Marble City Music Festival
Unit 11, Abbey Lane, Wedo Workspaces, Kilkenny City, R95 KP95
marblecitymusicfestival@gmail.comThe Marble City Music Festival is the vision of Kilkenny native, Patrick Rafter.
Proud Kilkenny man, world renowned violinist, and artistic director of Marble City Music Festival Patrick Rafter teams up with some of Ireland’s finest and most exciting musicians for a series of mesmerising concerts. The festival offers music to suit all tastes, and is the perfect opportunity to engage with classical music in a stunning setting with a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.
Sonix Entertainment Ltd
Westcourt Business Park, Callan, Co. Kilkenny, R95 HXD8
glenntector@gmail.comSonix Entertainment is a premier event and entertainment company based in Kilkenny, offering visitors an exciting taste of the city's vibrant cultural scene. From high-energy live music performances and DJ services to family-focused experiences like Kilkenny Pumpkin Picking and Easter Egg Hunts, Sonix Entertainment brings communities together in a truly memorable way.
By partnering with local venues and embracing Kilkenny's rich heritage, their dedicated team delivers both intimate gatherings and large-scale celebrations infused with the city's unique charm. Whether you're looking to enjoy a festive night out or plan a fun-filled day for the whole family, Sonix Entertainment ensures every event resonates with Kilkenny's friendly spirit and love for good times.
The Sondheim Festival
Watergate Theatre, Parliament Street, Kilkenny
chris@redalchemy.ieChristine Scarry and Red Alchemy Theatre Company, in association with Kilkenny Arts Office, are honoured to present THE SONDHEIM FESTIVAL 2025 - celebrating the life and work of theatre titan, Stephen Sondheim - which takes place over the weekend of 15th and 16th of February, with the main events being held at the Watergate Theatre.
The Sondheim Festival is thrilled to announce that Olivier-nominated actress, Rachel Tucker, will deliver two Performance Masterclasses on 15 February.
Following last year’s hugely successful masterclasses with the incredible Liz Callaway and Paul Monaghan, The Sondheim Festival is thrilled to announce that Olivier-nominated actress, Rachel Tucker, will deliver two Performance Masterclasses at The Sondheim Festival exploring a wealth of songs from Sondheim’s repertoire.
This is an amazing opportunity to learn from one of the most iconic performers in musical theatre – and the longest-running consecutive Elphaba in the history of Wicked!
These classes will take place on stage at The Watergate Theatre from 10:30am-1:00pm and 2:00-4:30pm on Saturday, 15 February, 2025.
Observer tickets only can be purchased here.
Participant places are very strictly limited and by application only. If you are interested in taking part in the Performance Masterclass, please email thesondheimfestival@gmail.com to register your interest as soon as possible.
About Rachel
Rachel became best known for her interpretation of Elphaba in London’s West End production of Wicked at the Apollo Theatre. After playing the role for three years and over one thousand performances she became the show’s longest running consecutive ‘Green Witch’ and, as a consequence was invited to play Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway. In 2017 Rachel was invited back to Apollo Theatre to portray Elphaba as part of Wicked’s 10th Anniversary celebrations in London. Rachel’s own iconic version of Defying Gravity can be found on her first studio album The Reason, which was released in 2013.
Rachel is currently starring as Persephone in Hadestown at the Lyric Theatre in London, following her performance in Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre, playing the lead role of Norma Desmond alongside Nicole Scherzinger. Prior to that, she starred in Come From Away at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway, playing the role of Annette/Beverley Bass, the role she originated in London. Rachel received an Olivier Nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical at the 2019 Olivier Awards and she won Best Supporting Actress in a Musical at the 2020 WhatsOnStage Awards for her performance of this role.
Discover the secrets to a rich, dynamic speaking voice that captivates audiences. This workshop explores resonance, projection, and vocal expressiveness, equipping performers with tools to command the stage. Learn to harness your breath, find clarity in tone, and bring power and allure to every word you speak.
Irene O’Mara is a voice and acting coach; she holds an MA in Voice Studies from Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. Her teaching includes actor training for theatre, voice and movement for performance, accent and dialect, vocal health awareness and public speaking. She is influenced by the work of Kristin Linklater, Michael Chekhov, Catherine Fitzmaurice, Cicely Berry and Barbara Houseman.
Previous accent coaching work includes: The Glass Menagerie (Dir. Emma Jordan, The Everyman) & Graham Norton’s Holding (Dir. Kathy Burke, ITV Studios). In addition to these projects, Irene also works extensively delivering voice and accent workshops to a wide range of clients in Ireland. She lectures in voice and acting at MTU Cork School of Music for the BA Theatre & Drama Studies and Musical Theatre degrees.
