URBAN EXPRESSION

All Types And Styles Of Urban Expression

River Nore

THE RIVERSIDE GARDEN – ABBEY QUARTER PROJECT KILKENNY

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THE RIVERSIDE GARDEN – ABBEY QUARTER PROJECT KILKENNY

Kilkenny’s new Riverside Garden and Skatepark opened to the public in June 2021 however the skatepark has been operational since the beginning of May and has proved to be very popular. While the Riverside Garden project provides a significant extension to the riverside walkways through the city, plans to extend this further to provide connectivity under Greens Bridge, connecting with the Linear Park at Bishops Meadows/Riverside Drive are also currently being progressed with funding from the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund.

The Abbey Quarter, site of the former Smithwick’s Brewery, is a strategic city centre site located on the banks of the river Nore in the heart of Kilkenny City. The 300 year old brewery was closed by Diageo in 2013. Kilkenny County Council then purchased the site and produced a detailed masterplan for the brewery site and adjacent lands, totalling about 20 acres. With St Francis Abbey at its core, this regeneration project aims to create an attractive, well-designed urban quarter with a mix of uses. These include commercial, residential, enterprise development, recreational and community.

The masterplan’s vision is to develop the Abbey Quarter as a seamless complement to the medieval city. It envisages the quarter being an inclusive place for an inter-generational community to work, live and play. The masterplan supports objectives in the Government’s National Planning Framework such as compact growth; enhanced regional accessibility; sustainable mobility; a strong economy, supported by enterprise, innovation and skills; and enhanced amenities and heritage.

The project links the old and the new. A brownfield site (a disused site envisaged for redevelopment) will be transformed through new buildings and the re-use of old buildings. Certain empty spaces will be converted into public spaces. The regenerated area will enhance the city’s Medieval Mile.

The Government has given approval in principal to provide €6.15 million through its Urban Regeneration Development Fund (URDF) to fund significant public realm areas (that is, areas that the public can access) and community and cultural infrastructure projects in the Abbey Quarter. The funding allocation is 75% of the total cost of these works. These include:

a riverside park
a two and half acre urban park around St Francis Abbey
other community and cultural infrastructure, including a public library in the Mayfair building.
The public spaces and parks will become a backdrop to Kilkenny’s many outdoor festivals.

LACKEN WALK BETWEEN MAUDLIN STREET AND OSSORY BRIDGE

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LACKEN WALK BETWEEN MAUDLIN STREET AND OSSORY BRIDGE

The Lacken Walk, which forms part of the River Nore Linear Park, follows the east bank of the River Nore as it flows south for Bennetsbridge. Access from either the ring road at Ossory bridge or from the “Lacken Steps” at the end of Maudlin Street/Dublin Road (near the viewing area).

The Lacken Walk comprises a mix of old pathway dating back to the 1950’s which travels to the rear of the old Health Board grounds at St. Canice’s. As the path opens out into the flood plain a board walk is provided to take walkers across the often wet and flooded ground. This in turn leads to a new pedestrian bridge which crosses over the Nore and links to the Canal Walk on the western bank of the river. From here one can walk back towards the city centre and access the Castle gardens when the pedestrian door in the Castle is open during opening hours.

BISHOPS MEADOWS RIVER WALK – RIVER NORE LINEAR PARK

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BISHOPS MEADOWS RIVER WALK – RIVER NORE LINEAR PARK

This visit I was better prepared for the canal and river walks in Kilkenny. I also brought proper rain gear but it did not rain except for a twenty minute thunder storm.

I wakened up early on the first morning and as the weather was beautiful and because rain had been forecasted for the rest of week I decided that I should immediately visit Bishops Meadows Walk but this timed I returned to the city centre via Freshford Road.

On day two of my visit to Kilkenny in 2018 [my last visit to the city] I walked more than twenty miles over three sessions and I was exhausted because the weather was very hot even though the sky was overcast. At the end of the day my feet were in a very poor condition. I asked a local farmer how long Bishopsmeadows walk was and he responded by saying six fields. Having seen some really large fields on my way to Kilkenny by train I was afraid that this could be six miles but I assumed that it would be no more than two miles assuming about four fields per mile. I later discovered that it is 2.6km but of course the return journey was also the same distance [I often forget about the return journey].