Kilkenny Arts Festival 2026

For ten days each August, the city’s historic churches, castle, courtyards, townhouses and gardens offer a magical setting for unique collaborations and intimate encounters between audiences and artists.

For over 50 years, Kilkenny Arts Festival has been one of the leading festivals in Ireland, celebrated for its effortless blend of tradition and innovation, and for its electrifying range of events, staged in some of the country’s loveliest venues.

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. For ten days each August, the city’s historic churches, castle, courtyards, townhouses and gardens offer a magical setting for unique collaborations and intimate encounters between audiences and artists.

From outdoor theatre to contemporary dance, the Festival is dedicated to staging events of the highest calibre, thrilling audiences of all kinds. Classical music has been at the core of the Festival from the very beginning, and recent concerts have featured an astonishing number of globally acclaimed artists including Sir András Schiff, Mari Samuelsen, Anne Sofie von Otter, Alina Ibragimova, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Nathalie Stutzmann, Alfred Brendel, Roderick Williams, Les Arts Florissants and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.