kilkennyarts.

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Dreams and discoveries in Ireland’s medieval city
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Welcome to eleven days of dreams and discoveries in Ireland’s medieval city… INTRODUCTION

Kilkenny (Cill Chainnigh or the Church of Canice) offers the visitor one of Ireland’s most memorable architectural ensembles, as a vibrant
living city still laid out along its ‘medieval mile’ from the castle to the cathedral. Its history stretches back 1,500 years to the arrival of
Canice and his fellow monks to found a new monastic settlement on the hill where St Canice’s Cathedral still stands. Few festivals in
the world can boast such atmospheric ancient spaces, echoing their history but ideal for performance and embracing the visitors and
audiences of today.
Welcome to the 46th Kilkenny Arts Festival!
This year’s programme is full of heart, passion and imagination and we can’t wait to share it with you. For the
46th time, Kilkenny itself becomes the Festival stage, its stunning cityscape and extraordinary spaces temporarily
taken over and set alight by artistic fire and spirit. Our creators and performers will thrill, excite and provoke you
and we hope you’ll join them for artistic adventures in our beautiful city and beyond.

PHOTO PAT MOORE

St Canice’s Cathedral, 13th century
However special our musicians may be, there’s always an
extra shiver down the spine when you hear their music
reverberate in the magnificent acoustics of the second
longest cathedral nave in Ireland with its glorious timbered
ceiling. St Canice’s has been at the heart of the Festival since
our first edition in 1974.
St Kieran’s College, 19th century
Established in 1782, St Kieran’s College was the first Catholic
college in Ireland founded after Grattan’s Parliament had
relaxed the penal laws. The magnificent neo-Gothic building
was completed in 1836 and its quad provides the perfect
space for outdoor performances.
The Black Abbey, 13th century
Founded in the 1220s by a group of Dominican friars, the
Black Abbey takes its name from the black ‘cappa’ that friars
wore over their white habits in the middle ages. Converted to
a courthouse by James I, it was restored and reopened in the
nineteenth century and has hosted many memorable Festival
performances over the years.
There’s something for everyone in Kilkenny this summer. We’re collaborating on major productions with two very
Kilkenny Castle, 12th century
different but equally bold theatre companies: Rough Magic and Asylum Productions. We’re always eager to bring
This imposing stronghold of the Ormondes and Chief Butlers
you to new places and so, for the first time, you’ll experience our open-air Shakespeare in the special surroundings
of Ireland provides the Festival with a stunning space
of the Quad at St Kieran’s College, while the town of Callan itself will be the stage for a promenade production of
for talks and conversation in the lofty Parade Tower. Its
Thomas Kilroy’s iconic novel The Big Chapel.
magnificent demesne, the Castle Park, is an oasis of calm for
locals and visitors alike in the heart of the medieval city, and
Since the very beginning, Kilkenny Arts Festival has invited the world’s leading artists to perform in some of the
also the location for many of our free performances for all
most wonderful acoustic spaces in the country and this year’s line-up of international and Irish artists promises a
ages.
feast of simply gorgeous repertoire at St Canice’s Cathedral, the Black Abbey and St John’s Priory. The Watergate,
Cleere’s and Set theatres will play host to everything from theatre, readings, film and dance to a plethora of gigs
St John’s Priory, 13th century
from Ukraine to Senegal, and medieval Rothe House will host a special afternoon with Crash Ensemble.
To step off busy John Street and into the intimate calm of
the Priory (called ‘The Lantern of Ireland’ for its famous
We’re delighted to have the Marble City Sessions co-curated by the incomparable Martin Hayes and to partner
stained glass before Cromwell arrived!) creates the perfect
with Rollercoaster Records on a new series of great gigs across the Festival.
atmosphere to discover music, whether much loved or never
heard before.
During the day you can immerse yourself in the exhibitions at the Butler Gallery, the National Design and Craft
Gallery and Dore’s Old Factory. You’ll be able to meet our artists, poets and leading thinkers in a varied Literature
Rothe House, 16th century
and Spoken Word programme at the Parade Tower and to catch our pop-up concerts across the Secret Gardens of
The last remaining example in Ireland of a renaissance
the city and county. At night you can see a pair of thrilling new projection shows at the cathedral and castle.
merchant’s townhouse is one of Kilkenny’s ‘must sees’.
During the Festival it buzzes with energy, the perfect venue
We thank our core public funders The Arts Council of Ireland and Kilkenny County Council, without whom the
for exhibitions and events, including pop-up performances in
Festival simply could not take place. Fáilte Ireland, all our Sponsors, Event Partners and our very generous Festival
its beautiful 17th-century merchant’s garden.
Friends provide invaluable support in making this programme possible and, of course, our eternal gratitude goes
to our extraordinary Volunteers, who are truly the heroes of this Festival!

Finally, we thank our artists and you, our audience. Together you have been the beating heart of the Festival for
45 years, sharing your energy and passion, and creating magical moments and memories with us.

So, dive into the programme and dive into Kilkenny, this absolute jewel of a city with its extraordinary spaces and
people… we’re looking forward to welcoming you in August!

Olga Barry
Festival Director

FESTIVAL TEAM PATRON

Festival Director Programme Manager Artist Liaison Graphic Design Michael D. Higgins
Olga Barry Lisa O’Brien Cornelia McCarthy Íde Deloughry President of Ireland
Marketing & Production Manager Programme Editor Web Design
Development Manager Aidan Wallace Alistair Daniel Pixel Design BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Nollaig Healy Box Office & Friends Manager Strategic Consultant Official IT Provider Emer Foley (Chair), Brian Fennelly, Lorelei Harris,
PHOTO ROSS COSTIGAN

Festival Administrator Céline Reilly Annette Nugent BITS Conor Langton, Anna O’Sullivan, Michael O’Toole,
Valerie Ryan Thomas O’Toole, Isabell Smyth
Development Officer Publicity
Grace Kearney O’Doherty Communications
#IrelandsAncientEast
COVER IMAGE: DAITHI MAGNER
02 03

For 46 years our funders and partners have played an invaluable role in helping Kilkenny Arts Festival to flourish.
We greatly appreciate their continuing support! Check Out Our Friends!
PRINCIPAL FUNDER

Help make Kilkenny Arts Festival one of SPECIAL FRIEND FRIEND

Europe’s finest artistic celebrations.
Bank of Ireland Aidan Clancy
As an individual or business, you’ll find Bernard Dunleavy Áine Ní Fhoghlú
a range of Friend options and benefits Bluebird Care Ann Murtagh
PUBLIC FUNDERS available, from complimentary tickets and Bluett & O’Donoghue Architects Anna O’Sullivan
discounts to Festival Club membership and Breda Whelan Butcher Restaurant
special events. Friends membership starts Carmel Dwyer & David Brown Butterslip
at just €95. Caulfield’s Supervalu Loughboy Kilkenny Catherine Burke
Dore’s Nostalgia Café - Michael Dore Crotty’s Coffee House
HEADLINE EVENT PARTNERS For more information you can call the Dee & Harry Shine
Dr Thomas O’Toole
Festival Office on 056 776 3663, Desmond & Barbara Duff
Ella Dunphy of DNG Ella Dunphy Ltd.
email friends@kilkennyarts.ie or sign up Desmond A Byrne Jeweller
Gillian Leo
at kilkennyarts.ie/support-us Florence Ryan-Downes
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AIB
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Michael Lunt
The Kilkenny Inn Michael & Zureena Hutchinson
MEDIA PARTNERS Michael Reilly Consulting Engineer
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Orange Café
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BEST FRIEND Murphy Stuart Insurances
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O’Brien’s Butchers Market Yard & Loughboy  
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O’Keeffe Auctioneers
SUPPLY PARTNERS Ina & Joe Sweeney Stephen Ryan
Ormonde Street Car Park
The Cutting Vedge
James Harte & Son Solicitors P McDonnell
The Gourmet Store
Kathleen & Gerry Moran Patricia Connolly
KILKENNY The Nore Bar
HONDA
Kieran Boland, Boland Solicitors Patricia Tomasulo Tynan’s Bar Kilkenny
CENTRE McDonalds Kilkenny Philip Crowe & Patrick P Higgins Ultan O’Gorman
Pat Nolan Irish Origins Research Property Partners Buggy Yesterday’s
CULTURAL PARTNERS Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan Solicitors  Sherry Fitzgerald McCreery
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BUTLER GALLERY The Little Green Grocer
Richard McCullough & Liz Nugent
White’s Pharmacy
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BUTLER GALLERY
Sheila O’Donnell & John Tuomey

BUTLER GALLERY

We also acknowledge those Friends who have chosen to remain anonymous.

04 THEATRE laced with glee, invention and a shiver of anxiety THEATRE 05
The Irish Times on A Midsummer Night’s Dream at KAF 2018

PREMIERE
ROUGH MAGIC &
KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL

Much Ado
About Nothing Director
By William Shakespeare Ronan Phelan

Set Design
Sabine Dargent

Lighting Design
On the deck of a deluxe mobile home a group of Sarah Jane Shiels
friends gather for a week-long party full of cocktail-
infused debauchery, bad dancing and questionable Costume Design
gender politics. Catherine Fay

As the celebrations continue, two couples emerge. Sound Design

Claudio and Hero fall deeply and madly in love, while Denis Clohessy
Benedick and Beatrice resume their altogether
more quarrelsome romance. Much Ado About Cast Includes
Nothing charts the course of these two star-crossed Clare Barrett
courtships as malicious rumour and pointed lies Venetia Bowe
threaten to tear them both apart. Peter Corboy
Maeve Fitzgerald
After last year’s award-winning production of A Patrick Martins
Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rough Magic returns Margaret McAuliffe
to Kilkenny with this vivid contemporary staging of Jack Mullarkey
Shakespeare’s celebrated screwball comedy. This Shane O’Regan
festive production of deception and excess, sparkling
Conor O’Riordan
wit and linguistic exuberance asks: can we ever truly
know the people we love?

Duration 2 hrs 20 mins approx. (including interval) SPECIAL THU FRI SAT SUN TUE WED THU FRI SAT
DEALS
FOR THIS
8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 SUPPORTED BY

PHOTO STE MURRAY

EVENT
See kilkennyarts.ie 8PM 8PM 8PM 3.30PM 8PM 8PM 8PM 8PM 3.30PM
PREVIEW
& 8PM

Please note: this is an outdoor performance. THE QUAD AT ST KIERAN’S COLLEGE

Please dress for the weather. No umbrellas allowed. ADMISSION €26/€24, FAMILY TICKET €80 FOR MATINEE PERFORMANCES, PREVIEW (THURSDAY 8) €20
06 THEATRE THEATRE 07

PREMIERE Writer
John Morton

ASYLUM PRODUCTIONS AND KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL Director

WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE ABBEY THEATRE PRESENT Donal Gallagher

The Big Chapel

Designer
Medb Lambert

Composer
Based on The Big Chapel by Thomas Kilroy Irene Buckley
Adapted by John Morton, Medb Lambert and Donal Gallagher Choral Director
Muireann Ryan

Lighting Designer
Paul Keogan
What happens when a town takes on the retelling of its own dark history?
Choreographer
Come with us on a promenade adventure into an alternate world of gods and monsters. Cindy Cummings
A future town, where truth and lies are interchangeable and public opinion is formed by dangerous rhetoric.
A place where the only hope for the future is the voice of a teenager… Costume Designer
Lisa Zagone
This could be my town, or your town...or any town.
Video Designer
Thomas Kilroy’s Booker-nominated novel is a fictionalised retelling of the real events surrounding the John Loftus
notorious ‘Callan Schools Affair’. This radical adaptation sees the people of Callan retelling their own story,
using the town of Callan as its stage. Supported by an exceptional team of professional theatre artists,
The Big ChapelX is a unique theatrical experience and the culmination of a year-long series of events Architecture
celebrating the work of one of Ireland’s greatest writers. Consultant
Je Ahn
Please note that this is a promenade performance and the audience will be on their feet for much of the show.
Please dress for the Irish weather. All scenes are wheelchair accessible but we advise bringing a person to assist Acrobatic Consultants
along the route (Assistants go free, please call the Box Office on 056 7752175). Loosysmokes
Funded by The Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon Open Call Award and Kilkenny Leader Project.

