Down by the boardwalk! Kilkenny's old courting spot has never looked better

I was delighted this week to receive an invitation from council chairman Michael McCarthy to the official opening of the new, improved Lacken Boardwalk on Monday.

The event will be a poignant one for me because a similar ‘ribbon cutting’ — for the original, timber walkway — was the first marking I covered as a cub reporter for the Kilkenny People in March 2012. It’s like a nice little life marker moment almost 13 years on. It made me take stock and realise how much time has gone by.

The old boardwalk was a breakthrough amenity, and with the addition of the pedestrian bridge under Ossory Bridge, completed a nice loop with the Canal Walk, and offered the option of progressing further along out as far as Bennettsbridge.  Over the past decade, it’s been one of my favourite places to walk.

I’m given to understand that before ever there was a boardwalk there, the area was a popular ‘courting spot’ for young couples going back time immemorial, (so I was told — by then-Mayor David Fitzgerald as he helped cut the ribbon back in March 2012!)

Also in attendance that day was then-council chairman Paul Cuddihy, who first mooted the boardwalk idea back in 2005. He attributed his initial inspiration for the scheme to an article penned by famed Kilkenny essayist Hubert Butler in the 1950s, which called for a such a development along the Nore banks.

Now, in 2025, the completed project has seen the replacement of the existing 1.2m wide timber boardwalk with a c.3.6m wide boardwalk made from recycled composite materials. It’s more accessible to wheelchair users, those with reduced mobility and to those with prams as well as dog walkers.

Made from a recycled and more durable composite material, it is a fantastic addition to Kilkenny’s riverside amenity. Funding for the project was secured under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme, supplemented by the council’s own funds.

The next phase will hopefully see a landscaping project for the planting of around 2,500 native tree saplings, including alder, birch, hawthorn, willow, oak and elderberry, all of which will be complimented by the sowing of a native woodland seed mix.
 I’m really looking forward to the summer — a busy boardwalk, people out strolling, having picnics in those wider seating areas, enjoying the beauty of the river and the sunshine, the shade of the trees — all just a 10-minute walk from the city centre.

Meanwhile, some development at the adjacent St Canice’s Hospital site has potential to turn it into one of Kilkenny’s best amenities. A mixed use site, including residential, overlooking the river while respecting the natural environment, and opening up the boardwalk space, would be the envy of any other town or city.

Four years ago, there was talk of an exciting masterplan for the 61-acre site, initially mooted in 2019. Dozens of submissions were made during a public consultation process that concluded in July 2021, but there has been little word since. It’s a substantial landbank, so let’s hope for something soon.

The additional footfall and activity arising from the development of the Canice’s site would also hopefully offer some passive surveillance and security.

Not long after the original wooden boardwalk opened, there were some unpleasant incidents — rogues who callously hacked down young trees to get better access to do some fishing, and other scofflaws who fenced off random sections with barbed wire to graze their horses, and threw lifebuoys out into the river.

Hopefully, people will respect this wonderful new amenity and enjoy it for what it is. Owners who clean up after their pets, all walkers, and courting couples will treasure it for years to come.