12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Popular Kilkenny book festival set to attract large crowds
This year's festival, marking the 22nd anniversary since the event was first established, will take place from Friday, August 22 to August 24. It's been confirmed Blacknight will once again take the lead as the main sponsor of the event held on the banks of the enchanting River Barrow.
In recent years, the committee has welcomed guests from all over the world, including Seattle, Washington D.C., South Africa, Finland, Texas, England, Scotland, Wales, and France, and the festival continues to grow from strength to strength as the three-day celebration attracts booksellers, avid readers, collectors, artists, and enthusiasts from across Ireland and beyond.
This year's programme includes the ever-popular food and craft market at Abbey Hall, live music, poetry readings, face painting, and a variety of other family-friendly activities. The festivities begin with the official launch and drinks reception at 7 p.m. on Friday, with a special event at 8 p.m. featuring local TV personality, Edward Hayden, in conversation with two distinguished guests, Pat Marry and Beau Donnelly.
Pat Marry was instrumental in solving dozens of serious crimes, including many murders, but as a newly-qualified garda in 1985, Marry had no idea how to become a detective. He quickly realised he would have to learn on the job – to step forward and prove he had what it took. Since his retirement in 2018, Marry went from investigating Ireland's most high-profile cases to becoming a best-selling author.
Also joining Marry and Hayden, Beau Donnelly, is an award-winning investigative journalist and co-author of the best-selling book The Woman Who Fooled the World, the true story behind Netflix's Apple Cider Vinegar. He has worked for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia, and for The Times and The Sunday Times in Ireland.
With various events taking place over the weekend, a new venue on this year's itinerary is Mick Doyle's pub in Abbey Lane, meanwhile, Cushendale Woollen Mills will present a beautiful exhibition, A Vintage Yarn: Stories of Irish Fashion and Design. Miriam Cushen will collaborate with Naomi Fitzgibbon of Vintage Finds You, Ireland's premier curator of vintage fashion. Naomi's archive includes couture pieces rarely seen outside museums, featuring works by Irene Gilbert, Ib Jorgensen, Mary O'Donnell, and Pat Crowley.
With support from Creative Kilkenny, the Town of Books Festival will also host 70 Plein Air artists this year, including many of Ireland's top painters. This year's paint-out competition will be judged with the support of the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, with the top prize, valued at €500 in web hosting and design, sponsored by Blacknight.
Visitors are invited to attend the exhibition on Sunday evening, where they can vote for the People's Choice Award.
'The Town of Books Festival is incredibly well supported by the local community and businesses, and we take pride in being an inclusive and welcoming town,' said a spokesperson for the festival.
