Welcome to our Arts Festival! The long summer evenings can be wonderful in Kilkenny.
Lady Desart pedestrian bridge
River Nore, John’s bridge and Kilkenny Castle
Lady Desart bridge reflected in the still evening.
Kilkenny Castle at dusk
the Parade
St Mary’s Cathedral
St Kieran’s Street
Kytelers historic public house
John street
picnic area in castle park
This year there has been a wonderful display of rare orchids at Melville. Congratulations to the resident’s association who are not undertaking grass cutting in their bee / pollinator friendly gr
een 
spaces.
The non-native invasive species is to be found on the river Nore close to Kilkenny City. The plant due to its large size, it can smother native plant species reducing biodiversity and needs to be kept under control.The plant is an annual and it is important to remove new season growth prior to seeding.
Keep Kilkenny Beautiful Environmental Subcommittee undertook a pilot balsam removal project on the river Breagagh in 2015. This was found to be quite successful with only limited new plant growth in the areas cleared in 2015.
In 2016 Keep Kilkenny Beautiful has proceeded with a much larger Balsam removal project. This commenced in May 2016 with removal of any new plants in the section of the river between Ossory Bridge and the Boardwalk area.In addition, clearance is also being undertaken in the river Breagagh. The work is being done section by section by hard-working volunteers without the use of chemicals. The plants are being pulled by the root and are being composted. Repeat visits are being made during the course of the summer to remove any additional balsam growth and to prevent flowering. The results of this larger pilot project will be reviewed again in detail in 2017 to assess the success of the work and to see if any adjustments to the work procedure be considered.
KKB are also thankful of the assistance and cooperation being received from Kilkenny Angler’s and Kilkenny County Council.
KKB welcomes new volunteers to assist . See our Contacts page, also see also our Events page.
Regina Byrne Hon Secretary KKB and Bernadette Moloney Environmental awareness Officer with a large balsam plant on the board walk.
Hard working volunteer group on the Board walk making ready to clear the Balsam
The sun shone and the town was blooming as president Higgins formally presented Letterkenny with the overall National Tidy towns Award 2015. KKB members attended and represented Kilkenny City at the event.
President Higgins speaks to all at the event.
Official unveiling of National Award plaque
Some of the large crowd at the event enjoying the warm weather.
The entrance to the Riverside drive access to the Nore riverside walk looks a lot better today after the great spring cleaning work which has been completed. We thank the support of the Presbyterian Church in Kilkenny who came out in large numbers to work for the community. their aim is “Faith in Deed”, what a great way to do it!
A fantastic new roundabout at Henebry Cross on the Castlecomer road approach to Kilkenny City has been planted with sustainable plants and a really special floral sculpture of substantial scale. Congratulations to Kilkenny Co Co
A pollinator day took place at Rothe house on their garden open day in conjunction with Tanguy de Toulgoët and coordinated by the KKB. Tanguy is a bee keeper and he explained the art of bee keeping and the importance of pollinator plants. There was also a honey tasting. Information was provided in relation to the selection of pollinator plants and how a garden could be made more bee friendly.
Visitors from Japan review the bee hive design which is of French/Japanese design
Honey tasting in Rothe garden
Rothe house herb garden
Rothe orchard, the grass is being left uncut to encourage wild flowers
Tanguy de Toulgoët explains the bee hive construction.
An amazing new hurling sculpture has been erected at Canal Square in Kilkenny city centre. This culture celebrates the success of hurling in Kilkenny city and county. The piece was sculpted in Kilkenny limestone by Sculptor, Barry Wrafter. The prominent location on Canal Square is already becoming an attraction for locals and tourists alike. There is a wonderful backdrop of the river Nore and Kilkenny Castle.
Waiting for the official unveiling!
Some of the large crowd
the Sculpture is finally officially unveiled for all to see!
Saturday May 28th : Presentation at Bee friendly Rothe House garden 1pm-3pm. There will also be the identification of bee/pollinator friendly plants. All are welcome. Entry to the Gardens is free to all on the day. Arranged by KKB and Rothe House gardens.
We also welcome Tanguy de Toulgoët a bee keeper to explain the art of bee keeping. He uses a French system using a vertical divisible hive. The small boxes suits very well the size of the bee cluster especially during the winter. It is a great hive to keep bees naturally. They organise their nest in their own way and the surplus honey is harvested (if any) around August. The honey is stored in the higher boxes. The honey will be pressed or can be eaten in the comb. A full box is always left for the bees for the winter.
Rothe house gardens