Welcome to Kilkenny Castle and Parklands
Few buildings in Ireland can boast a longer history of continuous occupation than Kilkenny Castle.
Founded soon after the Norman conquest of Ireland, the Castle has been rebuilt, extended and adapted to suit changing circumstances and uses over a period of 800 years.
Today, Kilkenny Castle is open to visitors all year round and is largely a Victorian remodelling of the thirteenth century defensive Castle.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors come to see this grand country house and walk through its fifty acres of rolling parkland with mature trees and an abundance of wildlife.
Other features include a formal terraced rose garden, woodlands and a man-made lake, which were added in the nineteenth century.
There is also a tearoom, playground and several orienteering trails for visitors to enjoy.
Please note that Free admission on the first Wednesday of each month is no longer applicable at Kilkenny Castle. Click here for the full list of participating sites.
Book your tickets
Plan your visit
Our exhibitions
The Castle Blog
Read the latest posts below, and click through to the full Castle Blog for all news updates.
The Duke Of Ormond – TY Project
Young James Butler was born on the 19th of October 1610, in England, with his parents being Thomas and Elizabeth Butler. His father drowned off Skerries in 1619, when James was just nine years old, which made him the viscount Thurles. His mother took him back to...
Some Connections between Norman families and the origins of the Butler family.
With the Ormonde-Butler family, there is reliable documented evidence from the 12th Century up to the present day. It is remarkable to have such an extant record of one single family, albeit with omissions about the careers and lives of some of the family. One famous...
The Month of January and Kilkenny Castle.
Located in the Main Hall of Kilkenny Castle today, there are a pair of beautifully decorated bronze urns originally designed for a garden. The pair are very fine copies of two bronze urns designed in the Louis XIV style by Claude Ballin for Versailles. The...