Make Butler House Your Kilkenny Festival Base
Stay beside Kilkenny Castle and enjoy festivals across the city, with selected events at Butler House and Castle Yard
Make Butler House & Garden your base for a festival break in Kilkenny. Our 17-bedroom Georgian house within the Kilkenny Castle Demesne places you close to The Parade, Castle Yard and many city-centre festival venues. From traditional music and summer arts to autumn food and Christmas celebrations, enjoy the city’s programme before returning to the calm of our house and walled garden.
During selected festivals, the celebrations continue at Butler House itself, with special dining and cultural experiences adding another reason to stay. Our private garden gate opens into Castle Yard, connecting you with its working craft studios and events. This guide pairs Kilkenny’s seasonal festival highlights with the pleasures of making Butler House your home for a night or two.
Kilkenny Festival Calendar at a Glance
The timing below is a planning guide. Dates, venues and programmes vary each year. Follow the festival links for current announcements and ticket information.
|
Festival |
Timing |
Main focus |
| March |
Parade and street entertainment |
|
|
March |
Traditional music and song |
|
|
May Bank Holiday weekend |
Roots and Americana music |
|
|
June Bank Holiday weekend |
Stand-up comedy |
|
|
August |
Music, performance and visual arts |
|
|
September |
Animation and visual storytelling |
|
|
22nd - 26th of October |
Food, drink and local producers |
|
| Kilkenny’s Toil & Trouble Festival |
29 October - 1 November |
Halloween festival |
|
6th - 8th November |
Economics and comedy |
|
|
28th Nov - 23rd Dec |
Markets, music and festive events |
Spring Festivals in Kilkenny
St Patrick’s Festival Kilkenny
St Patrick’s Festival Kilkenny brings colour and celebration to the city in March, with a parade, street entertainment and live performances. It is a lovely opportunity to combine a spring city break with Kilkenny’s celebration of Irish culture.
Kilkenny TradFest
Kilkenny TradFest takes place in March around St Patrick’s Day, bringing traditional Irish music and song to venues across the city. Concerts, workshops and a music trail offer different ways to enjoy the programme, including both ticketed and free performances.
Kilkenny Roots Festival
As spring continues, the Kilkenny Roots Festival brings Irish and international Roots and Americana artists to venues across the city over the May Bank Holiday weekend. It is an ideal time to combine live music with a few relaxed days exploring Kilkenny on foot.
Summer Festivals in Kilkenny
Cat Laughs Comedy Festival
For decades, Kilkenny has been closely associated with comedy, and the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival brings leading Irish and international comedians to the city. Performances take place in venues throughout Kilkenny, creating a lively atmosphere across the June Bank Holiday weekend.
Back at Butler House, the walled garden offers a quieter contrast to the city's energy, with space to pause over Cream Tea, lunch, or a drink before heading out again.
Kilkenny Arts Festival
Kilkenny Arts Festival takes place in August and has brought artists, musicians and performers to the city since 1974. Historic churches, gardens, courtyards, theatres and public spaces become settings for performances and exhibitions, allowing visitors to experience both the city and the arts in a very special way.
Butler House and Castle Yard have a strong connection with the festival and have hosted exhibitions, sculpture and intimate garden performances. The house itself is also home to works from the Sir Basil Goulding Art Collection, on loan from Butler Gallery, adding another layer to a cultural stay in Kilkenny.
Autumn Festivals in Kilkenny
Kilkenny Animated
Kilkenny Animated celebrates visual storytelling, illustration and animation, reflecting the city’s strong creative identity. Its programme gives visitors an opportunity to explore the art of animation and the people behind it. Check the official festival website for the timing and format of the next edition.
Savour Kilkenny Food Festival
Savour Kilkenny Food Festival takes place over the October Bank Holiday weekend, bringing markets, demonstrations, dining events and local producers to the city. With The Parade close by, Butler House is a lovely base for exploring the festival. The house also hosts its own special dining experiences, so your festival break can include an evening around our long table or Georgian Afternoon Tea, with living history in neighbouring Castle Yard.
Savour Festival at Butler House in 2026
As Butler House celebrates 240 years, our 2026 Savour programme brings Georgian dining, Afternoon Tea and medieval food heritage to the house and neighbouring Castle Yard. Stay with us and make these experiences part of your Kilkenny festival weekend. The events below take place on 24 and 25 October 2026.
