The Best Events on in Kilkenny During Irish Design Week 2025
It’s that time of the year again: Irish Design Week 2025 is just around the corner. This year, some of the best events in the country will be taking place in Kilkenny. Here’s a collection of our 4 favourites:
Kilkenny Design Workshops: A 60th Anniversary Celebration
When: 15 November 2025 – 11 January 2026, from 10:00 am
Where: Butler Gallery, Evans’ Home, John’s Quay, Kilkenny, R95 YX3F
The Kilkenny Design Workshops was founded 60 years ago to bring together artists, designers, and craftspeople to rethink how design could shape modern Irish life. To mark their 60th anniversary, the Butler Gallery is hosting a celebration of Ireland’s most influential design movements. This will feature artists connected with KDW such as the early metal, wood, and ceramic pieces by Oisín Kelly, bronze sculpture by Sonja Landweer, paintings by Louis le Brocquy, and canvas works by Patrick Scott.
Fragments of Faith: Conservation of Ireland’s Stained Glass Legacy
When: 20 November 2025 | Time: 6:30 pm
Where: St. Canice’s Cathedral, The Close, Coach Road, Kilkenny, R95 V63H
St. Canice’s Cathedral sets the scene for this illuminating talk with Evan Connon of Connon Stained Glass, who is currently restoring two magnificent eight-metre-high windows created 120 years ago in memory of Dean Vignoles. Evan will share an insider’s view of the painstaking craft of stained glass restoration, from the challenges of conservation to the stories hidden in the details, and the enduring legacy of this luminous art form in Ireland.
The Ties that Tie and the Links that Link
When: 10:00am, 15 November – 28 February
Where: National Design And Art Gallery
This is another exhibition in celebration of 60 years of the Kilkenny Design Workshops, while also looking ahead to the future of Irish design. It shows how Ireland’s design story has grown, from the pioneering work of KDW and its alumni, to the ideas and innovations shaping design today. At the heart of the show are Mary V. Mullin, whose international career started at KDW, and Sean McNulty, founder of Dolmen Design and also a former KDW designer. Their stories, along with the pieces they’ve shared, offer a fascinating look at how collaboration and creativity have shaped Irish design over the decades.
Three Letters, Three Wells – A Pilgrimage in Glass
When: 15 November 2025 – 11 January 2026, 10:00 – 18.00
Where: Rothe House, 16 Parliament Street,
Kilkenny, R95 P89C
EGS, one of Finland’s pioneering graffiti artists, has forged his own path into sculpture and glassblowing, transforming his graffiti alias E-G-S into abstract forms. His recent visit to Kilkenny, inspired by Nordic Modernist Kaj Franck and the folklore of three local holy wells has culminated in a new body of glass works. This exhibition, part of Irish Design Week, also includes a documentary and zine offering a glimpse into his creative journey and detours along the way.
