March: Kilkenny goes green for the first ever virtual St Patrick’s Day Parade

Kilkenny native and RTÉ sports and news presenter Evanne Ní Chuilinn hosted Kilkenny’s first ever virtual St Patrick’s Day celebrations in March.
The city’s traditional weekend of music and parade through the winding history-laden streets will move to the virtual highway instead and will feature concerts, arts events, environmental projects and presentations. A virtual parade featuring Kilkenny’s citizens and diaspora as well as celebrating the current stars of animation, the Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated Cartoon Saloon along with their musical collaborators, Kila, in a vibrant celebration of
the artistic and historic tapestry of Cill Chainnigh took place in March.
Festival manager Marian Flannery said that the festival was delighted to be working with Evanne.
It was also announced that artists and arts organisations in Kilkenny €1million from The Arts Council to help deal with the fallout from the pandemic.
Kilkenny organisations to benefit are The Butler Gallery (€356,400), KCAT (€70,000), Kilkenny Arts Festival (€452,727), The Watergate Theatre (€97,000) and Young Irish Film Makers (€77,710).
In more positive news funding of €500,000 was allocated to Goatsbridge Trout Farm in Thomastown for the upgrade of production facilities. The funding is part of a scheme announced by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue. The grants are co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.
Deputy John McGuinness said welcomed the announcment and described it as ‘ very positive news’.
After much discussion and debate Kilkenny County Council has adopted new bylaws setting out guidelines for horse welfare and the use of horses in the city, coming into effect from May 1.
The new bylaws create a central area of 26 city streets from which horses are excluded, except in some special circumstances. The bylaws prepared through consultation with gardaí and stakeholders, were agreed after a vote of 20-1. Cllr Maria Dollard was the only member of Kilkenny County Council to vote against the bylaws. She said the new bylaws were ‘a sledgehammer to crack a nut’ and described the implications of them as ‘systemic racism’.