1786 Long Table Dinner
Experience Georgian Kilkenny with an intimate evening in the historic dower house of Kilkenny Castle. Begin in the Garden View Room with an arrival cocktail and handcrafted canapés, before gathering around the long dining table in the Lady Eleanor Restaurant.
Inspired by authentic period menus, the five-course dinner pays homage to Georgian dining and celebrates the produce of County Kilkenny and the surrounding countryside. Local game, fresh fish, regional vegetables and fruits from the garden bring the house’s culinary heritage to the table.
Date: Sunday 25 October 2026
Time: 7 pm for the arrival cocktail and canapés
Venue: Arrival in the Garden View Room, followed by dinner in the Lady Eleanor Restaurant
Price: €95 per person, including the arrival cocktail, canapés and a five-course dinner
Pre-booking is essential, and seating at the long table is limited. Call 056 772 2828 or email res@butler.ie. The menu is tailored to the occasion, so please ask about your dietary requirements when booking.
Georgian Afternoon Tea
Settle into the Lady Eleanor Restaurant for Georgian Afternoon Tea, surrounded by original decorative ceilings, large bow windows and views across the walled garden towards Kilkenny Castle. Enjoy homemade sweet treats and savoury delights, with a celebratory glass of bubbles included.
Date: Saturday 24 October 2026
Time: Tea served from 1 pm to 3 pm
Venue: Lady Eleanor Restaurant
Price: €49 per person, including a glass of bubbles
Pre-booking is essential. Call 056 772 2828 or email res@butler.ie. The menu is tailored to the occasion, so please ask about your dietary requirements when booking.
Déise Medieval in Castle Yard
Discover the flavours and culinary heritage of early Ireland with Déise Medieval, a living history society bringing the food, skills, crafts and combat of the early to mid-medieval period to life. Live re-enactments throughout the day offer a glimpse of how our ancestors lived and feasted, just through Butler House’s private gate into Castle Yard.
Dates: Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October 2026
Time: 10.30 am to 4.30 pm each day
Venue: Castle Yard
Admission: Free
Make a weekend of Savour Kilkenny. Check availability at Butler House and book your dining experience separately using the contact details above.
Kilkenny’s Toil & Trouble Festival
Kilkenny’s Toil & Trouble Festival brings Halloween festivities to the city, adding another highlight to its autumn calendar. Kilkenny’s Toil & Trouble Festival brings Halloween festivities to the city, adding another highlight to its autumn calendar. Inspired by Alice Kyteler and the Kilkenny Witch Trials, the festival celebrates local folklore, medieval history and storytelling, bringing together artists, musicians and writers.
Kilkenomics
November brings Kilkenomics, a distinctive festival where economics, current affairs and comedy meet. Talks and conversations take place across the city, drawing visitors from Ireland and further afield.
Winter Festivals in Kilkenny
Yulefest Kilkenny
Yulefest brings Christmas markets, music, craft and seasonal events to Kilkenny, with its main Christmas celebrations in November and December. The wider winter programme can extend into January. The Parade is one of the centres of the festivities, making Butler House a lovely base for Christmas shopping, festive dining and a winter city break. Check individual event dates before planning your stay.
Castle Yard is also well worth exploring at this time of year. Its working craft studios continue Kilkenny’s long association with Irish design and making, offering the opportunity to meet craftspeople and discover gifts created here in the city.
Make Butler House Your Base for Kilkenny Festivals
A festival stay at Butler House brings the city’s cultural life together with the comfort of a small Georgian house. Spend the day exploring performances, exhibitions or food markets, then return to the walled garden and a room with its own individual character. During selected festivals, you can also enjoy special events at Butler House or in neighbouring Castle Yard as part of your visit.
Stay in one of just 17 individually designed bedrooms, begin the morning with breakfast in the Lady Eleanor Restaurant, or linger over Afternoon Tea, Cream Tea or relaxed dining overlooking the garden and Kilkenny Castle beyond.
Festival dates and programmes change each year, so we recommend checking individual festival websites when planning your visit. Popular festival weekends can also fill quickly, so it's worth checking Butler House availability early.
Butler House & Garden and the adjacent Kilkenny Castle Yard are owned and managed by the Kilkenny Civic Trust, a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to protect, enhance, and promote heritage in Kilkenny. Butler House & Garden Celebrating 240 years. A member of Ireland's Blue Book.