Ireland’s foremost musical director, David Hayes, will lead another wonderful afternoon of Singing on Sunday at the Watergate Theatre.Enjoy exploring a Sondheim favourite in a thrilling choral setting, with David’s unique and special focus on interpretation, intent and joy!
Open to anyone who loves singing … groups and individuals are all welcome for this Sunday afternoon musical hug.
Attend both the ‘Choral Workshop with David Hayes’ and ‘An Audience with Rachel Tucker’ for €50.
Discount will be automatically applied once tickets to both events are in your cart online.
Yulefest Kilkenny
Kilkenny’s medieval city & county will transform into a wonderland of festive cheer for all the family this Christmas season!
Yulefest Kilkenny has something for all age groups, whether you’re looking for a festive staycation or to create a magical Christmas for the kids. Visitors can expect Christmas markets, live music, Christmas gardens, light displays, visits from the man in red himself plus some very special events. All alongside Kilkenny’s great shopping and food options. See Kilkenny’s medieval city through the twinkling of Christmas lights and come celebrate Christmas in Kilkenny with Yulefest. Beginning with Santa’s arrival on November 30th 2024!
St. Patrick’s Festival Kilkenny
During the St. Patrick’s Festival, Kilkenny city and county come alive with pageantry, craic agus ceol. Centred around the St. Patrick’s Day Parade but stretching across the weekend, visitors can enjoy the thrill of American Marching Bands, a parade of local colour, interactive workshops for all ages and the best in live Irish music at Kilkenny Tradfest. All in a small intimate city that’ll make you feel right at home.
St. Patrick’s Day may be celebrated all around the world but there is nothing quite like celebrating it in Ireland. With a packed St. Patrick’s Festival programme, a wealth of heritage and culture, and so much to do and see, Kilkenny is the perfect place to spend St. Patrick’s 2025!
Festival activities include:
- St. Patrick's Day Parade
- Street Entertainment
- Live Music
- Interactive Workshops
- The Big Wheel
...Plus lots more special events to be announced!
For more information check out the website and social media channels.
Savour Kilkenny Food Festival
One of Ireland’s favourite food festivals, Savour Kilkenny marks the end of autumn in the stunning setting of Kilkenny’s Medieval city. Known for its diversity and quality of food producers, distilleries, breweries, restaurants and cafés, Kilkenny is home to some of Ireland’s and Europe’s best food.
Taking place over the October bank holiday weekend Savour Kilkenny brings visitors on a journey of discovery and taste that will truly awaken the senses! With a programme that showcases the very best of Kilkenny and Irish products, chefs and culinary ideas.
Expect talks from experts, demos from top chefs, unique dining experiences and all the food stalls you can imagine packaged into a festive atmosphere in the beautiful surrounds of Kilkenny city. Entry to the Savour Market and the majority of cookery demos and talks is free!
A visit to Savour is the perfect foodie weekend away or day trip with the family. Follow @SavourKilkenny for programme announcements and the latest event news.
This is a weekend you won’t want to miss so get planning and book your trip to Kilkenny for the October Bank Holiday weekend!
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Kilkenny Arts Festival
Since its foundation in 1974, Kilkenny Arts Festival has gathered many of the world’s finest musicians, performers, writers and artists in Ireland’s medieval city each August. For ten days, the city’s historic churches, castle, courtyards, townhouses and gardens offer a magical setting for unique collaborations and intimate encounters between audiences and artists.
Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival
Kilkenny Cat Laughs is Ireland’s annual craic pilgrimage, and has been heralding the start of the summer season since 1995. Now in it’s 25th edition, the festival has played host over the years to international and domestic world class comedy and is renowned for treating both talent and audience to a warm, welcoming and convivial atmosphere in Kilkenny, at the heart of Ireland’s Ancient East. Cat Laughs has a reputation for being the comedians’ comedy festival, and for creating an atmosphere where anything can happen.
Over the years the festival has nurtured the fledgling careers of Irish acts like Dara Ó Briain, Aisling Bea, Graham Norton, Dylan Moran, Maeve Higgins, Ardal O’Hanlon, Joanne McNally, Deirdre O’Kane, David O’Doherty, Des Bishop and many, many more. We have also welcomed international luminaries like Bill Murray, Zach Galifianakis, Laura Kightlinger, Bill Burr, George Wendt, Ross Noble, Peter Kay, Bill Bailey, Tig Notaro, Emo Philips and Sarah Millican among others.
In 2017, Matt Smyth and Dan Colley of Collapsing Horse Theatre took over the reins as Artistic Directors, bringing some of their own comedy influences onboard and and building on the fine legacy of the festival. They took the helm again in 2018 and 2019 and look forward to combining the best in comedy standup with new names in the world of improv, sketch, podcasts and more. Roll on summer!
