Hotel Kilkenny

Kilkenny Design Craft Centre offers an unrivalled selection of Irish handcrafted gifts. While it has many imitators, the Centre remains Ireland’s most prestigious source of Irish gifts of exceptional quality, all chosen with a discerning eye for quality, uniqueness and style. The Centre’s unequalled supplier list, drawn from Ireland’s most eminent craftspeople and designers, gives visitors a uniquely special shopping experience, allowing them to purchase the best of Irish crafts and design under one roof. Visitors from outside of the EU can avail of highly attractive tax free shopping. A world renowned selection of Jewellery, Knitwear, Celtic Gifts, China & Crystal, Pottery & Glass, Home & Fashion Accessories and stunning one off contemporary design pieces, are all available, ensuring that choosing that perfect gift for any occasion is a true pleasure. A hand picked selection of some of our most popular gifts is available to purchase securely on this site. Please click on the individual product menus to view the selection of products available online. The centre is also renowned for showcasing emerging Irish craftspeople and their unique work, respected and sought after all over the world. Based in the medieval city of Kilkenny the creative heart of Ireland, the Centre is situated in what was once the stables of historic Kilkenny Castle, and is fittingly located adjacent to the National Craft Gallery one of Ireland’s most exciting artistic venues.

St Canice’s Cathedral and Round Tower are an essential part of the structural heritage in the vibrant medieval city of Kilkenny. This ecclesiastical site was founded in the 6th century and named after St Canice. Cill Channigh is the Gaelic for the Church of Canice, the church that originally stood on the site in the 6th century. Combining the early Christian settlement, the Round Tower, the Anglo Norman Cathedral and its rich cultural ecclesiastical heritage makes St Canice’s Cathedral and its environs a must to visit while you are in Kilkenny.

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. One of the most instantly recognised buildings in Ireland,

That pint of Smithwick's didn't come easy. This is a beer forged in adversity, after all. It arrived in your glass by way of a darkened medieval abbey, a reprehensible royal, heinous laws, two world wars, two fat turkeys and... well, we could go on. But wouldn't it be more exciting if you could experience it all for yourself? Well, at the Smithwick's Experience Kilkenny you can...