The Big Chapel Project Events

For details of further events in The Big Chapel Project, see page 28.

Duration 2 hrs approx.

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT MEETING POINT: MAIN ENTRANCE TO ST BRIGID’S COLLEGE, KILKENNY RD, CALLAN

11 12 13 14 15 16 17
9PM 9PM 9PM 9PM 9PM 9PM 9PM
PARKING: BUNSCOIL MCAULEY RICE, KILKENNY RD, CALLAN
PLEASE NOTE CALLAN IS 20KM FROM KILKENNY CITY
ADMISSION €20/€14, PREVIEW (SUNDAY 11) €14
PHOTO EVELYN MCNAMARA

PREVIEW
08 THEATRE THEATRE/ 09
MUSIC
FEWS ENSEMBLE

The Soldier’s Tale

Music by Igor Stravinsky
Libretto by CF Ramuz
Translator
Jeremy Sams

Actor
Ciarán Hinds

Dancer
Emily Ayers

The Fews Ensemble

directed by Joanne Quigley McParland

Joanne Quigley McParland violin

Dominic Dudley double bass
Andrew Crowley trumpet
Ross Lyness trombone
Éanna Monaghan bassoon
ROUGH MAGIC AND GLÓR IN ASSOCIATION WITH GALWAY INTERNATIONAL Francesco Paolo Scola clarinet
ARTS FESTIVAL AND KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL PRESENT Alex Petcu percussion

Cleft
By arrangement with Chester Music Limited acting on
behalf of itself and Schott Music GmH & Co KG

It’s just over a century since Stravinsky penned his

by Fergal McElherron second masterpiece at the end of the First World War.
Based on an old Russian fable, The Soldier’s Tale
(L’histoire du Soldat) tells the story of a soldier who
trades his fiddle to the devil in return for untold wealth.
Or so he believes…
‘Everything meets there. Anord. Everything crashes there; the waves crash into the land, the sky Director
crashes into the sea, the wind crashes against your body.’ Lynne Parker One of Ireland’s most successful actors, Ciarán Hinds,
Lighting Design plays narrator, soldier and devil in this gripping concert
Living on a harsh, remote island, twin sisters Fea and Caireen have created their own emotional performance of Stravinsky’s masterpiece. Performed by the
ecosystem, raising Fea’s son together. But while Caireen embraces motherhood, Fea watches as Zia Bergin-Holly
Fews Ensemble, Northern Ireland’s outstanding new chamber
her son grows in the likeness of his father whose body lies buried beneath the hawthorn tree. Composer/Sound Design music group, with movement from contemporary dancer
Cameron Macaulay Emily Ayers, The Soldier’s Tale is a thrilling Faustian story
Directed by Rough Magic’s award-winning Artistic Director Lynne Parker and starring Simone Kirby with a score every bit as inventive as The Rite of Spring.
and Penny Layden, Cleft is a dark, folkloric tale about one family’s unrelenting will to survive. Set Design
Zia Bergin-Holly and Lynne Parker Duration 60 mins approx. (without interval)
Cast
Simone Kirby
THU FRI SAT SUN TUE WED
Penny Layden
8 9 10 11 WATERGATE THEATRE
13 14 WATERGATE THEATRE

PHOTO RORY LEWIS

ADMISSION €25/€22.50 ADMISSION €25/€22.50
7.30PM 7.30PM 7.30PM 3PM
Duration 75 mins approx. 7.30PM 7.30PM
(without interval) Supported by Bill & Denise Whelan
10 MUSIC MUSIC 11

PROGRAMME
revelatory Bach – Devotion
The Times
BWV 42 – Sinfonia
BWV – Vergnüte Ruh
BWV 4 – Sinfonia
Alexander Gavrylyuk BWV 74 – Ich gehe hin
BWV 133 – Getrost!
Ukraine/Australia BWV 33 – Wie Furchtsam wankten
meinne Schritte
BWV 56 – Ich will den Kreuzstab
gerne tragen
PROGRAMME
Mozart: Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545 BWV 42 – Jesus ist ein Schild
Brahms: Rhapsody No. 2 in G minor, Op. 79 BWV 35 – Gott hat alles wohl gemacht
Brahms: Intermezzi Nos. 2 & 3, Op. 117 BWV 35 – Sinfonia (No. 5)
Liszt: Étude No. 6 BWV 106 – In deine Hände,
Saint-Saëns: Danse macabre (Liszt/Horowitz)
befehl’ ich meinen Geist
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition BWV 12 – Sinfona (No. 1)
BWV 82 – Ich habe genug
Duration 1 hr 45 mins approx. (including interval)
Duration 1 hr 45 mins approx.
(including interval)
‘If this giant visits your city,’ wrote the eminent
Australian pianist Roger Woodward, ‘drop everything
you are doing and go and see him. His towering

Nathalie Stutzmann
spirit carries the future of music’. Woodward had just
witnessed Alexander Gavrylyuk’s electrifying debut at Stutzmann’s singing was
the BBC Proms in 2017. Since then the prodigiously gifted remarkable
Ukrainian pianist has continued to thrill audiences all contralto, conductor Seen and Heard International
over the world with his virtuosity and passion, and we’re
delighted to welcome him to St Canice’s for his Irish Leon Košavić baritone on Orfeo 55 at Wigmore Hall
debut. Spanning everything from Mozart to Mussorgsky,
this eclectic programme is the perfect showcase for his Phoenix 55 International
astonishing talent. Don’t miss it!

Gerry Murphy explores the inspiration behind
Mussorgsky’s masterpiece in the Parade Tower on
Saturday 10 August at 11am. See page 32 for details.
blow-your-socks-off virtuosity
Gramophone
Nathalie is the real thing.
Not only is contralto Nathalie Stutzmann ‘one of the great baroque singers So much love, intensity and
of our day’ (Gramophone), she also enjoys a distinguished international sheer technique. We need
career as a conductor (for the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, among
others). For her Kilkenny debut, Stutzmann combines both talents, bringing more conductors like her
her acclaimed ensemble Phoenix 55 (comprising musicians from her previous Sir Simon Rattle
project, Orfeo 55) to St Canice’s to perform a very special programme of
Bach cantatas with the talented young baritone, Leon Košavić.

Devotion takes sections from some of Bach’s greatest works – specially

SAT THU ST CANICE’S CATHEDRAL
PHOTO MAX BORGGREVE

ST CANICE’S CATHEDRAL selected by Stutzmann – and recombines them to form a thrilling ‘new’

PHOTO SIMON FOWLER

10
7.30PM
ADMISSION
ZONE A €30/€28
composition. This unique programme is the first opportunity for an Irish
audience to hear the ‘best contralto in the world’ (BR Klassik) singing
15
7.30PM
ADMISSION
ZONE A €35/€31.50
ZONE B €30/€27
ZONE B €27/€25
Bach’s timeless cantata repertoire as you’ve never heard it before.
 SPECIAL
12 MUSIC
CHAMBER MUSIC IN THE AFTERNOON MUSIC 13
DEALS
FOR THESE
EVENTS
See kilkennyarts.ie

Irish Chamber The orchestra kicks off a new series of

Orchestra
Katherine Hunka
conductor, violin
PROGRAMME
Benjamin Britten: Variations on a
Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10
Edward Elgar: Serenade for Strings
in E minor, Op. 20
David Fennessy: Hirta Rounds
Edward Elgar: Introduction and
Allegro in G Major, Op. 47
Duration 80 mins approx.
chamber works in the afternoon with this
delightful programme featuring Elgar’s
masterpiece – the Introduction and
Allegro – and Britten’s Variations, the
work that brought him international fame.
These iconic twentieth-century works
are complemented by David Fennessy’s
Hirta Rounds, an ethereal piece by one of
Ireland’s most accomplished composers.
FRI
9
4PM
THE BLACK ABBEY
ADMISSION €19/€17

Musici Ireland

Irish Chamber PROGRAMME I, SATURDAY 10 AUGUST

Arvo Pärt: ‘Es sang vor langen Jahren’
Helena Wood violin
Siun Milne violin
We’re delighted to welcome the exciting
young chamber music ensemble Musici

Orchestra
Arvo Pärt: Fratres Beth McNinch viola Ireland to the Festival for this pair of
Arvo Pärt: Summa Bill Butt cello concerts in the Black Abbey, starting with
Arvo Pärt: Stabat Mater Roisin O’Grady soprano chamber and choral works by the great
Thomas Zehetmair conductor, violin Duration 60 mins approx. (without interval)
Sharon Carty mezzo-soprano
Eamonn Mulhall tenor
Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, whose
unmistakable sound has captivated
Ruth Killius viola PROGRAMME II, SATURDAY 17 AUGUST Harriet Mackenzie violin
audiences all over the world ever since
‘Fratres’ received its premiere more
Brahms: String Sextet No. 1 in B Major, Op. 18 Jane Hackett violin than 40 years ago. The second concert
Brahms: String Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36 Beth McNinch viola focuses on Brahms’ String Sextets: two of
PHOTO JULIEN MIGNOT

Andreea Banciu viola the most radiantly melodic works in the

Duration 80 mins approx. (without interval) Bill Butt cello
PROGRAMME composer’s repertoire.
Beethoven: Coriolan Overture Gráinne Hope cello
Britten: Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, ‘Eroica’

Duration 1 hr 45 mins approx. (including interval)

We’re thrilled to welcome back the Irish Chamber Orchestra for their
annual residency. For this concert the orchestra is joined by Thomas
Zehetmair, who enjoys a dual career as a sought-after international
conductor and an outstanding violinist whose recordings have
won multiple awards. For this magnificent programme featuring
Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ symphony – one of the composer’s most ST CANICE’S CATHEDRAL SAT SAT THE BLACK ABBEY
FRI
celebrated works – Zehetmair both conducts and performs in the
company of the supremely talented violist (and fellow member of 16 ADMISSION
ZONE A €35/€31.50
10 17
3.30PM 3.30PM
ADMISSION €19/€17
FOR EACH CONCERT
the Zehetmair Quartet), Ruth Killius. 7.30PM ZONE B €30/€27 o’neill foley
 SPECIAL SPECIAL
14 MUSIC
CHAMBER MUSIC IN THE AFTERNOON DEALS
FOR THESE
EVENTS
CHAMBER MUSIC IN THE AFTERNOON DEALS
FOR THESE
EVENTS
MUSIC 15

