Author: Heritage Office

100 years Commemoration
Commemorating 100 years of the Dáil and Women’s Right to Vote
The Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr. Eamonn Aylward, led a commemoration of the centenary of the first meeting of Dáil Eireann on January 21st 1919 at County Hall on Monday January 21st. Cllr. Mary Hilda Cavanagh also spoke about the commemoration of women achieving a vote in the 1918 general election. The Flag Party, of the 3rd Infantry Battalion (James Stephens Barracks) raised the Irish Flag. The solemn celebration ended with the planting of two native oak trees in the grounds of County Hall. The event was co-ordinated by the Heritage Office.
Saluting the flag (photo Pat Moore)
February 28, 2019
16 VOICES – Remembering 1916 – A Medical Perspective. St. Lukes Hospital
Come and hear the Witness Statement of Nurse Aoife de Burca (Eva Burke) of her week in the GPO in 1916.
Venue: the new reception Atrium at St Luke’s.
Time: 8.00pm.
Date: 31st March. Free Public Event.
March 23, 2016
1916 Historical Theatre
2016 is calling! This Spring Kilkenny is giving over it’s streets and some of it’s much loved historical buildings to a brand new and exciting piece of historically inspired, site specific theatre.
The public of Kilkenny are invited on a journey through the streets of our beautiful city, from the Parade to the Court House, through doorways and slip ways, tracing the steps of Thomas MacDonagh and exploring the stories that are Kilkenny’s contribution to the 1916 Rising.
Barnstorm Theatre are looking for talented community members to take them on that journey. Experience is a bonus but a simple desire to be involved is enough.
Celebrating the rich heritage of Kilkenny City, this will be a piece of promenade theatre that no one can miss!
Open casting sessions will be held in Barnstorm Theatre, Church Lane, Kilkenny, 12 noon to 3pm Saturday the 12th and Sunday 13th March (16 years +). Barnstorm Theatre are looking for talented individuals from all walks of life, so if performing isn’t your thing you are still welcome to offer your skills on the day, or get in touch.
The production will run from Saturday 30th April to Tuesday 3rd May.
Funded by Kilkenny County Council, Heritage Tales presents this unique 1916 Project, directed by Ita Morrissey and co-produced by Hannah McCormick.
March 9, 2016
Kilkenny 1916-2016 Centenary Programme
The Kilkenny 1916-2016 Centenary Programme was formally launched on 11th December 2015, in Rothe House Kilkenny, by Minister Ann Phelan. Kilkenny County Council has taken a pro-active role in embracing the Community strand of the Seven Strand National Programme for Ireland 2016, with the appointment of a cross party Commemoration Committee. Community participation is at the forefront of Kilkenny’s ambitions for 2016. Events across the County are being supported in a manner that will assist local voluntary groups to ensure that their own commemoration ceremonies and events are arranged to a high standard with the maximum participation and attendance. For further details download a copy of the Kilkenny 1916-2016 Centenary Programme.
January 21, 2016
Dublin Rising 1916-2016
Dublin Rising 1916-2016 is a site built by Google in partnership with Ireland 2016, the State Centenary Programme to remember 1916, to reflect on the Republic 100 years on, and to re-imagine our future. The aim is to enable anyone, anywhere to participate in the 1916 Centenary, through online access to historical and cultural resource material. On this virtual tour, you can explore locations around Dublin city and discover the events of the 1916 Rising. See images from the time, listen to witness statements and learn about the people who shaped Ireland’s future. Hear how history was made, in the company of narrator and guide for the tour, Dubliner Colin Farrell. Visit Dublin Rising 1916-2016.
January 21, 2016
Heritage Week 22nd – 30th August
Heritage Week
22nd – 30th August 2015
The theme of this year’s Heritage Week which runs from Saturday 22nd – Sun 30th August is “Ireland’s Industrial and Design Heritage”.
Local heritage groups have compiled a diverse range of talks and exhibitions throughout the county; Kilkenny’s military heritage is very well represented in the programme, and includes guided walks, and talks about the contribution that Kilkenny men and women made to both World Wars, and the War of Independence.
A new and improved Heritage Week website has been developed by the Heritage Council for 2015. One of the new features is a downloadable county event brochure. The Heritage Office of Kilkenny County Council will use and promote this new event guide in Kilkenny this year; to print off the guide for County Kilkenny visit http://.www.heritageweek.ie/useful-info/event-guides.
Heritage Week is co-ordinated in County Kilkenny by the Heritage Office of Kilkenny County Council, and nationally by the Heritage Council, in conjunction with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and is part of European Heritage Days, which is celebrated in 40 countries across Europe.
August 6, 2015
Military Aspects of the 1916 Rising
The National Musuem of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History, Collins Barracks will host an Illustrated Talk – Military aspects of the 1916 Rising on Sunday 26th April. For further details see the associated poster below.

April 21, 2015
Knocklong Commemorative Seminar
Knocklong History, Heritage & Tourism group are hosting the Knocklong Commemorative Seminar on May 15th – 16th 2015 ‘Ex British Soldiers and the War of Independence A Pan-Munster Perspective’ for more details of this upcoming event view the Knocklong Commemorative Seminar Brochure.
April 13, 2015
1914 – Ireland and the Coming of War
South Kilkenny Historical Society is hosting a lecture 1914 – Ireland and the Coming of War with guest speaker Dr. Patrick McCarthy on Thursday, October 30th, at 8pm in Mullinavat Parish Hall. Admission is €5 (members free) – all welcome.
In July 1914 Ireland was on the verge of civil war. North and South, men were arming themselves and preparing for conflict. Yet a few short weeks later many of those men were marching off together in khaki to fight for Great Britain. Peace in Ireland had been secured by a greater war in Europe. This lecture looks at what happened in Ireland in that fateful year – the apparent triumph of the Home Rule cause, the growing resistance by Ulster, the reaction to the declaration of war by Great Britain and the political, economic, military and social impact of that war on Ireland.

Pat McCarthy is a native of Waterford. He was educated at Mount Sion CBS and at UCD from where he graduated with a BSc, PhD(Chemistry) and subsequently a MBA. Recently retired after a thirty-six year career in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, he has a lifelong interest in history and has published in a number of journals such as The Irish Sword, Decies, and The Blue Cap. He is Secretary of the Military History Society of Ireland and currently completing a book Waterford and the Irish Revolution, 1912-1923, to be published next year by Four Courts Press Ltd.
October 29, 2014
Our Heroes
During the period 1914-1918, the magazine Irish Life published a supplement called Our Heroes which contained photographs and short biographies of Irish officers and men in the British Army who were either killed in action or were mentioned in despatches for acts of bravery.
As part of the Decade of Centenaries, South Dublin Libraries embarked on a collaboration to digitise and put online this hitherto unavailable resource. Using photographs of pages from the original publication supplied by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, with the permission of the National Library of Ireland, South Dublin Libraries Local Studies created searchable text from the page images using Optical Character Recognition software, isolated the portraits of the men and enriched the data by including the place of burial of those who fell, which was not included in the original work.
1,600 men’s names and short biographies are available to search. There are many Kilkenny men represented in the database. The brief biographies cover many subjects including schools, colleges, universities, regiments, ships, cities, towns, professions and banks on the island of Ireland and (the then mainland) Britain.
The Our Heroes database is available by clicking on the following link:
http://ourheroes.southdublinlibraries.ie/
October 29, 2014