December: Celebrity visits, milestone birthdays and more - Kilkenny Year in Review

December brought great festive cheer to Kilkenny city and county with a myriad of events taking place.

From the Yulefest Festival, which goes from strength to strength to strength each year, while the annual church and festive services also dominated much of the calendar.

Kilkenny was to the fore in farmers affairs this month with President of the Association and Kilkenny farmer, Denis Drennan, telling the Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, that the whole country was beginning to experience the exhausting ‘dog in the manger’ attitude brought to every debate and decision by self-appointed and self-elected NGOs and ‘“serial objectors’.

December also marked a difficult month for local business.

Long-standing local business Hennessy Sports confirmed their decision to ‘focus and specialise’ their services to designing trophies and medals.

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Meanwhile, Sally West called time on their Kieran Street retail outlet.

The shop has been a firm favourite with both local shoppers and visitors to Kilkenny, stocking a wide range of leading fashion brands.

A sign was erected in March announcing it is closing down and a closing down sale as a result leaving many shoppers in the locality disappointed.

Furthermore, a popular bar in Johnstown was forced to make a significant business decision due to ‘ever increasing overheads’.

In a statement, the business confirmed that they’ve decided ‘not to continue’ with their Sunday lunch trade.

There were joyous scenes south this month too as the community of Inistioge gathered together for a massive celebration as former teacher, headmaster and community activist Tommy Hayes reached his milestone 90th birthday.

In the council chamber, traffic management issues remained top of the agenda in December with more pressure to remedy the ongoing issue of safety on the Ring Road particularly at the Bennettsbridge Road roundabout junction.

In positive news, the Nore Valley Walk and the Thomastown to Inistioge path have been named as two of Ireland’s best walks in a new book by John G. O’Dwyer. 

In sport, Kilkenny grabbed national attention with some high profile visitors.

Former Ulster and Irish rugby player Tommy Bowe made one local man’s day by purchasing his Christmas shopping in an act of festive kindness during the hustle and bustle.

Meanwhile, GAA President Jarlath Burns visited Danesfort and Graignamanagh GAA clubs for the opening of their new facilities with both clubs offering a warm welcome.

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