See kilkennyarts.ie See kilkennyarts.ie

[Vengerov] was well matched by Rafter … there were

moments when the two soloists could not be told apart
The Irish Times
PROGRAMME
Claude Debussy: Sonata for Violin and Piano, L148
Claude Debussy: Estampes, II. La soirée dans Grenade; III. Jardins sous la pluie
Eugène Ysaÿe: Sonata No. 3 for Solo Violin ‘Ballade’, Op. 27
César Franck: Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano
Duration 70 mins approx. (without interval)
Two of Ireland’s most exciting young talents join forces in this mouthwatering
programme spanning a century of music. Kilkenny’s own star Patrick Rafter – who at
Patrick Rafter & the age of 17 won all three senior competitions at the Dublin RDS Feis Ceoil – now ranks

Michael McHale
‘amongst the greatest violinists’ (Alexander Baillie), mentioned in the same breath as
Maxim Vengerov, Itzhak Perlman and Nigel Kennedy, while pianist Michael McHale has
Quatuor Mosaïques PROGRAMME I, TUESDAY 13 AUGUST
Mozart: String Quartet No. 3 in G Major, K 156
established himself on the international stage as an outstanding soloist and chamber Austria/France Haydn: String Quartet No. 59 in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3
musician, performing with the likes of James Galway and Dame Felicity Lott. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1
SUN Duration 75 mins approx. (without interval)
11
3.30PM
ST JOHN’S PRIORY
ADMISSION €19/€17
For this afternoon concert in St John’s they explore a quartet of fin de siècle gems,
from César Franck’s late masterpiece, the Sonata in A, to Eugène Ysaÿe’s Bach-inspired Quatuor Mosaïques’ performances of Schubert’s late string PROGRAMME II, WEDNESDAY 14 AUGUST
Sonata No. 3 and Debussy’s last major composition, the Sonata for Violin and Piano. quartets were among the highlights of the Festival in 2017, and Haydn: String Quartet No. 35 in D minor, Op. 42
we’re thrilled to welcome the quartet back for a fresh trio of Mozart: String Quartet No. 18 in A Major, K 464
concerts in the magnificent Black Abbey. Focusing on some of Beethoven: String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2
Beethoven’s greatest string quartets, complemented with equally Duration 80 mins approx. (without interval)
she plays with a
lightness of touch
Fionnuala Moynihan brilliant works by Mozart and Haydn, these concerts offer a rare
opportunity to hear ‘the world’s leading period-instrument quartet’ PROGRAMME III, THURSDAY 15 AUGUST
and enchanting (The Independent) performing at the height of its powers. Mozart: Adagio and Fugue in C minor, KV 546
freshness PROGRAMME Haydn: String Quartet No. 52 in E flat major, Op. 64, No. 6
Sunday Business Post Clara Schumann: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 20 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3
Clara Schumann: Piano Sonata in G minor Duration 65 mins approx. (without interval)

PHOTO WOLFGANG KRAUTZER

Clara Schumann: Drei Romanzen, Op. 21 TUE WED THU THE BLACK ABBEY
Duration 50 mins approx. (without interval) 13 14 15
3.30PM 3.30PM 3.30PM
ADMISSION €19/€17
FOR EACH CONCERT
Quatuor Mosaïques made a chamber music evening in
the concert hall into a breathtaking experience
Fionnuala Moynihan is one of Ireland’s leading classical pianists, celebrated for Die Presse
her monumental performances of great piano cycles by Mozart, Haydn and Bach.
MON For her solo Festival debut she explores the work of the Romantic composer and
12 ST JOHN’S PRIORY
ADMISSION €19/€17 pianist, Clara Schumann, whose Variations on a theme by her husband, Robert,
3.30PM inspired Brahms to compose his own, while her Three Romances (Drei Romanzen)
sent King George V of Hanover into raptures. Chamber Choir Ireland After its sold-out, late-night
concerts exploring choral works
Grete Pedersen conductor through the ages, Chamber Choir
Ireland returns to the Festival with
a radical new approach. Led by
Malcolm Proud PROGRAMME
Bach: Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537 a sheerly beautiful immersion in choral sonority celebrated Norwegian conductor
Bach: Three chorale preludes on ‘Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland’, The Irish Times Grete Pedersen, the choir performs
something of a BWV 659/660/661 an exciting suite of contemporary
musical visionary Bach: Canonic variations on ‘Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her’, PROGRAMME pieces by a wealth of European
The Irish Times BWV 769 Kaija Saariaho: Nuits, adieux composers. Featuring Louis
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548 Ørjan Matre: Orphic Songs Prologue, Rite, Hyphnos Andriessen’s gorgeous Un Beau
Louis Andriessen: Un Beau Baiser Baiser, as well as recent works
SAT Duration 50 mins approx. (without interval) Deirdre McKay: sable qui glisse FRI
by leading Irish composers Rhona
17
11AM
ST CANICE’S CATHEDRAL
ADMISSION €19/€17
No Festival would be complete without the world-renowned organist,
Malcolm Proud. For this recital he delves into the vast Bach organ
Rhona Clarke: The Kiss
Maja Linderoth: Sonnet form denatured prose
Clarke and Deirdre McKay, this truly
is, as The Journal of Music put it,
16
3.30PM
THE BLACK ABBEY
ADMISSION €19/€17

repertoire for another unmissable performance at St Canice’s Cathedral. Duration 70 mins approx. (without interval) ‘new music for everyone’.
 MUSIC &
16 MUSIC & 17

PROJECTION/VISUALS PROJECTION/VISUALS

Eat My Noise
fLux KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL With its distinctive circular towers and magnificent limestone walls,
Kilkenny Castle is one of the most celebrated landmarks in the city,
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE OPW if not the country. As night falls, those iconic walls will play host
to a spectacular free light show. The show will be visible at several

Light Up
points around the city (and you can tune in to KCLR to hear the music
accompanying the show), but the best vantage point is the Castle Rose
The first of two light shows at this year’s Festival is a multi-sensory spectacular taking place inside Garden, from where you can enjoy free access to the full spectacle. Don’t
St Canice’s Cathedral. The brainchild of Eat My Noise (a collaboration between composers David Duffy

the Castle
miss this chance to see the castle as you’ve never seen it before!
and Peter Power), fLux mixes projections, live organ (John O’Brien), live electronics and tape in a
breathtaking immersive experience inspired by structural loops, fractals and the Golden Ratio. The Please note: latecomers will not be admitted. Wheelchair users are
result is a feast for the senses that leaves audiences reeling. advised to contact the Festival box office before the show. Gates open
at 10.15pm from the Parade entrance. Duration 20 mins approx.
Duration 70 mins approx. (without interval)

WED THU FRI SAT

14 15 16 17
FRI KILKENNY CASTLE

9
9.30PM
ST CANICE’S CATHEDRAL
ADMISSION €18 10.40PM 10.40PM 10.40PM
GATES OPEN 10.15PM
10.40PM
ADMISSION
FREE AND UNTICKETED
18 MUSIC gorgeously sung and passionately played … [a] gem of an album MUSIC 19
an evocation of human solidarity
The Guardian
The Irish Times
Carlou D
Senegal

MARK AND MARICHKA MARCZYK Ukraine Senegal’s Carlou D is a rising global star with a powerful voice.

Balaklava Blues
Since leaving socially conscious hip-hop collective Positive Black
Soul, he has forged his own distinct path, developing a sound that
blends traditional Senegalese instruments with contemporary
influences and collaborating with stellar compatriots like Youssou
N’Dour. His powerful voice and deft guitar playing are wonders
Anyone who saw Counting Sheep, their award-winning ‘guerilla folk opera’, to behold and his appearance at the Set – backed by a full band
or danced the night away with the Lemon Bucket Orkestra back in 2017, featuring acoustic guitars, bass, kora and percussion – is sure to
will need no introduction to Mark and Marichka Marczyk. This year we’re be one of the Festival’s most memorable moments.
delighted to welcome back the exuberant duo with a brand new show
created by Belarus Free Theatre, Balaklava Blues. Duration 80 mins approx. (without interval)

Balaklava Blues sets the Marczyks’ heart-stopping traditional vocals to Please note that this event has limited seating, available on a
a range of propulsive electronic dance beats, performed against a mind- first-come-first served basis
blowing backdrop of documentary footage from the front lines of Ukraine’s
Maidan revolution. At once hard-hitting and surreal, Balaklava Blues Sun Collective FRI SPECIAL
DEALS
transports you into the heart of war-torn Ukraine with a unique mix of
powerful singing and impossibly danceable tunes. 16
10PM
SET THEATRE
ADMISSION €22
FOR THIS
EVENT
See kilkennyarts.ie

Duration 90 mins approx. Bands that embrace everything

from folk to classical, indie and
Please note that this event has limited seating, available on a first-come- jazz, sometimes sound confused.
first served basis But Sun Collective takes these
disparate genres and melds them
into a seamless blend of gorgeous
Wooden The idea of playing electronic music on wooden instruments might seem bizarre,
but it was while working with Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood that string quintet

Elephant International
SAT SPECIAL Wooden Elephant was inspired to do just that. The result was a groundbreaking
DEALS three-part harmonies and lush string performance of Björk’s album Homogenic that combined traditional string
10
9.30PM
SET THEATRE
ADMISSION €22
FOR THIS
EVENT
See kilkennyarts.ie
arrangements. Led by songwriter
and producer Caimin Gilmore, the Homogenic & Kid A
instruments with everything from wine glasses to kitchen foil. Since then, Wooden
Elephant has expanded its repertoire to embrace other pop classics, and for this
Dublin eight-piece has gone from acoustic performance in the Set the quintet performs two of its favourite albums
strength to strength since releasing in their entirety – Homogenic and Radiohead’s masterpiece Kid A. These dazzling
an acclaimed debut album in 2017. interpretations match the restless innovation of the original works, and sound at
This intimate gig in Cleere’s is a once familiar and utterly new.
wonderful chance to experience their
unique sound. Duration 80 approx. Please note that this
event has limited seating,
Duration 70 mins approx. available on a first-come-
first served basis
Please note: This is a standing event

PHOTO ANNE CELDT MULTIMEDIA

WED SPECIAL SAT
14 CLEERE’S THEATRE
17
DEALS
FOR THIS SET THEATRE
ADMISSION €12 EVENT ADMISSION €22
9PM See kilkennyarts.ie
10PM
 SPOKEN WORD/
20 MUSIC FILM/DANCE MUSIC 21

MUSIC

QME has well and truly

arrived. Beautiful!
extraordinary [Crash Ensemble] plays with the energy and spirit of a
All About Jazz
The Irish Times rock group
The New York Times

IRISH PREMIERE Quiet Music Ensemble

Deep Listening Sunday
Crash Ensemble
Song of the Books Founded by composer John Godfrey, and comprised of
some of the best musicians in the country, the Quiet Music
Ensemble is renowned for its innovative performances
The mighty Crash Ensemble returns to Kilkenny for a series of experimental music, mixing improvisation with live
of free pop-up concerts in the atmospheric courtyard electronics and recorded sounds. The ensemble’s repertoire
of Rothe House. Led by the indomitable Kate Ellis, the of hushed, ambient pieces are meditations on sound itself,

