If you visit Kilkenny, you cannot but notice the number of pubs in Kilkenny City somewhere between 60-70!
Kilkenny has had a long tradition of brewing in the city going right back to the arrival of the monks in the 12th century. John Smithwick began his brewing tradition in 1710 which was the famous Smithwick’s brewery.
At the turn of the 18th century, four common brewers were listed in Kilkenny City.
So here are some of my famous pubs:
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- Kyteler’s Inn – St. Kieran Street, the oldest pub in Kilkenny dating to 1324 and the home of Dame Alice Kyteler the famous witch of Kilkenny. Be mindful of the spirits of Dame Alice!
- Langton’s Pub and Restaurant – John Street, a long associated name with Kilkenny going back to the 1600s. Langton’s was the Pub of the Year in Ireland four times in the 1980s, a remarkable feat.
- Syds Pub – Rose Inn Street, was founded in the 1800s and situated in the street which became famous for its Inns and taverns. Noted for its great pint of Guinness and Smithwick’s. Formerly known as the Bush Inn where Thomas Moore the poet proposed to Betsy Dyke an actress in 1817.
- John Cleere Pub – in Parliament Street is noted for its famous Theatre at the rear of the pub and for its famous Irish Trad nights on Monday.
- O Riada – a beautiful pub in Parliament Street for its real old-style ambience inside as Irish pubs use to be.
- Tynan’s Bridge House Bar – in Batemen Quay or the Horseleap Slip was founded in 1703 and was the Pub of the Year in Ireland in 1978.