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June - Eigse Carlow Arts
Festival
Eigse Carlow Arts Festival,
Foresters Hall, College Street,
Carlow
Tel: +353 (0)59 9140491
web:
www.eigsecarlow.ie
email:
info@eigsecarlow.ie
One of Ireland's largest arts
festivals, this event is a
ten-day celebration of visual
art, performance, dance, music,
literature, street spectacle,
craft and film. Eigse brings
renowned international and
national artists and performers
to the South East for a series
of exhibitions, performances,
recitals, workshops and talks
for young and old, visitor and
local alike.
June - Carlsberg Cat Laughs
Festival
The Cat Laughs Festival, St.
Francis Abbey Brewery,
Parliament St., Kilkenny
Tel: +353 (0)56 7763837
web:
www.carlsbergcatlaughs.com
email:
tickets@carlsbergcatlaughs.com
The Cat Laughs Festival is an
internationally renowned Annual
Comedy Festival featuring some
of the best of both Irish and
International stand up comedy in
the relaxed surrounds of
Kilkenny's top venues.
July - Opera in the Garden
Tel: +353 053 9255071
web:
www.blackstairsopera.com
email:
sales@blackstairsopera.com
Blackstairs Opera holds an
annual festival and this year it
is taking place in the grounds
of Borris House, Borris, Co.
Carlow.
Carlow Floral Festival – dates
to be confirmed
Tel: +353 059 9130441
web:
www.carlowfloralfestival.com
email:
info@carlowtourism.com
Carlow Floral Festival is a
gardening, flora and nature
extravaganza. The festival
features gardening and floral
workshops, arts & crafts
demonstrations and street
entertainment.
August - Kilkenny Arts Festival
Kilkenny Arts Festival,
9/10 Abbey Business Centre,
Abbey Street, Kilkenny
Tel: +353 (0)56 7763663 or +353
056 7752175
web:
www.kilkennyarts.ie
email:
info@kilkennyarts.ie
The medieval city of Kilkenny
hosts this international
festival which takes place over
10 days in August and attracts
some of the world's leading
artists and performers in a
range of art forms.
Gowran Park Races,
Gowran, Co. Kilkenny
Tel: +353 056 7726225
web:
www.horseracingireland.com
web:
www.gowranpark.ie
Altamont House and Gardens
Summer: Mon. to Thurs, 9am to
5pm; Fri. 9am to 3.30pm;
Weekends, 10.00am to 5.30pm
Altamont Gardens, Tullow, Co.
Carlow.
Tel:+353 (0)59 9159444 or +353
(0)59 9159510
web:
www.heritageireland.ie
Now managed by The Office of
Public Works, these extensive
Gardens were first laid down
almost two hundred years ago. A
delightful formal garden,
adjacent to the house, leads to
the lake area which is a gem in
itself. This in turn leads to
the rough or Wild Garden which
contains many rare and
interesting shrubs and trees
collected by succeeding
generations of the Watson
family. Finally the dramatic Ice
Age Glen overlooks the River
Slaney with its delightful
river-side walk.
Kilfane Glen & Waterfall
Only open July and August
Kilfane, Thomastown, Co.
Kilkenny
Tel: +353 (0)56 7724558
Kilfane is a pristine example of
a Romantic era garden dating
from the 1790's. Untouched for
200 years, it is a picturesque
paradise with a 30-foot
waterfall tumbling its way to a
rushing stream and woodland
paths leading to a cottage orne.
The top part of the garden is
comprised of open areas and
woods with interconnecting
paths. Works of art by artists
such as David Nash, James
Turrell Bill Woodrow, and
William Pye are on display. Near
the house you can enjoy the
white garden, lily pond and
orchard.
Woodstock Gardens and
Arboretum
Summer: 9.00am to 8.00pm
Winter: 10.00am to 4.00pm. Car
park fee 4.00 Euros
Woodstock Estate, Inistioge, Co.
Kilkenny
Tel: +353 (0)56 7758797 or +353
(0)87 8549785
fax: +353 (0)56 7794004
web:
www.woodstock.ie
Woodstock Gardens and Arboretum
are located in the beautiful
village of Inistioge on the
banks of the River Nore. The
gardens were once regarded as
one of the great treasures of
Ireland and Kilkenny County
Council has embarked on an
ambitious scheme of restoration.
Interesting features include the
Flower Terraces, the Winter
Garden, the Monkey Puzzle Walk,
the Noble Fir Walk, and the
Arboretum with a rare collection
of trees from all over the
world. The dovecote and the
curious Grotto provide an
interesting focal point.
Woodstock House, built in 1745,
was destroyed by fire in 1922
and subsequently became
unstable. Access to the gardens
is through the car park .5 km
from the main gates.
Castlecomer Estate Yard
Open 9.30am to 5.30pm and 10am
to 4.30pm, depending on each
shop.
Castlecomer Estate Yard,
Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny
Tel: +353 (0)56 4440636
web:
www.castlecomerestateyard.com
email:
potty@crannmorpottery.com
Visit Castlecomer Estate Yard
Arts and Crafts Centre. Here,
you will find a variety of
wonderful craft shops all coming
together as one.