Famished
Cherry Smyth
Ed Bennett
Lauren Kinsella
It was while hurrying through a London tube station
that award-winning poet Cherry Smyth got the
inspiration for Famished, her ‘extraordinary’ (The
Irish Times) collaboration with composer Ed Bennett
and leading jazz vocalist Lauren Kinsella. The fruit
of seven years’ research into the forgotten stories
of the Irish Famine and the role played by British
Imperialism, Famished combines Smyth’s lyrical poems
with Bennett’s cinematic score and haunting vocal
interventions from Kinsella to tell the story of one of
the greatest humanitarian disasters of the nineteenth
century. The result is a lyrical lament that leaves
audiences stunned and deeply moved.
Duration 90 mins approx. (without interval)
ensemble performs a selection of works at 1.30, 2.30
and 3.30pm, including the Irish premiere of a major new
piece by Northern Irish composer Ed Bennett, a thrillingly
modern work for cello, electronics and amplified ensemble
inspired by the traditional air Amhrán na Leabhar or ‘Song
of the Books’. Be sure to drop by the courtyard to catch a
performance and enjoy the intriguing musical interludes
interspersed between each concert.
Duration 30 mins per concert approx.
Sandy Silva designed to draw audiences into a state of ‘deep listening’
that richly rewards close attention. This free performance
in the Parade Tower features world premieres of works
Canada by leading composers including Marianthi Papalexandri-
Alexandri and Heather Frasch. Stop by any time during the
performance and immerse yourself in these entrancing
people hold their breath each time Sandy Silva soundscapes.
appears … she burns the floor
Duration 3 hrs approx.
Le Soleil
Quiet Music Ensemble acknowledges the financial support of the Arts
Council in making this performance possible.
Canadian dancer Sandy Silva is a pioneer of ‘body
percussion’, an expressive dance style that uses the whole
body to weave tapestries of sound, from the whisper of a
shoe on a floor to blazingly fast tap rhythms. Drawing on a
breathtaking range of traditional dance forms, from Cape
Breton to the Appalachian mountains, Silva works at the
crossroads of movement and sound, forging a style both
totally unique and utterly compelling. This show combines
screenings of Silva’s short films from the award-winning
Migration Dance Project with exhilarating live performance,
accompanied by acclaimed guitarist Steve Cooney.
Duration 70 mins approx. (without interval)

THU FRI FRI SUN

ROTHE HOUSE PARADE TOWER
16 16 18
WATERGATE THEATRE
15
PARADE TOWER
ADMISSION ADMISSION €15 ADMISSION
ADMISSION €12/€10
FREE (UNTICKETED) 6PM 2PM FREE (UNTICKETED)
5PM 1.30-4PM
 MUSIC:
THE ROLLERCOASTER SESSIONS MUSIC:
22 23
ROLLERCOASTER ROLLERCOASTER
SESSIONS SESSIONS

David Keenan & Band

‘If you have yet to discover the melodies and words of David Keenan,’ wrote
GoldenPlec, ‘you are in for a rare and wonderful find’. A deft lyricist with one of the most inspiring talents
a powerful storytelling sense, the 25-year-old Dundalk native’s songs are to come out of Irish music for a
Sick Love The Festival is thrilled to present this exciting double bill featuring two
up-and-coming Irish bands. Kilkenny’s own indie rock four-piece The Wha
bursting with infectious hooks and original turns of phrase, all delivered with an
impassioned, soulful voice. With a string of acclaimed releases and a US tour under
very long time
GoldenPlec
has been making waves this year with its debut single ‘Innocence’, while
WITH Sick Love’s high-energy, no-holds-barred rock shows have seen them hotly
his belt Keenan is busy making waves, and this rousing gig in the Set, backed by a
full band, is the perfect showcase for his unique talent.

The Wha tipped ‘to join the Super League of Irish rock bands’ (The Irish Times).
Duration 90 mins approx. SUN
Duration 90 mins approx. FRI

9 SET THEATRE
ADMISSION €12 Please note that this event has limited seating, available on a first-come-first
11
9.30PM
SET THEATRE
ADMISSION €20
Please note that this event has limited seating, available on a first-come- 8PM served basis
first served basis

Cathal Coughlan
[a] genius of Irish rock Coughlan’s intelligence and passion are a rebuke to a vapid music
The Irish Times industry, his chronicles of disaffection and disgust an inspiration
The Guardian
Song of Co-Aklan I:
The Re-Brand Audit (a Retrospective)
Song of Co-Aklan II: For 30 years, whether as a solo artist or frontman of acclaimed indie bands Microdisney and the Fatima Mansions,
Cathal Coughlan has been one of rock’s most singular performers, feted for his caustic wit and dark lyricism. This
The Final Coronation - pair of back-to-back shows offers the first glimpses of Coughlan’s satirical new persona, ‘Co-Aklan’. In the first
gig, the artist formerly known as ‘Cathal Coughlan’ joins forces with his band, the Grand Necropolitan Quartet,
Anthem for a Hostile Takeover mixing favourite songs from his extraordinary back catalogue with new work inspired by Bertolt Brecht. For the
second concert Coughlan/Co-Aklan is joined by guitarist James Woodrow to perform songs old and new, inspired
by everything from the Book of Ezekiel to Kafka’s short story ‘The Burrow’. Don’t miss this chance to catch a
genuinely original talent at the birth of this thrilling new project.

Duration 70 mins per concert approx.

SUN MON SPECIAL

CLEERE’S THEATRE DEALS

11 12
8PM 9PM
ADMISSION €25
FOR EACH CONCERT
FOR THIS
EVENT
See kilkennyarts.ie
Please note: These are standing events
 MUSIC:
24
ROLLERCOASTER
SESSIONS
Arborist a staggering debut
Mojo on Home Burial
Most bands have a few albums under their belt before
they come to the attention of indie legends, but
Arborist’s very first single, ‘Twisted Arrow’, featured
guest vocals from none other than Kim Deal. Since
then the band, fronted by singer-songwriter Mark
McCambridge, has gone from strength to strength,
releasing a rapturously received album, Home Burial,
and supporting the likes of Low and Cat Power. With
an eagerly awaited new album in the pipeline, Arborist
bring their entrancing brand of Americana to Cleere’s Please note: This is a standing event
for an evening of low-fi acoustic songs filled with
laidback melodies and washed with gorgeous strings.
THU
Support: Patrick M Barrett
15
8PM
CLEERE’S THEATRE
ADMISSION €17
Duration 80 mins approx.
magical amplified folk journeys through modern life … gorgeous electronics … stunning
The Guardian on The Curious Hand
Seamus Fogarty It’s seven years since Seamus Fogarty last
appeared at the Festival, supporting Mick
Flannery. Since then Fogarty has grown into a
headline act in his own right, with barnstorming
live performances and a stunning second album,
The Curious Hand, that sent critics into raptures.
Whether singing about Van Gogh or sleeping
in a church in Carlow, Fogarty is a musical
anthropologist, a collector of stories and sounds
lifted wholesale and tucked into the folds of his
songs. On record his delicate alt-folk is enriched
by a dazzling array of electronic pulses, but it’s
live that his songwriting talent and troubadour
spirit really come to the fore.
Duration 80 mins approx.
Please note: This is a standing event
FRI
16
8PM
CLEERE’S THEATRE
ADMISSION €20
A UNIQUE SERIES OF
COLLABORATIONS
CO-CURATED BY MARTIN HAYES
a masterclass in interpretation
… yet another thought-
provoking escapade to relish
from Hayes
The Irish Times
WED dancer Sandy Silva, another unique performer whose
14
7.30PM
ST CANICE’S CATHEDRAL
ADMISSION €30/€27
THE MARBLE CITY SESSIONS MUSIC:
25
MARBLE CITY SESSIONS
Maighread & Tríona music fit for the gods
The Irish Times on Maighread and
Ní Dhomhnaill / Louise Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill
& Michelle Mulcahy
her revolutionary style on the harp
is scintillating … one of the most
This unique event brings together two celebrated pairs of sisters significant musicians redefining
from very different parts of the Irish tradition. Maighread and harp at present
Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill – leading lights in Irish traditional music The Living Tradition on Michelle Mulcahy
for over 40 years – are steeped in the rich tradition of West
Donegal, while flautist and uilleann piper Louise Mulcahy and
Please note: this is a seated event
her multi-instrumentalist sister Michelle – one of Ireland’s most
creative harpists – hail from Limerick. For this concert the siblings
join forces to explore their musical heritage in an unmissable
collaboration between four of the finest talents working in TUE
13
SET THEATRE
traditional music today. ADMISSION €25
9PM
Duration 90 mins approx.
Martin Hayes
Quartet
Martin Hayes makes an eagerly awaited return to St
Canice’s with his newest groundbreaking ensemble.
Mixing traditional tunes with unconventional
instruments – courtesy of guitarist Dennis Cahill,
viola d’amore player Liz Knowles, and clarinettist
Doug Wieselman – the Martin Hayes Quartet is
busy redefining how traditional music can sound.
The result, ‘intimate in feel and panoramic in scope’
(Journal of Music), is a beguiling blend of tradition
and innovation at once familiar and utterly fresh. For
this year’s concert, the quartet is complemented by
work takes a fresh approach to traditional forms.
Duration 90 mins approx.
26MUSIC: an irresistible force of truth, beauty MUSIC: 27

MARBLE CITY SESSSIONS and electric improvisation MARBLE CITY SESSIONS

The Village Voice

Sounds Like
Freedom Irish traditional music has a proud history of speaking out
against injustice, and it was when he heard the Harriet
Tubman Trio that concertina-player Niall Vallely got the idea
A Musical Celebration of the for this unique concert exploring the musical connections
Struggle for Civil Rights in between the civil rights movements in Ireland and the US.
Ireland and America Named after a celebrated African American who liberated
300 slaves, the Harriet Tubman Trio is a powerhouse of New
York’s experimental jazz scene whose earth-scorching blend
featuring of funk, rock, jazz and dub is infused with revolutionary
Karan Casey zeal. For this very special collaboration the trio is joined by
Melvin Gibbs a quartet of musicians whose work sits at the cutting edge
JT Lewis of trad: singer Karan Casey, harpist Úna Monaghan, fiddle
player Aidan O’Rourke and Vallely himself. Performing songs
Úna Monaghan of protest and rebellion, Sounds Like Freedom celebrates
Aidan O’Rourke the subversive spirit of Irish traditional music and forges
Brandon Ross SPECIAL
new connections between musicians whose work speaks the
Niall Vallely DEALS language of protest.
FOR THIS
EVENT
See kilkennyarts.ie Duration 90 mins approx.
THU

15
SET THEATRE For a taste of the Harriet Tubman Trio don’t miss their free
ADMISSION €25 Please note: this Sofa Session gig at Billy Byrne’s on Wednesday 14 August at
10PM
is a seated event 10pm. Limited capacity. Book online at kilkennyarts.ie

