Editorial: Thomastown deliver on great week for Kilkenny

It’s been a busy few days in Kilkenny, with festival fever transforming the county into a hub of activity.

Savour Kilkenny saw food enthusiasts come to sample tasty offerings —from artisan cheeses to craft beers, and more. The festival showcases the talents of local producers and chefs, highlighting the importance of supporting our food community.

It also brought in a taste of the exotic, with a huge variety of different foreign cuisine — including that prepared and cooked by Kilkenny’s newer communities — given a chance to win over some local converts.

There’s plenty more on the festival front to come. This week, we are celebrating Toil and Trouble. With a mix of workshops, talks, theatre, and other events, visitors are invited to step back in time to 1324 and uncover the tale of Ireland’s first Witchcraft Trial.

Still to come later in the year are Kilkenomics and Yulefest, both with a busy programme of events planned. Also, there’s been some great news in recent days with confirmation that the Subtitle International Film Festival is returning this year, after an absence of five years.

Each of these festivals gives people another reason to visit the city and puts Kilkenny on the map. Each visitor contributes to the local economy—boosting sales for restaurants, hotels and shops.

Congrats the ’Town

Congratulations to our new county champions, Thomastown. It’s a huge win for a side that fought its way up from the intermediate ranks last year, and the challenge was no easy one.

To earn their final berth, they had to overcome the Shamrocks, and then take on last year’s champions, O’Loughlins Gaels.

There is a strong case to make for manager Noel Doherty’s suspension to be lifted. Six months seems excessively harsh given what has been achieved, and what is still to come. There is also a potential role in Derek Lyng’s management team on the line. What’s happening now benefits nobody; common sense is needed.