Nicholas Mosse Pottery and
Mill Cafe
Monday to Saturday 10.00am to
6.00pm. Sunday 1.30pm to
5.00pm
Browse among a selection of
Nicholas Mosse Pottery, linen &
glass, over 3 floors of the
store.
Nicholas Mosse Pottery, Big
Mill, Bennettsbridge, Co
Kilkenny
Tel: +353 (0)56 7727505
fax: +353 (0)56 7727491
web:
www.nicholasmosse.com
email:
info@nicholasmosse.com
Cushendale Woolen Mills Ltd
Mill shop open Mon to Fri,
8.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to
5.30pm
Sat 9.30am to 12.30pm
Cushendale Woolen Mills,
Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny
Tel: +353 (0)59 9724118
web:
www.cushendale.ie email:
info@cushendale.ie
Today Philip Cushen runs one of
only two remaining woollen mills
in Ireland, using looms and
mules that are more than a
century old. His range of lambs
wool, mohair and cotton chenille
textiles, scarves, wraps and
stoles are lusciously dyed in
tones that Philip gauges himself
each year, and cost a fraction
of Dublin prices. He now exports
most of what he makes to the US
and Scandinavia, but keeps some
of his finest product for this
tiny treasure-trove shop. Well
worth a visit.
Kilkenny Castle
The Parade, Kilkenny
Tel: +353 (0)56 7721450
fax: +353 (0)56 7763488
web:
www.heritageireland.ie
April & May, daily from 10.30am
to 5.00pm
June to August, daily from
9.30am to 7.00pm
October to March, daily 10.30am
to 12.45pm and 2pm to 5pm
Please note that visitors may
have to queue for some time
during the summer months.
A 12th century castle remodeled
in Victorian times and set in
extensive parklands which was
the principal seat of the Butler
Family, Marquesses and Dukes of
Ormonde. The Castle was occupied
from the 13th to the 20th
century, with the Butler Family
in residence from 1391 until
1935. The 19th century Picture
Gallery is 45 metres long and
contains many Butler portraits
as well as some fine tapestries,
while the other rooms display
the authentic fabrics that
existed in the house in the 18th
and 19th centuries. The central
block now includes a library,
drawing room and
bedrooms decorated in 1830's
splendour. A suite of former
servants rooms is now the Butler
Art Gallery, which mounts
frequently changing exhibitions
of contemporary art.
St,
Canice's Cathedral
St. Canice's Cathedral,
Irishtown, Kilkenny
Tel: +353 (0)56 7764971
Easter to Oct, Mon - Sat.
10.00am to 1.00pm, 2.00pm to
5.00pm, Sun 2.00pm to 5.00 pm.
Saint Canice's Cathedral
(Anglican), the second longest
of Ireland's medieval
cathedrals, provides a seminal
influence on Kilkenny life.
Built on the site of an earlier
church, which in turn replaced
an earlier timber structure, the
major portion of the work that
produced the beautiful Gothic
structure was carried out by
Bishop Hugh de Mapilton in the
middle of the 13th Century.
Except for the spire, which
collapsed in 1332, the present
building is largely unchanged
from the 13th century. Features
of the cathedral include the
fine collection of 16th and 17th
century tombstones; black marble
monuments to lords, ladies and
bishops, and to Edmund Purcell,
16th century captain of the
Ormond's notorious gallowglasses,
or mercenaries; the 12th century
font and St. Kieran's chair,
built into the cathedral walls
and still used in the
enthronement of the bishops of
Ossory; the Bishop's Palace and
library, founded in 1679 and
containing 3000 works from the
15th, 16th and 17th centuries,
as well as the Red Book of
Ossory, a 15th century
manuscript which chronicles the
lives of early saints. Outside,
the 9th century round tower,
once used by the monks for
refuge, may be climbed (weather
permitting). Fabulous views from
on top!
Duiske Abbey
Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny
Tel: +353 (0)59 9724238
All year round, Monday to
Friday, 10.00 am-5.00 pm;
Duiske Abbey, now the Catholic
parish church, but once the
church of a 13th century
Cistercian monastery, founded in
1204, the remains of which have
been incorporated into the
building. The name derives from
the Gaelic for Black Water - dubh uisce
- a river that joins
the Barrow a little downstream
of the abbey. Duiske Abbey, the
largest of Irish Cistercian
monastery churches and whose
buildings encompassed much of
the town, began to fall apart in
1536 when it was suppressed.
Although the monks continued to
occupy it for many years, it
gradually fell into ruin. The
last tragedy was in 1744, when
the tower collapsed into the
nave. However, the debris from
the tower was smoothed over to
create a new floor and the west
end was re-roofed to make a
place of worship for the
Protestant Church of Ireland. In
1812 the church was returned to
the Catholic community and the
long work of restoration began -
to be completed finally in the
1980's.
Brownshill Dolmen
East of Carlow town, the dolmen
has a granite capstone reputedly
weighing about 100 tons.
Situated 3km from Carlow Town on
the Hacketstown Rd. Access is
direct from car park.
Hacketstown Road (R726), Carlow,
Co. Carlow. This is the world's
largest dolmen.
Haroldstown Dolmen
This fine portal dolmen is
located near Tullow. This dolmen
is on the R726 about 15 miles
from Carlow town. Access is
direct on private land.
Haroldstown Dolmen, Tullow, Co.
Carlow. |