Richard Thompson UK
It’s 13 years since he was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the BBC, but
Martin Hayes
Richard Thompson shows no signs of resting on his laurels. In the intervening time the
folk-rock legend has curated London’s prestigious Meltdown Festival, recorded the & Dennis From The Gloaming to The Martin
Hayes Quartet, the partnership of

Cahill
soundtrack to Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man, and released a string of critically acclaimed Martin Hayes’ fiddle and Dennis
albums showcasing the songwriting prowess that earned him an Ivor Novello Award Cahill’s guitar has been at the
and more than one Grammy nomination over the course of a glittering career. This very heart of many of the most exciting
special gig in the Set is a wonderful chance to see for yourself just why Thompson is traditional music projects in recent
regarded as one of the genuine songwriting, and guitar-playing, greats. with years. For this closing concert in
the Marble City Sessions, Hayes
Support: Katherine Priddy Cormac Begley and Cahill are joined by a line-up of
Steve Cooney outstanding musicians, including
Duration 80 mins approx. (excluding support) Síle Denvir concertina-player Cormac Begley,
Sandy Silva guitarist Steve Cooney, sean nós
Please note: this is a seated event singer and harpist Síle Denvir,
& more cellist Kate Ellis, singer Iarla Ó
the finest songwriter Lionáird and dancer Sandy Silva,
WED after Dylan and the SAT for a celebration of eleven days of

14
SET THEATRE best electric guitarist
17 Festival magic.
ST CANICE’S CATHEDRAL
ADMISSION €30 ADMISSION €30/€27
since Hendrix
9.30PM 8PM Duration 90 mins approx.
Los Angeles Times
 SPOKEN WORD/
THE BIG CHAPEL PROJECT: EVENTS
28
ARCHITECTURE
A special programme of events to mark The Big Chapel Project. For details of The Big ChapelX,
a theatrical adaptation of Thomas Kilroy’s novel, see pages 6-7.
Notions
As part of The Big Chapel Project, architecture
partners Studio Weave, led by Je Ahn and
Callan-based curator Orlaith Treacy, have
teamed up with students from UCD School
of Architecture, Planning and Environmental
Policy to re-imagine Callan’s regeneration
and redevelopment as a pilot town for Project
Ireland 2040.
Based on interviews with locals and extensive
research into the past and present of the town,
this exhibition maps out some possible futures
that these young architects and planners of
tomorrow have dreamed up for Callan.
PHOTO JOE O’SHAUGHNESSY
PREVIEW MACRA NA FEIRME HALL,
SUN
11
MILL STREET, CALLAN
OPENING HOURS: 12-5PM
3PM-5PM EXHIBITION RUNS UNTIL SATURDAY 17 AUGUST
The Big Chapel Placemarker…
in conversation How art can influence our
experience of spaces and places
How do you adapt a novel, not Creative Producer Róise Goan (Arts Admin)
for the stage, but for an entire chairs this free panel discussion with Dr Mick
town? Where do you begin? Author Lennon (Director of Teaching and Learning,
Thomas Kilroy joins director Donal BA Planning, Geography & Environment, UCD
Gallagher, designer Medb Lambert School of Architecture), Virginia Teehan (Chief
and Abbey Theatre producer Jen Executive, Heritage Council of Ireland) and Je
Coppinger to explore the unique Ahn (Studio Weave).
challenges of staging The Big
Chapel in Callan. Duration 60 mins approx.
Duration 60 mins approx.
TUE SAT
PARADE TOWER
13 17
THE FRIARY, WEST STREET, CALLAN
ADMISSION FREE ADMISSION FREE
BUT TICKETED
11AM 3.30PM
Over the
Backyard Wall
Over the Backyard Wall, Thomas Kilroy’s
recent ‘memory book’, is a genre-bending
mix of memoir and imagination, combining
historical fiction with recollections of
his Callan childhood, his education at St
Kieran’s College in Kilkenny, and his early
adventures in Europe and America. For
this event, Kilroy joins theatre and opera
director Patrick Mason to explore the ways
in which Kilkenny has influenced his life
and work.
Duration 60 mins approx.
SUN
11
11AM
PARADE TOWER
ADMISSION €14/€12
A year-long podcast series exploring
Thomas Kilroy’s novel chapter by chapter.
Presented by Etaoin Holahan and recorded
in Fennelly’s of Callan, each episode
focuses on a chapter of the novel in
conversation with enthusiasts, experts
and admirers.
https://www.thebigchapel.com/the-
project#/the-big-chapel-podcast/
SPOKEN WORD 29
KATO PRESENTS a glittering gem of a show
The Irish Times on Pondling
Rat King
A rehearsed reading
Writer and performer Genevieve Hulme-Beaman is a rising star of Writer/performer
the Irish stage. In 2014, her wickedly dark debut Pondling, about Genevieve Hulme-Beaman
a young girl’s obsessive crush on an older boy, was a runaway hit,
garnering rave reviews from Edinburgh to New York and winning
Director
a clutch of awards, including Best Female Performer at Dublin Ronan Phelan
Fringe Festival, the Scotsman Fringe First Award Edinburgh and a
New York Times Critics Pick.
Producer
This rehearsed reading offers a tantalizing glimpse of her brand- Kate Ferris
new work before its official premiere. Rat King is a spoken-word
black comedy exploring the lives of David and Chrissy, a pigeon-
hearted duo clambering to make sense of their world. Shot
through with her deliciously dark humour, Rat King confirms
Hulme-Beaman as one of the country’s most exciting new talents.
SAT
CLEERE’S THEATRE
10
Suitable for ages 16 and over.
ADMISSION FREE
BUT TICKETED
Duration 40 mins approx. 5PM
Heroic Failure
Fintan O’Toole
Scott of the Antarctic, the Light Brigade, Gordon of Khartoum:
the British have long enjoyed portraying themselves as plucky
underdogs in noble pursuit of a lost cause. There may be no
cause more hopeless than Brexit – less a process than a sort of
quicksand in which an entire nation has become progressively
mired – and yet half the nation, and many of its politicians, remain
doggedly committed to the cause. How did this happen? When did
failure slip from pastime to national obsession?
Fintan O’Toole, journalist and author of the bestselling Heroic
Failure, picks through the wreckage of Brexit, exploring the rise of
SAT a quite brilliant dissection English nationalism, and considering the potential consequences
17
PARADE TOWER of the cultural roots of the for Ireland, the border, and peace.
ADMISSION €14/€12 Brexit narrative
2PM
Ed Milliband Duration 60 mins approx.
30 SPOKEN WORD SPOKEN WORD 31

Transforming Evans’ Home

THE HUBERT BUTLER ANNUAL LECTURE
Creating a Butler Gallery for the 21st Century
Evelyn Graham, Gerry Kearns, Niall McCullough & Anna O’Sullivan
From Revolution to Resolution:
War and Peace in the Modern Era The Butler Gallery’s eagerly awaited new premises at

Fergal Keane Evans’ Home will open next year, complete with four
permanent collection galleries, a large contemporary art
gallery, an education and learning centre and a media
Introduced by Olivia O’Leary centre. As building work continues apace, Evelyn Graham,
Project Liaison Architect at Kilkenny County Council; Gerry
Kearns, Professor of Human Geography at NUI Maynooth;
architect Niall McCullough and Butler Gallery Director
Anna O’Sullivan trace the evolution of the project so
far, exploring the concept behind McCullough Mulvin’s
In his three decades as a BBC correspondent, Fergal Keane has acclaimed design, and the challenges of combining a
reported on conflicts all over the world, from Northern Ireland restoration project with a state-of-the-art new space.
to Rwanda, earning acclaim for his deep compassion and eye
for detail, and winning countless awards including a BAFTA, Duration 60 mins approx.
the Orwell Prize for political writing and an OBE for services to
journalism. He is now Africa Editor of the BBC, travelling and
reporting on the continent. SUN PARADE TOWER

In recent years he has turned his attention to older conflicts,

11
2PM
ADMISSION
FREE BUT TICKETED
writing acclaimed books on everything from the siege of
Kohima during World War Two to his grandmother’s experiences
in North Kerry during the War of Independence and the Civil War.

In this year’s Hubert Butler Lecture, Keane draws on a lifetime

of frontline experience to reflect on the nature of war. What
makes people decide to take up arms, how does the act of
killing reverberate through the generations, and is it possible to Behind the
Canvas
achieve a more peaceful world?

Duration 75 mins approx.

PHOTO WITOLD RIEDEL

Amy Cutler,
Eamon Colman
& Blaise Smith
Some of the artists featured in this year’s Festival have radically different approaches to
Chaired by Anna O’Sullivan their work. While Blaise Smith’s extraordinarily detailed portraits are painted from close
observation, Eamon Colman’s abstract works are inspired by epic walks through the Irish
landscape and Amy Cutler draws inspiration from a mixture of memory, imagination and
SUN The Hubert Butler Annual Lecture was established by the MON PARADE TOWER current events. In this fascinating talk all three artists share thoughts on their own artistic
11 12
ST CANICE’S CATHEDRAL Festival in 2007 to honour the Kilkenny writer, historian and process in the company of Butler Gallery Director Anna O’Sullivan.
ADMISSION
ADMISSION €17/€15 broadcaster whose remarkable consistency of vision and clarity FREE BUT TICKETED
5.30PM 5PM
of mind made him unique among 20th-century essayists. Duration 60 mins approx.
32 SPOKEN WORD SPOKEN WORD 33

Pictures at an Exhibition
Niamh Boyce
The Creative Dialogue Between In 1324, Kilkenny heiress Alice Kyteler was accused of witchcraft by the Bishop of Ossory and
Hartmann and Mussorgsky her maidservant Petronelle was burned at the stake. Nothing is known of Petronelle bar her
name, but in Her Kind bestselling author Niamh Boyce reimagines the story from the point
Gerry Murphy of view of Petronelle and her daughter Basilia. Both lyrical and unflinching, Her Kind is a
‘shout through time’ (Nuala O’Connor), a rich and involving story of ambition, loss, misogyny
and family love that gives voice to two of the silenced women in Kilkenny – and Ireland’s
– past. In this fascinating talk – taking place, appropriately, in one of Kilkenny’s iconic
Inspired by a posthumous exhibition of his friend Viktor Hartmann’s medieval spaces – Boyce reads from her acclaimed novel and explores what inspired her to
work, Pictures at an Exhibition takes the listener on a musical tour of write about the Kilkenny Witch Trials.
the show, with each piece representing one of Hartmann’s paintings.
Ahead of Alexander Gavrylyuk’s eagerly awaited performance in St Duration 60 mins approx.
Canice’s, composer and music teacher Gerry Murphy explores the
visual inspiration behind Mussorgsky’s most celebrated work.
Boyce’s writing … is always a pleasure to read

PHOTO MIGUEL RUIZ

SAT
… her prose strikes a perfect balance between
Duration 80 mins approx.
17
11AM
PARADE TOWER
ADMISSION €12/€10 the gritty and the sublime
SAT The Irish Times

10
11AM
PARADE TOWER
ADMISSION €12/€10

RHYME RAG
IN COLLABORATION WITH LAUREATE NA nÓG
PRESENTS
Clara Schumann: Her Life & Music
Ian Fox We Are The Poets
Laureate na nÓg Sarah Crossan is on a Laureate na nÓg is an initiative of the Arts
A talented pianist and a celebrated composer, Clara Schumann lived a
mission to encourage teenagers to express Council. It is supported by the Arts Council of
life packed with drama. A child prodigy, she became the first pianist to
themselves through poetry. Her project Northern Ireland, the Department of Children
perform from memory, earned most of the Schumann family’s income,
We Are The Poets inspires young people to and Youth Affairs and Poetry Ireland and is
and stood at the centre of a tempestuous love triangle between her
perform with more confidence and helps managed by Children’s Books Ireland. The
husband Robert Schumann and Brahms.
them to connect them to a wider audience. honour was established by the Arts Council
For this special Festival edition of We Are The to engage young people with high-quality
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of her birth, Ian Fox explores the
Poets, featuring MC John Cummins and guest literature and to underline the importance
life and work of the woman who tragically renounced composition at
poet Moley, Kilkenny’s Rhyme Rag Collective of children’s literature in our cultural and
the age of 36.
performs work created during a masterclass imaginative lives.
Duration 60 mins approx. for young writers.