Kilkenomics Festival
Kilkenomics is Europe’s first economics festival which brings together some of the world’s leading economists, financial analysts and media commentators with some of our funniest, sharpest standup comedians. We’ve been called “Davos with jokes” and we wouldn’t disagree with that assessment.
Our informal, entertaining formats invite our audiences to engage and enjoy. As we like to say: it’s serious, but it’s fun too! Jump into Kilkenomics now and engage with as many shows as possible, equip yourself with the information and insight we hope can help us all make smart choices for our futures - inform and entertain yourselves.
People who have taken part in previous years include David McWilliams (co-founder of the festival), Constantin Gurdgiev, Max Keiser, Gillian Tett, Rory Sutherland, Linda Yueh and Yanis Varoufakis.
Smithwick’s Kilkenny Roots Festival
The Smithwick’s Kilkenny Roots Festival will celebrate its 25th year with a wide range of Irish and international acts, performing in venues throughout Kilkenny city from 28th April to 1st May. Since 1998 the festival has attracted some of the finest names in the Americana/Roots canon, including Calexico, Giant Sand, Ryan Adams, Alejandro Escovedo, Guy Clark, Chuck Prophet, Ray LaMontagne, Richmond Fontaine, Rodney Crowell, Phosphorescent, Sturgill Simpson and Alabama Shakes.
Audiences wind their way through the medieval streets sampling the huge range of music in the 30 plus venues, hosting over 40 Irish and international acts, with over 90 ticketed and free shows from early afternoon until late into the night.
There’s a mixture of old and new acts on the free pub gig trail and all styles are catered for, from swing to bluegrass, rockabilly to cajun, folk, blues and beyond.
Subtitle European Film Festival
The festival brings together a selection of European films that invites you to see cinema in a whole new way. Many of the films in the 2017 festival have never been screened theatrically in Ireland and 15 of them are Irish premieres; highlights for this year include a special VIP preview of Aku Louhimies’s epic film UNKNOWN SOLDIER, which has already smashed box office records in Finland; Valery Todorovsky’s terrific drama, BOLSHOI (he will be in Kilkenny to present both screenings), Alexei Uchitel’s lavish new picture, MATILDA and Tonie Marshall’s outstanding new film, NUMBER ONE (she will be in Kilkenny too).
For our 2017 edition, we are presenting 29 films. We have a terrific collection of thrillers, dramas and comedies from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, The Netherlands, Russia, Georgia and Bulgaria. We are very excited about the mix of movies available and we are confident that there’s something on offer for all tastes. There will be over 200 guests in Kilkenny for the festival, including over 50 brilliant European actors and some of the finest casting directors on the planet.
The Iverk Show
The Iverk show, The oldest show in Ireland, is a one day traditional yet modern. Now in its 188th year the Iverk show is a family / community based event hosting All Ireland championship finals and qualifiers for other finals. There are local classes for horses, sheep, crafts, cattle, flowers, poultry, dogs, fruit, cakes, vegetables, farm produce, arts, jams and honey. There are classes are for adults and children with special sections for primary and secondary schools. There is a competition for the ‘Most Appropriately Dressed Lady’ and a bonny baby competition as well as a fashion show. A display of vintage cars, tractors and machinery with working demonstrations is one of the highlights.
The 100’s of trade stands from large outdoor exhibits to small indoor industries & artisan food stands attracts local and national food producers. A garden and entertainment section has been developed in the past couple of years. The show has a total prize fund of almost €30,000.
Town of Books Graiguenamanagh
Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny
irelandstownofbooks@gmail.comThe Graiguenamanagh ‘Town of Books’ Festival, now in its 21st year, was ‘born’ in 2003. From its origins as a small weekend event promoted on an experimental basis for one year, it has now grown into a fully-fledged festival that features art, music, food and crafts, and a whole host of fringe activities. Of course, at its core the Graiguenamanagh ‘Town of Books’ retains its original vision, to transform Graiguenamanagh, for one weekend only, into a book lovers' paradise where booksellers are matched up with a number of empty spaces in the town.
Kilkenny Tradfest
Celebrating Irish traditional and folk music with ceol agus craic. Kilkenny Tradfest takes place each March, on the St. Patrick's festival weekend, in the fantastic pubs and venues of Kilkenny city.
With headline gigs, the Bulmers Music Trail, and a mix of ticketed and free events, there is a gig,session and venue to suit everyone. Plus, St. Patrick’s Festival Kilkenny takes place on the same weekend. Guaranteed fun from day to night!
Visit KilkennyTradfest.com to plan your St. Patrick's weekend of music in Kilkenny!
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