Museums & Archive

Kilkenny Castle
The Parade, Kilkenny City

Tel. No. 056 7721450
Fax. No. 056 7763488
Email: info@kilkennycastle.ie
Website: www.kilkennycastle.ie

Open: October - February
09.30 - 16.30 
March
09.30 - 17.00 
April-May
09.30 - 17.30
June-August
09.00 - 17.30
September
09.30 - 17.30
Closed: Good Friday. Check with Castle for opening arrangements over Christmas and New Year. 

KILKENNY CASTLE stands dramatically on a strategic height that commands a crossing on the River Nore and dominates the High Town of Kilkenny City. Over the eight centuries of its existence, many additions and alterations have been made to the fabric of the building, making Kilkenny Castle today a complex structure of various architectural styles. The original Anglo-Norman stone castle was built for William Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (c.1146-1219) during the first decade of the thirteenth century. Kilkenny Castle later became the principal Irish residence of the powerful Butler family for almost 600 years. The Butler ownership began when James (c.1360-1405), 3rd Earl of Ormond, purchased the castle in c.1391, and lasted until 1967 when Arthur, 6th Marquess of Ormonde (1893-1971), presented it to the people of Kilkenny in return for a token payment of £50. The buildings have been in the care of the Office of Public Works since 1969, and many important programmes of archaeological excavation, conservation, and restoration have been carried out there.