Five music venues in Kilkenny, three in the city and two in the greater county, are to benefit from the latest round of Government funding through the Grassroots Venue Support Scheme.
In all, 60 venues around the country will get a boost towards live music (and some comedy) programming with €1m, almost double the 34 venues that were supported in the initial rollout in 2025.
The 2026 scheme offered grants under two separate streams to support venues at various levels of development.
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Grants of up to €20,000 were available under Stream A to established grassroots venues with a proven track record in programming emerging Irish artists. Stream B offered grants of up to €8,000 to venues that have previously programmed Irish artists and will use funding under this scheme to programme emerging artists performing live music or comedy.
Applications were received from a wide range of late-night venues, including pubs, nightclubs and theatres. Venues in many rural towns and villages are being supported, with funding awarded to 28 venues outside of Ireland’s main cities.
For Kilkenny, the grant breakdown looks as follows
- Set Theatre, John Street, €20,000
- Billy Byrne’s, John Street, €20,000
- Cleere’s Bar & Theatre, Parliament Street, €20,000
- Abbey Lane at Mick Doyle’s, Graignamanagh, €6,000
- The Salmon Pool, Thomastown, €5,000
Local councillor Andrew McGuinness was heard on KCLR this week outlining more of the details.
“As somebody who spends so much of his spare time standing in crowded rooms, at these venues, looking at gigs, particularly over the recent ‘Roots Festival, I’m just delighted to see our local venues awarded”, he said on air.
“They do go above and beyond to provide us with not just great music and entertainment, but a fantastic professional setup with sound, lighting, staging and so on. We’re just really lucky to have the best of the best in Kilkenny”
