Funding boost for celebrated Kilkenny landmark

By Dermot Keyes · KCLR · 27 October 2026

Rothe House has received almost €200,000 in funding which will enhance accessibility to the Kilkenny Archaeological Society’s collection.

The funding, allocated by the Kilkenny LEADER Partnership, means the last underused space within the famed 16th Century site will finally be made available to the visiting public.

“The LEADER funding represents a huge investment for us,” Rothe Trust General Manager Valerie O’Sullivan told KCLR News.

“Our goal now is that to make the existing archive and collections that are stored in Rothe House publicly more accessible and more available for engagement with the community.”

Rothe House Chairperson Ann Mulrooney was equally pleased by the funding award, describing it as “wonderful news”. She added: “The collection and archive at Rothe House represent generations of local care, curiosity and scholarship. They tell the story not only of the house itself, but of the people, families, streets, trades and communities that shaped Kilkenny over many centuries.”

The project will transform the remaining underused areas of the three- house heritage site into new publicly accessible spaces, including museum standard visible collections storage, a public reading room, new archive display areas and a family-friendly interpretation and learning space.

To find out more about Rothe House, visit: Rothe House & Garden in Kilkenny City

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Reporting by Dermot Keyes for KCLR, funded by the News Reporting Scheme. Republished by News Room under the scheme’s reuse permission.

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