August: Local business scoops national award and Kilkenny appears in high profile TV series

August brought a mixed bag of fortune on the Kilkenny newsfront as age-old businesses closed their doors, new ones began, awards were claimed and famous faces made a trip Noreside.

The month began on a positive note for one Kilkenny family as they collected a cheque for €1 million from National Lottery HQ.

The family were on their holidays in Clifden, Co. Galway when they purchased their winning ticket for the Lotto Plus One draw in Kavanagh's SuperValu, situated in the heart of the scenic coastal town.

The month also delivered two major accolades for Kilkenny's hospitality industry.

The Left Bank in Kilkenny City was named as the winner of the 'City Bar of the Year' category at the Bar of the Year Awards.

Kilkenny bar was chosen as the category winner after rigorous evaluation and deliberation by an esteemed panel of industry experts.

There was further good news for Bennettsbridge coffee shop, Crafted, who were named as one of 21 great road stops in Ireland by the Irish Times. Owned by Katie Gordan and Gail Johnson, the Co Kilkenny store offers customers a unique blend of hot drinks, snacks and an opportunity to browse through crafts curated by the two local business people.

The article complimented the local business, located on Main Street in the village, stating: "Crafted offers a rest point for walkers, cyclists and motorists alike. Owners, Katie Gordon and Gail Johnson use local ingredients for their varied menus."

However, it wasn't all good news for the local hospitality industry as August marked the end of an era for Keogh's Model Bakery in Kilkenny City.

The store, located on James' Street in Kilkenny City thanked all their loyal customers for all their support given to the shop over the years and reminded customers their stock will still be available in local supermarkets and by order in their Callan shop.

There was further bad news for the tourism industry when a water-activity business in Kilkenny City was forced to relocate operations due to ongoing interference from 'young troublemakers'.

The business owner, who wished to remain unidentified, called for more to be done to tackle the ongoing anti-social behaviour by a small number of river jumpers on the riverfront in the city.

The end of the month brought happier news for Kilkenny People readers following news of an exciting new series taking to the screens.

'The Inheritance', which aired on UK network, Channel 5, was filmed in a number of locations across Kilkenny during the summer months.

Around 100 cast and crew members stayed in Kilkenny for the duration of the shoot, while the drama was produced by Richard Cook, who is well known locally as the founder of The Cat Laughs Festival, Subtitle and in the setting up of 'Kilkenomics'.

It wasn't just TV stars on our streets in August as some well-known faces in the sporting world made an appearance. 

Former international rugby player Peter Stringer was spotted in Kilkenny in the first week of the month.

The well-known athlete enjoyed breakfast in Arán with local tech investor Brendan Morrissey.

Stringer was an accomplished scrum-half for Ireland before retiring in June 2018.

Local sports stars came together later in the month in aid of a worthy cause, taking part in a cricket match in Castleblunden to raise funds for Kilkenny based mental health charity, Teac Tom.

TJ Reid, the Downey sisters and Eddie Keher were just some of the names in attendance for a fundraiser which raised enough funds to provide enough funding for 62 counselling sessions for people in need.