John Cummins has been writing for over 20

years and performing since early 2010. He
MON WED
was Leinster Poetry Slam Champion for three
12
PARADE TOWER
14
PARADE TOWER
ADMISSION €12/€10 years running and the 2013/2014 All-Ireland ADMISSION
11AM Poetry Slam Champion. He is currently poet in 2PM FREE BUT TICKETED
residence at Bohemians Football Club.
34 SPOKEN WORD from the get- MUSIC & FILM 35

go, Paterson’s
poetry has been
essential reading
Mícheál ‘Moley’
The Guardian Dracula
with live score
Ó Súilleabháin
Don
Whether singing sean nós or Gregorian Paterson UK Musicians

PHOTO MURDO MACLEOD

chant, singer, poet, rapper, actor and human
beatboxer Mícheál ‘Moley’ Ó Súilleabháin is a
spellbinding performer. For this special event
Ó Súilleabháin performs original compositions
from his debut poetry collection, forthcoming
from Many Rivers Press.
Moley also takes part in We Are the Poets.
See page 33 for details.
Duration 60 mins approx.
POET IN RESIDENCE
Introduced by Maureen Kennelly
Since his first collection, Nil Nil, won the Forward Prize in 1993, Don Paterson
has been hailed as one of the most exciting voices in British poetry. Over seven
collections – including Landing Light and 40 Sonnets – his exuberant mix of
the quotidian, the surreal and the mystical has earned him countless accolades,
including the TS Eliot Prize (twice), the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the
Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. A talented jazz musician and composer, a brilliantly
insightful critic, and – as Poetry Editor for Picador – a long-standing champion of
new voices, Paterson’s talents are astonishingly diverse, and we’re delighted to
welcome him back to Kilkenny to read from his work, and to reflect on the state of
poetry, in all its forms, today.
Duration 60 mins approx.
Eivind Aarset electric guitar
Seán Mac Erlaine reeds/electronics/prepared piano
Matthew Nolan electric guitar/synth
Sharon Phelan vocals
As darkness falls on a summer evening, why not cool
down with this spine-chilling screening of Dracula?
Released in 1931, and starring the legendary Bela Lugosi
as the thirsty count, Tod Browning’s version of the horror
classic is one of the last great films of the silent era.
This special screening features a bone-tingling live score
composed and performed by Seán Mac Erlaine, ‘one of
the most interesting and adventurous musicians of his
generation’ (The Irish Times), who leads a quartet of
outstanding musicians, including guitarists Eivind Aarset
and Matthew Nolan, and acclaimed singer Sharon Phelan.
Filled with haunting vocals and nerve-shredding guitar
riffs, this thrilling live show is guaranteed to cool the SAT

17
THU SAT blood on a warm August night. WATERGATE THEATRE

15 17
PARADE TOWER PARADE TOWER ADMISSION €15
ADMISSION €12/€10 ADMISSION €14/€12 8PM
Duration 75 mins approx.
1PM 5PM

Poetry Workshop Kilkenny Poetry Broadsheet

Local Films for The Irish Film Institute’s Local Films
For Local People brings county-specific
KILKENNY KALEIDOSCOPE:
PROGRAMME 1
KILKENNY KALEIDOSCOPE:
PROGRAMME 2

Don Paterson leads this
workshop for poets.
Participation is by application.
Email info@poetryireland.ie
for further details.
Please note: places are
strictly limited.
SAT
Join us at the Parade Tower to celebrate the publication of Kilkenny Arts Local People: programmes of films from the IFI Irish
Film Archive out of the vaults and back
Political Rally Kilkenny
5 mins / B&W / c.1917
GAA Hurling Final 1957
10 mins / B&W / 1957
Office’s Poetry Broadsheet 19, launched this year by Don Paterson and Jean
O’Brien. The Broadsheet gives local writers a platform to showcase their Kilkenny to the communities from whence they
came. The first of two Kilkenny-themed
Kilkenny 685 Rooney
work. This year’s editor is Dublin-based writer and poet, Jean O’Brien. She
has published five collections of poetry, the latest of which, New & Selected
Kaleidoscope programmes offers glimpses of life in
the city through the ages, from Countess
20 mins / B&W / 1966
The Restoration
85 mins / B&W / 1958 /
George Pollock
Fish on a Bicycle, was reprinted by Salmon Publishing in 2018. She was the Markievicz at a 1917 political rally to the of Kilkenny Castle
2017/18 recipient of the Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellowship and has restoration of the castle by the OPW. The 30 mins / Colour / 1995
won many awards for her poetry. second programme focuses on hurling,
including a screening of the much-loved THU WATERGATE THEATRE
comedy Rooney, about a Dublin dustbin

17 ATTENDANCE BY
16
FRI
PARADE TOWER
ADMISSION FREE (TICKETED)
man who finds himself lining up for
Kilkenny at the 1957 final.
15 PROGRAMME 1: 4.30PM
PROGRAMME 2: 6.30PM
4.30PM & ADMISSION €7 PER PROGRAMME,
APPLICATION
11AM 4PM 6.30PM €10 FOR BOTH
IFI is supported by the Arts Council
36 VISUAL ART VISUAL ART 37

BUTLER GALLERY
IN ASSOCIATION WITH KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL

Amy Cutler: Colloquies

The Butler Gallery is delighted to present the first exhibition in Ireland by the New York-based artist Amy Cutler.

Cutler’s paintings and pencil on paper works are both dark and delightful – whimsical allegories illustrating the
destructive effects of the unrealistic expectations that cultures impose on women. Cutler draws from a combination of her
own memories and life experiences and current events to convey the complexities and cultural subtexts associated with
womanhood. The rituals Cutler illustrates and the allusive narrative world she creates between her archetypal characters
become a fascinating conversation full of intrigue that reveals the interior and exterior life of women.

Amy Cutler has exhibited extensively internationally including shows at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia;
the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO; the Indianapolis Museum
of Art; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. Works by the artist are in the collections of The Museum of
Modern Art, New York; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Baltimore
Museum of Art; the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Ithaca, NY; Indianapolis Museum of Art;
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York; The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, and those of many other distinguished institutions and private individuals.

Funding support provided by Creative Ireland and the Kilkenny County Council.

Amy Cutler will take part in an artists’ discussion with Eamon Colman and Blaise Smith in the Parade Tower
on Monday 12 August at 5pm. See page 31 for details.

BUTLER GALLERY
Amy Cutler
You Were Always On My Mind, 2013 OPENING BUTLER GALLERY, THE CASTLE, KILKENNY
Gouache on paper BUTLER
SAT GALLERY
+353 56 776 1106
22-1/8 x 23 inches; 56.2 x 58.4 cm 10 WWW.BUTLERGALLERY.COM
© Amy Cutler, courtesy Leslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, New York, 3PM-5PM 10AM – 5.30PM DAILY UNTIL 6 OCTOBER
Heather Podesta Collection
BUTLER GALLERY
38 VISUAL ART VISUAL ART 39

Double Vision
Eamon Colman
& Blaise Smith

This exhibition brings together two Eamon Colman lets his feelings
radically different Kilkenny-based artists run wild with his landscapes –
for a double ‘portrait’ of the county. his work is a kind of revelation
While Blaise Smith’s creates portraits and
Sunday Times
landscapes that record everyday life with
breathtaking precision, Eamon Colman
blends the figurative and the abstract, Eamon Colman
On Slievenamon lies a warrior queen, 2019
capturing shifting weather patterns and
Oil and mixed media on acid-free paper, framed under perspex
the experience of walking the terrain. For H. 60 cm x W. 56 cm (unframed size)
this brand-new project, both artists have

PHOTO KATE BOWE O’BRIEN

spent time painting ‘landscapes’ in and
around Kilkenny. The result is a fascinating

PHOTO ANTHONY HOBBS

exhibition that offers two startlingly fresh
visions of the city, and the county, as seen
through the eyes of two of Ireland’s most
respected artists.

The Encounter That Never Was Drop into Rothe House in the afternoon
on Friday 16 August to see Blaise Smith
painting en plein air.

Eamon Colman and Blaise Smith will take

Kilkenny Arts Office is pleased to present The Encounter That Never Was, a group part in an artists’ discussion with Amy
exhibition which explores how we interpret and inhabit space through a series of Cutler in the Parade Tower on Monday 12
subtle sculptural interventions. Drawing on architectural language and materiality August at 5pm. See page 31 for details. as a figurative artist,
the exhibition interrogates how we encounter and understand our surroundings. Blaise Smith is … in a
class of his own
This is the third in a series of exhibitions by curator in residence Leah Corbett in the
Sunday Times
Kilkenny Arts Office Gallery.

