The Butler family handed Kilkenny Castle over to the people of Kilkenny in 1967 – for £50!
The "Kilkenny Cats" nickname stems from the feral felines that once inhabited the Dunmore caves in the north of the county.
The population of County Kilkenny is 95,419 according to the 2011 census ... plus an undisclosed number of Kilkenny cats.
All-time top scorer in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is TJ REID with 641 points in 82 games, scoring 30-551.
Iconic film producer and animation innovator Walt Disney has Kilkenny roots. His great-grandfather Arundel Elias Disney emigrated from Gowran, County Kilkenny, in the 19th century.
"The dearest thing I know is a memory of sunny Sunday mornings in Kilkenny; the lovely line of castle, roof-top, spire and round tower against the pale blue sky, the sun revelling in the quiet colours of old stone, old walls, old tree; the tip-tap of the feet of people on the flagstones, and above all the flocking floating notes of the church bells. Sunday has a flavour of its own there, a clean, sweet, warming flavour."
Kilkenny Castle has soared past some incredible competition to take the title of the most popular paid visitor attraction managed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in Ireland.
AKA is a voluntary run arts festival that showcases the hard work and talent of independent artists and community groups across Kilkenny county and city.