Kilkenny Castle

Castle: 1 October to 30 March daily 9.30am to 5pm, last admission 4.30pm; 1 April to 30 September daily 9.15am to 5.30pm, last admission 5pm; closed 25, 26 and 27 December, open 9.30am to 1pm on 24 and 31 December. Admission from 9.30am to 10am is reserved as a sensory visiting time. Closed for filming from 1pm on Monday 2 November 2026 until 9.30am on Thursday 5 November 2026, the parkland staying open. Park: January 9am to 4.30pm, February 9am to 5.30pm, March 8.30am to 6pm, April 8.30am to 7.30pm, May to August 8.30am to 8.30pm, September 8.30am to 7.30pm, October 8.30am to 6pm, November 9am to 5pm, December 9am to 4.30pm, locking from 30 minutes before closing; closed from 1pm on 24 December and all day on 25 December. Self-guided visits run every half hour from 9.30am, guided tours at set times (11am and 3pm in October); booking online is recommended and walk-up tickets are limited; very busy in summer.

The castle visit includes about 200 steps over four floors, narrow doorways with high saddles and low light: the ground-floor rooms are fully wheelchair accessible, the first floor is 34 steps up, the second 29 more, and the Picture Gallery 30 steps down the Moorish Staircase; the Medieval Room with a 12-minute audio-visual is reached by ramp and wheelchair lift and needs no ticket. The accessible toilet is on the first floor of the east wing (36 steps) or by lift in the Parade Tower on request; wheelchair-accessible public toilets on The Parade cost 50 cents. The Castle Tea Rooms are 13 stone steps down in the east wing and the coffee dock in the grounds is step-free. Courtesy chairs, braille and large-print leaflets, a free audio guide on your own device in eight languages, ISL and dementia-inclusive tours; free entry for visitors with disabilities and their carers. The park is largely flat with well-laid paths, benches and a playground with an accessible roundabout and sensory wall; free poo bags and bins.

Dogs: Pet dogs are welcome on a short lead in the free Kilkenny Castle Park but not inside the castle, where only assistance dogs are admitted. Dogs on a short lead may walk the paths around the 21-hectare park and gardens, free and without a ticket; they may enter the pond area but not the water, and must not disturb wildlife.

Photo: Kilkenny Castle's three ranges around the courtyard lawn, with the west drum tower on the left, seen from The Parade entrance. Robert Linsdell, CC BY 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kilkenny_Castle,_The_Parade,_Kilkenny.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.