This programme is funded by Kilkenny County Council Arts Office, Creative Ireland Blaise Smith
and the Arts Council of Ireland. Noel’s Back Field, 2018
Oil on canvas
25 cm x 35 cm

OPENING
SAT 5 DEAN STREET, KILKENNY
10 EXHIBITION DATES: 9 AUGUST - 7 SEPTEMBER 2019
OPENING HOURS 9 - 18 AUGUST: 10.30AM-5.30PM
1PM OPENING
FRI 10 – 18 AUGUST
9 DORE’S OLD FACTORY
MON-SUN 10.30AM-5.30PM
5PM
40 DESIGN DESIGN 41

IMAGES FROM DAITHI MAGNER, CAOIMHE MCGUCKIN, JOE CASLIN, JOHN RAINEY

CURATED BY
Fiona Mulholland
Talks + Workshops at National Design & Craft Gallery

This thought-provoking exhibition represents the ‘emotional geography’ of the makers, generating EXHIBITORS
FRI 9 AUG, 2PM – 5PM SUN 11 AUG, 12 NOON
a fascinating visual interplay between authentic storytelling and artistic expression, with a sense of Max Brosi
Line + Narrative (16+) €25* Movement + Mindfulness (14+)*
playfulness and infectious imagination. A common thread throughout is the artists’ preoccupation with Joe Caslin
Masterclass in illustration techniques with Joe Caslin. Flow yoga in the Castle Yard with Essie Millie.
making the invisible visible, and a fundamental interest in traditional processes and materials. Julie Connellan
Hazel Kenny
SAT 10 + SUN 11 AUG, Drop-in 11AM – 4PM TUES 13 - THUR 15 AUG, 2PM, 3PM & 4PM
From amputated limb jewellery by Hazel Kenny to wearable measurement systems of Caoimhe McGuckin; Daithi Magner
Creative Construction in the Secret Garden (14+) Children’s Craft Workshops, 1 workshop/child (6-13yrs)*
‘voluptuously illustrated’ silk scarfs by Pony Ltd., to Rorschach inkblot textiles of Brigitta Varadi; derelict Paul McClure
A collaborative build using found materials and DIY architecture,
angel houses constructed using found materials by Daithi Magner, to artefacts that suggest new ways of Caoimhe McGuckin Impressive Illustrations
inspired by Daithi Magner’s sculpture, with Sandra McAlister.
representing the self of Max Brosi and John Rainey, Crowded Thresholds is an intriguing group exhibition John Rainey with Caroline Schofield
of established and emerging practitioners, working across different disciplines in applied art, design Niall Sweeney @ Pony Ltd.
SUN 11 – SUN 18 AUG, 11AM – 4PM Textured Textiles
and visual art. As part of the exhibition, renowned illustrator Joe Caslin is producing a new installation Brigitta Varadi
Secret Garden Reflective Creative Space with Sandra Mc Allister
reflecting creativity in Kilkenny, which will be installed in a prominent location within the city centre. Drop in to our peaceful secret garden retreat to relax, contemplate
Clay Creatures
or make.
Crowded Thresholds explores effects of the subconscious in the creation and response to objects of with Brid Lyons
material culture. Reflecting on what Freud termed ‘The Uncanny’, the psychological experience of SAT 10 AUG, 1PM
something as strangely familiar, the curator is interested in how psychoanalytic concepts overlap with the SAT 17 AUG, 11AM – 1PM
Crowded Thresholds Curator’s Tour
creative process. Bringing together a disparate set of influences from popular culture to the avant-garde; Visible // Invisible (16+)* €10
Join curator Fiona Mulholland with exhibiting makers as they expand
surrealism to realism; social cultural issues to the body at a microscopic level, the exhibition ultimately Relax and reflect in this mindful drawing session,
on the narratives in the show, discussing personal and creative
embraces our humanity. with Caroline Schofield.
investments within making processes.

SAT 10 AUG, 1PM – 4PM

OPENING Crowded Thresholds Launch * Booking required - for more info & to book workshops visit
SAT 10 AUGUST – 10 NOVEMBER 2019
Exhibition launch with Crafted Cocktails from Pembroke Kilkenny. http://ndcg.eventbrite.com
10 NATIONAL DESIGN & CRAFT GALLERY, CASTLE YARD
MON-SAT 10AM-5.30PM, SUN 11AM-5.30PM
1PM-4PM
42 FAMILY The partnership between Barnstorm and Kilkenny Arts We acknowledge with
gratitude the support of a thing of beauty FAMILY 43

Festival continues in 2019 with StormFest – a family season Creative Ireland and the
Arts Council of Ireland.
The Irish Times on I Am a Little Boat

of a theatre and storytelling programme in the New Space

A Creative Space for Children @ CBS Secondary School, James Street, Kilkenny.
‘We believe passionately that an audience of children has the same right to the highest standards of production as does an adult audience,’
says Barnstorm’s Artistic Director Philip Hardy, ‘and the shows coming to StormFest this year exemplify this quality.’

I am a Little Boat

PHOTO LEWIS WILEMAN

Join traditional musicians Fiona Kelleher and Jim Murray for this enchanting
concert for young children (aged 0 to 5) and their parents. Drawing on her roots
in traditional music, singer and composer Fiona Kelleher has written a delightful
collection of gentle, soothing songs, specially designed to enchant young children.
Packed with gorgeous melodies
TEATER PATRASKET DENMARK M6 THEATRE COMPANY UK Pop-Up and simple lyrics, I am a Little
Boat is the perfect introduction SUN

Fly Little Gift Storytelling to the world of music.

11
11AM & 2PM
ORMONDE HOTEL
ADMISSION €7
Duration 60 mins approx.

Fly is a puppet theatre show for 5-to-10-year-olds and adults – An old soul lives alone. StormFest and
a poetic journey into a circus world of strange characters, big He likes it that way. Kilkenny Arts Festival
emotions and captivating puppet imagery. It’s quieter and safer. are delighted to

Arthur and Marta are two very old puppeteers who have been
One day, a surprise visitor plants a little seed of hope and turns
this lonely life upside down.
again collaborate in
presenting a series
Tiny Dancer
together throughout their lives. With a magical pavilion as a focal of storytelling events
point, they play out the story of the poor orphan boy Max, who Told by a very special performer, with a playful mix of puppetry, which include telling Lace up your dancing shoes and grab those
is being bullied and oppressed and is longing to fly. One day he original music and song, Little Gift is a brand-new tale from for children and glowsticks: it’s time for the kids to throw some
discovers the giraffe woman Lily, and the great love that might multi-award-winners M6 Theatre and Andy Manley. Join us for a adults, and a unique shapes and bust out their best moves as DJ Donal
give him wings… beautiful and optimistic story about a friendship waiting to grow. storytelling workshop Dineen hits the decks for a musical rollercoaster
for all budding tellers in ride. Expect dance tunes from every corner of the
Teater Patrasket is a well-known travelling theatre from Suitable for children (3-7 years) and their families. the region. globe. Kids just wanna have fun!
Copenhagen that tours throughout Denmark and abroad. The
performance is created in collaboration with the director Giacomo Duration 40 mins approx. Times and venues Duration 60 mins approx.
Ravicchio and draws inspiration from melodrama, freak show and to be revealed. See
circus romance. barnstorm.ie for Under 1s go free but if you’re
details. Admission €7. dancing you need a ticket!
Duration 40 mins approx.
SUN
ORMONDE HOTEL
SAT SUN
THE SPACE, CBS SECONDARY SCHOOL,
FRI SAT
THE SPACE, CBS SECONDARY SCHOOL, 18 ADMISSION
10
12PM & 3PM
11
12PM & 3PM
JAMES STREET, KILKENNY
ADMISSION €10 (€35 FOR FAMILY OF 4)
16
12PM & 3PM
17
12PM & 3PM
JAMES STREET, KILKENNY
ADMISSION €10 (€35 FOR FAMILY OF 4)
11AM & 2PM €7 ADULT/ €5 CHILD
 OUTDOOR
OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE
44 45

PERFORMANCE

Secret Garden Music

Now in its sixth year, Secret Garden Music is one of the Festival’s
most popular series. Every day throughout the Festival, a range of
artists offer pop-up performances in some of Kilkenny’s loveliest
spaces. This year we’ve expanded the programme both within the
city and beyond, adding a special Crash Ensemble performance at
Rothe House Courtyard (with Blaise Smith painting nearby) and
an extended session at Mount Juliet. Wherever you find yourself,
why not come along to find out who’s playing and enjoy free Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland
performances from leading Irish and international musicians?
SAT MON WED GAZEBO
Duration 15 mins approx.
10 12 14 BUTLER HOUSE GARDEN
ADMISSION FREE
Performances are subject to weather conditions. 12PM 12PM 12PM

SAT TUE THU SUN SUN TUE SAT

1.30PM
10 12PM
13 12PM
15 18 CASTLE PARK
ADMISSION FREE 11 13 17 ROTHE HOUSE GARDEN
ADMISSION FREE
12PM 1.30PM 1.30PM 12PM

FRI Crash at the Courtyard SUN THU SAT STONE CIRCLE

16 For details of Crash Ensemble’s
concerts in Rothe House see page 20.
ROTHE HOUSE COURTYARD
ADMISSION FREE 11 15 17 BUTLER HOUSE GARDEN
ADMISSION FREE
1.30PM 12PM 1.30PM 1.30PM

MON FRI WED MOUNT JULIET

12 16 HERITAGE COUNCIL GARDEN
ADMISSION FREE 14 ADMISSION FREE
SPECIAL EXTENDED SGM
1.30PM 12PM 1.30PM
46
Kilkenny is a treasure trove of wonderful local businesses, and we're proud to receive their support. Whatever you're looking to do, check out these great places! 47
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

GREAT
PLACES
TO Hotel Kilkenny Kilkenny Langton House Lyrath Estate Mount Juliet Newpark Hotel Butler Court Butler House
SLEEP Kilkenny
056 776 2000
Ormonde Hotel
056 775 0200
Pembroke Hotel
056 778 3500
Hotel
056 776 5133
Hotel
056 776 0088
Estate
056 777 3000
056 776 0500
flynnhotels.com
056 776 1178
butlercourt.com
056 772 2828
butler.ie
hotelkilkenny.ie kilkennyormonde.com pembrokekilkenny.com langtons.ie lyrath.com mountjuliet.ie

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

GREAT
PLACES
TO EAT
Special Festival Anocht Aroi Billy Byrne’s Butler Cakeface Campagne Harper’s Restaurant Langton’s Restaurant
menus available at select
restaurants Restaurant 056 770 3644 056 772 1783 Tea Rooms Patisserie 056 777 2858 056 777 1888 056 776 5133
056 772 2118 056 772 2828 056 773 9971

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Foodworks Fennelly’s La Rivista Marble City Bar Matt the Miller’s Sullivan’s Petronella Paris Texas Ristorante Rinuccini
056 777 7696 of Callan 056 777 1666 056 776 1143 Bar & Taproom Restaurant & 056 776 1822 056 776 1575
086 069 1421 Restaurant 056 772 2907 Café
056 776 1696 056 776 1899

27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

GREAT
PLACES
Rive Gauche Statham’s The Hoban Victor’s at Zuni Restaurant
TO Bridie’s Cleere’s Bar Hibernian Bar Kyteler’s Inn
056 777 5604 Restaurant
056 778 3500
Hotel
056 788 3100
The Club House
056 772 1994
056 772 3999
DRINK 056 776 5133 056 776 2573 056 777 1888 056 772 1064

See map on p.51.

48
36 37 16 38 39

GREAT
PLACES
TO Lenehans Bar Matt the Paris Texas Statham’s Bar
DRINK 086 250 4081 Miller’s Bar &
Restaurant
056 776 1822 056 778 3500

056 776 1696

40 41 42 43

GREAT
PLACES
TO Allens of The Book Centre Folkster GOODS – 4 Floors
SHOP Kilkenny & Carlow
95 High Street
10 High Street 27 Patrick Street of Fashion
88/90 High Street

Ticket
44 45 46 47 48

Here’s some news worth hearing.

