STORM TRACKER: Follow 'Storm Amy' as it bears down on Ireland amid brutal forecast
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Brother and sister Liam O'Neill (6) and Mia O'Neill (8) from Kilkenny get a look at The Art of Sport exhibition presented by Butler Gallery in partnership with Kilkenny Arts Festival
Over the next 11 days, people will pack into the hallowed halls of St Canice's Cathedral, gaze on Kilkenny Castle with a fresh new perspective, wander the halls of a giant, beautiful, colourful Luminarium in Kilkenny Castle Park, see a rural pub transformed into scenes from the 90s, and so much more in between, as Kilkenny Arts Festival welcomes a whole host of amazing artists from all over the globe.
The festival was launched this evening in the stunning grounds of Butler House and Gardens and the programme will kick off later tonight with global superstar Oumou Sangaré in St Canice's Cathedral tonight from 8pm, followed by a stunning audio visual installation In Good Hands on the walls of Kilkenny Castle at 10.40pm.
John Scott's brand new work Migration Sonata premieres in the Watergate Theatre tomorrow night, while Asylum Theatre and Once Off Productions The Local opens for a totally SOLD OUT run in Ennisnag. Radiohead's Philip Selway will perform with the Irish Chamber Orchestra in St Canice's Cathedral on Friday night, and Cormac Begley and Friends will play on Saturday night. The famed Lunchtime Music Series begins this weekend with Camerata Kilkenny in St John's Priory on Friday and Saturday at 1pm, before the returning Carducci String Quartet continue the series from Sunday through to Wednesday.
The Rollercoaster Sessions kick off properly tomorrow night with Donal Dineen in the Set Theatre, while the Marble City Sessions kick off in the same venue on Sunday night with Iarla O'Lionáird, Cormac McCarthy and Matthew Berrill. Also check out the free B2B DJ set in Smithwicks Barrel Yard at 5pm on Saturday for some late afternoon tunes!
The literature programme begins this weekend in the Parade Tower, with Liz Nugent and Úna Mannion starting the proceedings on Friday at 6pm. Sunday sees the Parade Tower play host to both the Hubert Butler Essay Prize, and Fergus Cronin with Kevin Doherty.
Both of the visual arts exhibitions open this weekend - Deirdre Frost's Big Crush in the Festival Gallery in St Kieran's College (entrance via New Street), and The Art of Sport in Butler Gallery.
These are just a few of the incredible highlights that await you during the first weekend of the Kilkenny Arts Festival 2023.
Check out the full programme running until August 10 at kilkennyarts.ie
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
