May - Violent incidents leave city shaken, new Rose of Kilkenny is revealed

Two violent incidents within 14 hours of each other in Kilkenny City in early May left the local community shaken and struggling to comprehend what has happened.

Gardaí launched an investigation into all the circumstances surrounding the death of a man following a stabbing incident in the Hebron Road area in Kilkenny City. READ MORE BELOW

May was the dawn of a new era for the South-East of Ireland as the region’s first university officially came into existence.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris officially signed the order under the Technological Universities Act 2018 to establish South East Technological University (SETU) on the first day of May.

Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce announced a new president with the Brian Keyes, Editorial Operations Director at Iconic Newspapers taking over the role following two years of distinguished service from Colin Ahern, General Manager of the Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel.

Kilkenny had another lucky lotto millionaire, with the unknown punter purchasing their ticket at Centra on Main Street in Mooncoin. The winning ticket was worth the mammoth sum of €8,508,720. The local outlet that sold it also sold a €6,834,410 jackpot winning ticket in 2019.

Darkness Into Light
Thousands of alarm clocks went off early on one Saturday morning in May as the people of Kilkenny got up to walk from Darkness Into Light.

The 5k walk, which allowed people to connect with their local community while raising funds for Pieta, was a huge hit in the county with people turning out in great numbers to support the return of the organised walk into sunrise.

There as excitement as the public realm surrounding the Brewhouse building in the Abbey Quarter, namely Horse Barrack Lane and The Brewhouse Square was officially opened by Minister Darragh O’Brien.

There was a public viewing of what was described as ‘a game-changing Phase One’ of a €200 million regeneration project for Kilkenny City, enhancing the entire area for both local people and visitors. 

Castlecomer student Molly Coogan was named the new Kilkenny Rose this month.

The 20-year-old was chosen from a group of 25 Rose hopefuls at a gala event in the Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel. There was an electric atmosphere for the event, with family and friends enthusiastically supporting all the ladies.

A lifetime’s service to music was recognised as veteran broadcaster Johnny Barry was given a civic reception.
Johnny, who made a mark on the lives of thousands of listeners, was feted by Mayor of Kilkenny Andrew McGuinness at a special reception which was attended by family, friends and work colleagues in City Hall. Johnny, who turned 80 the next month, was retiring from his weekly radio show on KCLR.

At the May monthly meeting of Kilkenny County Council, the elected members paid tribute to Chief Executive Colette Byrne as she prepared to step down from the role after seven years of service in the coming weeks. Various speakers took to the floor to highlight some of their experiences working alongside Ms Byrne as she served as Chief Executive.