THE IRISH TIMES culture magazine

BOOKS
Highbank Kieran O’Gorman Kilkenny Lamber de Bie Mint MediSpa
Orchard & - Hair & Beauty Design Centre Ormonde Street by Pembroke
Distillery Day Spa Castle Yard Kilkenny

FILM
Cuffesgrange The Butterslip 11 Patrick Street

ARTS
49 50 51 52 53

MUSIC
Mokum Interiors Specsavers Textures The Wardrobe The Zip Yard THEATRE
2 Dean Street Kilkenny Castle Yard Kilkenny - Design Irishtown Kilkenny Vehicle Centre,
Market Cross Consignment Store Callan Road, Kilkenny. Every Saturday in
086 2443229
Shopping Centre 29 Patrick Street kilkennyvehicles.com THE IRISH TIMES
50 51
HERITAGE COUNCIL
GARDEN

VICA
To Newpark 7 51
Hotel
36

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Lenehan’s Bar

REET
WO
LFE
TO
NE
ST
St Canice’s Cathedral RE
ET Campagne 15
Cakeface
IRI
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14 Patisserie MacDONAGH
Mokum 49 TO JUNCTION
Interiors WN
53
5 DEAN
STREET The Zip Yard
ET TRAIN
S TRE Cleere’s Bar
33
WATERGATE DU
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DEAN CLEERE’S THEATRE THEATRE
MIC 12 IN
Billy Byrne’s Bar RO
La Rivista 20 HA AD
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PAR
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TU
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JO
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BU ROTHE Estate Hotel 5

TS
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The Black Abbey GARDEN Rothe House
Kyteler’s MA
18 35

ST
Foodworks UD

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Inn

WE
Sullivan’s LIN

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23

BLACK
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Taproom SET THEATRE

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THE SPACE, RE
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Marble 4

HN
T 21
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MILL S

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City Bar
T 22

JO
Matt
ES S 50 17
JAM 45 Kieran O’Gorman the
BOX Langton’s Restaurant
Hair, Beauty, Day Spa Miller’s 37

TREET
Specsavers
E
OFFICE 32 Bridie’s
LAN E 76 JOHN ST
DG

HIGH
Petronella
PEL E 24 BRI
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A LAN Restaurant & Café
N’S
’S JOH

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FÁILTE IRELAND

ST
TOURIST OFFICE

INN
ST
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SE
Kilkenny
WIL

RO
Paris Texas 25 38
ET 41 40
KILKENNY CASTLE
Kilkenny Castle
RE ROSE GARDEN

City Map
T
YS The Allen’s of
IAR 11 Book
FR Aroi Kilkenny
Centre Rive Gauche KILKENNY
Hibernian 27 BUTLER CASTLE PARK
Lamber 34 GALLERY
Great Places to Sleep de Bie 47 Harper’s 16 Bar 26 Ristorante
Restaurant The 52 Rinuccini
T
Great Places to Drink REE Wardrobe Pembroke Hotel
N D E ST Kilkenny PARADE TOWER
M O Folkster 42 Statham’s Restaurant Design Centre
OR KILLKENNY & Mint by Pembroke
Great Places to Eat 2 ORMONDE
46 10
HOTEL Zuni 31 49 3 28 39 Anocht Restaurant

LO
WE
Great Places to Shop Victors at

R
30 Butler

NE
The Club House
8

W
See page 46 for details Court

ST
TH
BUTLER EP
HOUSE AR
NATIONAL AD
GARDEN E
51 DESIGN & CRAFT
GALLERY
Butler
House 13 9 Textures
Butler House

PATRICK ST UPPER
Tea Rooms
6
R OAD
H AYDEN
St Kieran’s FATHER To Mount
Juliet Estate
College

D
44 1 OA 19 29 2cm = 100m approx.
G ER
LLE
To Highbank Orchard & To Hotel CO

WAT
To Fennelly’s To The
Distillery, Cuffesgrange Kilkenny of Callan Hoban Hotel 1 inch = 400 feet approx.
lan

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52
Kilkenny Arts Festival 2019 Schedule 53

Thursday 8 Friday 9 Saturday 10 Sunday 11 Monday 12 Tuesday 13 Wednesday 14 Thursday 15 Friday 16 Saturday 17 Sunday 18
St Kieran’s Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing
College Quad (preview) 8pm, p.4 8pm, p.4 8pm, p.4 3.30pm, p.4 8pm, p.4 8pm, p.4 8pm, p.4 8pm, p.4 3:30pm & 8pm, p.4
St Canice’s fLux Alexander Gavrylyuk Hubert Butler Lecture: MCS: Martin Hayes Quartet Natalie Stutzmann ICO / Zehetmair Malcolm Proud Organ Recital
Cathedral 9.30pm, p.16 7.30pm, p.10 Fergal Keane 7.30pm, p.25 & Phoenix 55 7.30pm, p.12 11am, p.14
5.30pm, p.30 7.30pm, p.11
MCS: Martin Hayes
& Dennis Cahill & guests

8pm, p.27
Black Abbey ICO / Hunka Musici Ireland I Quatuor Mosaïques Quatuor Mosaïques Quatuor Mosaïques Chamber Choir Ireland Musici Ireland II
4pm, p.13 3.30pm, p.13 3.30pm, p.15 3.30pm, p.15 3.30pm, p.15 3.30pm, p.15 3.30pm, p.13
St John’s Priory Rafter / McHale Fionnuala Moynihan
3.30pm, p.14 3.30pm, p.14
Watergate Cleft Cleft Cleft Cleft The Soldier’s Tale The Soldier’s Tale IFI Kilkenny Kaleidoscope Sandy Silva Dracula
Theatre 7.30pm, p.8 7:30pm, p.8 7:30pm, p.8 3pm, p.8 7.30pm, p.9 7.30pm, p.9 4.30pm & 6.30pm, p.35 6pm, p.21 8pm, p.35
Set Theatre Rollercoaster: Balaklava Blues Rollercoaster: David Keenan MCS: Ní Dhomnaills / MCS: Richard Thompson MCS: Sounds Like Freedom Carlou D Wooden Elephant
Sick Love / The Wha 9.30pm, p.18 9.30pm, p.23 Mulcahys 9.30pm, p.26 10pm, p.27 10pm, p.19 10pm, p.19
8pm, p.22 9pm, p.25
Cleere’s Theatre Rat King Rollercoaster: Rollercoaster: Sun Collective Rollercoaster: Arborist Rollercoaster:
5pm, p.29 Cathal Coughlan 1 Cathal Coughlan 2 9pm, p.18 8pm, p.24 Seamus Fogarty
8pm, p.22 9pm, p.22 8pm, p.24
Parade Tower Pictures at an Exhibition Over the Backyard Wall Clara Schumann: The Big Chapel: We Are the Poets Mícheál ‘Moley’ Kilkenny Poetry Broadsheet Niamh Boyce Quiet Music Ensemble
11am, p.32 11am, p.28 Her Life and Music In Conversation 2pm, p.33 Ó Súilleabháin 4pm, p.34 11am, p.33 2pm, p.21
11am, p.32 11am, p.28 1pm, p.34
Transforming Heroic Failure
Evans’ Home Behind the Surface Famished 2pm, p.29
2pm, p.31 5pm, p.31 5pm, p.20
Don Paterson

5pm, p.34

Callan The Big Chapel (Preview) The Big Chapel The Big Chapel The Big Chapel The Big Chapel The Big Chapel The Big Chapel
9pm, p.6 9pm, p.6 9pm, p.6 9pm, p.6 9pm, p.6 9pm, p.6 9pm, p.6
Kilkenny Castle - Light Up the Castle Light Up the Castle Light Up the Castle Light Up the Castle
Rose Garden 10.40pm, p.17 10.40pm, p.17 10.40pm, p.17 10:40pm, p.17
Butler Gallery Amy Cutler Opening Colloquies Colloquies Colloquies Colloquies Colloquies Colloquies Colloquies Colloquies
3pm, p.36 10am-5.30pm, p.36 10am-5.30pm, p.36 10am-5.30pm, p.36 10am-5.30pm, p.36 10am-5.30pm, p.36 10am-5.30pm, p.36 10am-5.30pm, p.36 10am-5.30pm, p.36
National Design Crowded Thresholds Opening Crowded Thresholds Crowded Thresholds Crowded Thresholds Crowded Thresholds Crowded Thresholds Crowded Thresholds Crowded Thresholds Crowded Thresholds
& Craft Gallery 1pm, p.40 11am-5.30pm, p.40 10am-5.30pm, p.40 10am-5.30pm, p.40 10am-5.30pm, p.40 10am-5.30pm, p.40 10am-5.30pm, p.40 10am-5.30pm, p.40 11am-5.30pm, p.40
Dore’s Old Factory Double Vision Opening Double Vision Double Vision Double Vision Double Vision Double Vision Double Vision Double Vision Double Vision Double Vision
5pm 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38

Kilkenny Arts The Encounter That Never Was The Encounter The Encounter The Encounter The Encounter The Encounter The Encounter The Encounter The Encounter
Office Gallery That Never Was 5 Dean St, Kilkenny That Never Was That Never Was That Never Was That Never Was That Never Was That Never Was That Never Was That Never Was
5 Dean St, Kilkenny 10.30am-5.30pm 5 Dean St, Kilkenny 5 Dean St, Kilkenny 5 Dean St, Kilkenny 5 Dean St, Kilkenny 5 Dean St, Kilkenny 5 Dean St, Kilkenny 5 Dean St, Kilkenny 5 Dean St, Kilkenny
10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 (Opening 1pm) , p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38 10.30am-5.30pm, p.38
Other Venues Fly I Am a Little Boat Notions Notions Notions Notions Notions Notions Tiny Dancer
CBS Secondary School Ormonde Hotel Macra Na Feirme Hall, Callan Macra Na Feirme Hall, Callan Macra Na Feirme Hall, Callan Macra Na Feirme Hall, Callan Macra Na Feirme Hall, Callan Macra Na Feirme Hall, Callan Ormonde Hotel
12pm & 3pm, p.42 11am & 2pm, p.43 12pm-5pm, p.28 12pm-5pm, p.28 12pm-5pm, p.28 12pm-5pm, p.28 12pm-5pm, p.28 12pm-5pm, p.28 11am & 2pm, p.43
Notions (Opening) Little Gift Placemarker
Macra Na Feirme Hall, Callan CBS Secondary School The Friary, Callan
3pm, p.28 12pm & 3pm, p.42 3.30pm, p.28
Fly Crash Ensemble (Courtyard) Little Gift
CBS Secondary School Rothe House CBS Secondary School
12pm & 3pm, p.42 1.30pm, p.20 12pm & 3pm, p.42

Street & Gardens Secret Garden Music Secret Garden Music Secret Garden Music Secret Garden Music Secret Garden Music Secret Garden Music Secret Garden Music Secret Garden Music Secret Garden Music
Gazebo, Butler House Garden Stone Circle, Butler House Gazebo, Butler House Castle Park Gazebo, Butler House Garden Castle Park Heritage Council Garden Rothe House Garden Castle Park
12pm, p.44 12pm, p.44 12pm, p.44 12pm, p.44 12pm, p.44 12pm, p.44 12pm, p.44 12pm, p.44 12pm, p.44
Castle Park Rothe House Garden Heritage Council Garden Rothe House Garden Mount Juliet Stone Circle, Butler House Rothe House Courtyard Stone Circle, Butler House
1.30pm, p.44 1.30pm, p.44 1.30pm, p.44 1.30pm, p.44 1.30pm, p.44 1.30pm, p.44 1.30pm, p.44 1.30pm, p.44

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