"Hurling, hurling, hurling and.....Cats (Laughing)" County Kilkenny by paddyk7

Basically, the two reasons Kilkenny is most famous. The sport of hurling is an obsession for most (although, I don't have any interest), and so Kilkenny is the perennial home of the All-Ireland Trophy - the Liam McCarthy Cup. Don't ask me about it though because I don't follow it at all, despite my love of most sports.

The Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, one of the most famous in the world, shuts down the city for the June Bank Holiday weekend (weekend before the first Monday of the month). If you are going to Kilkenny, this is when you go, no question. World class comedians everywhere - Tommy Tiernan, Des Bishop, Rich Hall, Dom Irrera, Mike Wilmot.......

While we're on the subject of Kilkenny and entertainment, the Kilkenny Arts Week (mid-August) is also worth a look.

The county itself is one of the smaller, by population, in the country, with around 83,000 people, with 23,000 in Kilkenny City (just try telling any Kilkenny person its not a "city", you'll be told where to go). Outside of the city, Thomastown (where I work, not for much longer though), Castlecomer, Graiguenamanagh and Callan are the main towns.