The skies above Kilkenny made the news in very different ways, back in March.Kilkenny pilot George O’Hara landed his penultimate flight at Kerry airport after more than 15,000 successful landings in a storied career. Captain George retired from commercial aviation, after personally delivering over 3.5 million passengers safely. Meanwhile, visitors to St Canice’s Cathedral were looking into space when the touring artwork, Museum of the  Moon, was unveiled at St Canice’s Cathedral. The luminous artwork featured  detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. Suspended metres above ground, visitors could walk underneath and even see the ‘dark side of the moon’! BELOW: Creator Richard Boland pulls the first pint with general manager Peter Wilson at The Avalon Hotel in Castlecomer for the launch of the HelloYes local craft beer PICTURE: Alf Harvey The biggest party of the year took over county venues and city streets, for St Patrick’s Day and Tradfest. But it was a wintery one that we headlined: ‘Green, white and cold!’ Parades took place in Goresbridge, Thomastown, Graignamanagh, Urlingford and Kilkenny City, with the latter also playing host to the weekend-long St Patrick’s Festival and Tradfest, which saw tens of thousands of visitors flock to town. Parade marshalls in the city were Olympian cyclist Mia Griffin and Junior Eurovision Éire 2024 winner Enya Cox Dempsey. Kilkenny had barely finished one festival when headliners were announced for another!placeholder image
The skies above Kilkenny made the news in very different ways, back in March.Kilkenny pilot George O’Hara landed his penultimate flight at Kerry airport after more than 15,000 successful landings in a storied career. Captain George retired from commercial aviation, after personally delivering over 3.5 million passengers safely. Meanwhile, visitors to St Canice’s Cathedral were looking into space when the touring artwork, Museum of the  Moon, was unveiled at St Canice’s Cathedral. The luminous artwork featured  detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. Suspended metres above ground, visitors could walk underneath and even see the ‘dark side of the moon’! BELOW: Creator Richard Boland pulls the first pint with general manager Peter Wilson at The Avalon Hotel in Castlecomer for the launch of the HelloYes local craft beer PICTURE: Alf Harvey The biggest party of the year took over county venues and city streets, for St Patrick’s Day and Tradfest. But it was a wintery one that we headlined: ‘Green, white and cold!’ Parades took place in Goresbridge, Thomastown, Graignamanagh, Urlingford and Kilkenny City, with the latter also playing host to the weekend-long St Patrick’s Festival and Tradfest, which saw tens of thousands of visitors flock to town. Parade marshalls in the city were Olympian cyclist Mia Griffin and Junior Eurovision Éire 2024 winner Enya Cox Dempsey. Kilkenny had barely finished one festival when headliners were announced for another!

March: Kilkenny was looking up to the skies!

Sian Moloughney
By Sian Moloughney

Reporter

Published 31st Dec 2025, 09:33 GMT
Updated 2nd Jan 2026, 09:06 GMT

Review of the Year

Looking ahead to the summer Kilkenny Arts Festival Director Olga Barry revealed the city would stage three world premier performances in August. We were also looking forward to the AKA Fringe Festival and the Cat Laughs weekend, all announcing plans in March. The ongoing housing crisis was highlighted by The Good Shepherd Centre with their ‘March for Housing’ initiative. Locals walked through the city’s streets to highlight the deepening housing crisis and took part in the St Patrick’s Day Parade. Local companies were lauded on the national stage. Denise Walsh’s CurlyCo hair care company was among the five winners of Visa’s 2024 She’s Next Grant Programme in Ireland. Goatsbridge Trout Farm from Thomastown, was awarded Best Environmentally Sustainable Food Product at the Irish Foodservice Supplier Awards (IFSA Awards). BELOW: Presentation Secondary School students Aine Bambrick (model), Katie O’Keeffe and Jodie Lindsay qualified for the Junk Kouture Regional Finals

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Looking ahead to the summer Kilkenny Arts Festival Director Olga Barry revealed the city would stage three world premier performances in August. We were also looking forward to the AKA Fringe Festival and the Cat Laughs weekend, all announcing plans in March. The ongoing housing crisis was highlighted by The Good Shepherd Centre with their ‘March for Housing’ initiative. Locals walked through the city’s streets to highlight the deepening housing crisis and took part in the St Patrick’s Day Parade. Local companies were lauded on the national stage. Denise Walsh’s CurlyCo hair care company was among the five winners of Visa’s 2024 She’s Next Grant Programme in Ireland. Goatsbridge Trout Farm from Thomastown, was awarded Best Environmentally Sustainable Food Product at the Irish Foodservice Supplier Awards (IFSA Awards). BELOW: Presentation Secondary School students Aine Bambrick (model), Katie O’Keeffe and Jodie Lindsay qualified for the Junk Kouture Regional Finals

Related topics:St Canice’s CathedralKilkennyKilkenny City
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