed in Ireland and around the world. The brewery is home to a visitor experience while the actual brewing is carried out in Dublin nowadays.

To see Kilkenny with a creative eye, join Panoramic Ireland on a Kilkenny Photography Walking Tour and see the city with a professional photographer who has years of experience photographing for top international publications. Learn to improve your travel photography and take home better images and improved skills with your camera. To find out more see here.

To get to and from Kilkenny, options are to drive via N7 and M9 or N7 and M8 with the M9 route being the quickest taking approx. 90 minutes from Dublin City. Buses operate along the same route via Dublin Coach and JJ Kavanagh but not, strangely, Ireland's national bus operator Bus Eireann so don't go to the main bus station in Dublin looking for a bus to Kilkenny. All buses to Kilkenny leave from footpath bus stops along Dublin's quays. And finally it is also possible to take the train, Irish Rail have trains throughout the day to Kilkenny.

Kilkenny is seen as being the home of Irish craft, with a resurgence in craft making in the city and county in the 20th century, many of the best known are based here producing ceramics, textiles and jewellery. That makes the city a fine place to find genuine, locally made and designed Irish craft. 

One of the first and most influential craft makers to be based in Kilkenny in recent years is Rudolf Heltzel, a goldsmith who makes fine jewellery in his Kilkenny workshop along with his son Christopher see their website here.

Close by, on Patrick Street, with fine gardens to the rear that lead to Kilkenny Castle, Butler House is a charming guesthouse that dates back to 1786 and makes for a more than comfortable place to stay, luxury in the centre of the small city.

Kilkenny's Butler Gallery is a modern art gallery in a historic space close to the River Nore. Built on the site of a priory dating back over 800 years and a home for old, retired domestic servants from 1818 to 1997, the Butler Gallery is home to several permanant collections and changing exhibitions.

Upcoming events include a craft fair from Friday 3rd of November to Sunday 5th of November 2023 featuring the best of locally made crafts from jewellery by Christina Keogh to wood-turned bowls by Fred O'Mahony.

Download Panoramic Ireland's PDF guide to Kilkenny here: https://panoramicireland.com/images/PDFs/Panoramic-Ireland-Kilkenny-Guide.pdf

Mulligan's of Poolbeg Street, Dublin

There are quite a few pubs with the name of Mulligan's, this one on Poolbeg Street must be the oldest however. Established in 1782 Mulligan's hasn't changed much for at least 150 years. In the 20th century this was a favourite pub of journalists, The Irish Times has been based close by since 1895. Today this pub is still busy with a mixture of patrons, it specialises in Guinness and some would say, myself included, that Mulligan's does one of the finest pints of Guinness in Ireland. Famous visitors in the past include Judy Garland and John F. Kennedy.

More to come of course, if you have any suggestions for your favourite pubs in Ireland do let me know by sending a message.

O'Donoghue's, Merrion Row, Dublin

Just before we head out of the capital for some of Panoramic Ireland's favourite Irish pubs, let's stop by one of Dublin's most famous pubs - O'Donoghue's. This pub is legendary, it's white and black frontage is distinctive and it was here in the 1960s that The Dubliners, one of Ireland's most famous bands formed and played regularly. Phil Lynott is also said to have played here. Today the pub has music every night of the week and it has an authentic mix of locals and tourists alike.

Foxy John's, Dingle, County Kerry - Ireland

This is one of Ireland's most authentic pubs, doubling up as a hardware shop - note the boxes of things behind the counter here in this image as regulars enjoy a few pints, and a sandwich.

It's one of those places where a barman or barmaid can easily get work in a hardware environment due to that experience of selling pints and nails, sandpaper, hammers, saws, gloves etc... here. It would be a shame to visit Dingle and not visit Foxy John's.

Mark Hamill and the Star Wars crew had a party here when filming on the Dingle Peninsula.

Nancy Blake's, Limerick City, Ireland

This famous Limerick pub has been in the same family ownership since the 1950s, located close to the city's famous Milk Market - home of good local food, Nancy Blake's is one of those truly interesting pubs. Cosy and warm at the front but cavernous out back gives it both a friendly feel but it is also lively with regular band performances. Walk through the front door and you'd be forgiven for thinking it is an old man's bar, with not a lot of interest to the visitor but not at all, the locals and bar staff are welcoming and it's usually possible to find a good place to sit. Definitely one of Panoramic Ireland's favourite places to visit in lovely Limerick.

Kehoe's, South Anne Street, Dublin

Established in 1803 and changed little since, Kehoe's is easy to find as it is located just off Grafton Street and is always busy in the evenings (except during the lockdown obviously). It also sits close to Umbrella Street. I'm not sure if the door was built in quite such a way, my guess is that it has seen a lot of action over the past 200 years. Step inside to this fine pub and find a snug, lots of character, and upstairs, lots of creaky floorboards to tread, tables to sit at and sofas to sit on. Often Kehoe's wins Best Pint of Guinness awards and best Pub awards, with good reason.

Tynan's Bridge House Bar, Kilkenny

Established a full 100 years earlier than Kehoe's above in 1703, Tynan's was originally a pharmacy and grocer and only became a pub in 1919. Sitting on the banks of the River Nore it still retains its old charm, as you enter the front bar you step across a colourful tiled floor, with drawers that would have contained the various spices labelled in yellow writing such as cocoa nibs, epsom salts, nutmeg, allspice, rice and beeswax amongst others. I have seen it mentioned that Tynan's is Kilkenny's oldest pub but I don't think this can be true, even the building is young in Kilkenny terms and especially since, just around the corner on Kieran Street is Kyteler's Inn which dates back as an inn to the mid sixteenth century. But Tynan's is definitely one of the best pubs in Kilkenny, the main bar is a horseshoe of high chairs and little nooks. But for me the front part of the bar as seen in this image, is the nicest. Check out Panoramic Ireland's Guide to Kilkenny for more to do and see in the Marble City.

Swan Bar, Dublin

Dublin's Swan Bar dates in its current form to the last years of the 1800s but a pub has been on this site on the corner of Dublin's York Street and Aungier Street for centuries from when the the road outside was one of the most important thoroughfares in Dublin. The Victorian layout and features remain and the bar even has 'colour TV mid-week' according to the sign above the bar. A fair mix of clientele including locals from the surrounding streets and flats, Dubliners and visitors.

JJ Bowles, Limerick

JJ Bowles has a storied history having been named after a former owner, one of Ireland's most famous handball players, and occupying a building on the river that dates to the 17th century it has been a pub since 1794 making it, according to some, Limerick's oldest pub. The beer garden has fine views of the Shannon and King John's Castle or on a cold, rainy winter's evening there are cosy spots by the fire to keep warm. JJ Bowles has also been voted to have Limerick's best pint of Guinness but I wouldn't know - I had Beamish and Treaty City's fine Harris Pale Ale. Next time...

Oarsman, Ringsend, Dublin

The Oarsman, above, is one of those fine Dublin pubs with the right mix of locals and visitors alike. Conversations flow around every subject matter and it would seem to be a dog friendly establishment.

The interior is wood and clocks, the Oarsman was built in 1816 and featured in James Joyce's Ulysses, when it was known as Tunney's; it sits directly opposite the unmissable Saint Patrick's Church on the edge of Dublin's River Dodder.

I stopped here on my way to photographing Slash at Dublin's 3Arena - formerly the Point.

The Oarsman serves a great pint of Guinness and the bar staff are friendly.