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arts · Thursday 6 August 2026 · Various 
Of Sand and Ash: Glass Society of Ireland
At National Design and Craft Gallery · Castle Yard, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny
At National Design and Craft Gallery · Castle Yard, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny
The National Design and Craft Gallery in Kilkenny Castle Yard opens Of Sand and Ash, a partnership exhibition with the Glass Society of Ireland, on Thursday, 6 August 2026, timed to the opening days of Kilkenny Arts Festival. Unlike most of the festival’s visual art strand, the show has a long run built in, continuing through to Saturday, 24 October, so it stays on well past the festival itself into autumn.
The National Design and Craft Gallery is the exhibition space of the Design and Crafts Council Ireland, based in the old stable yard behind Kilkenny Castle, and it regularly partners with national craft bodies for themed shows rather than running purely as a retail-facing craft shop. Of Sand and Ash brings together contemporary work from members of the Glass Society of Ireland, covering the range of techniques glass artists use, from blown and cast pieces to flame-worked and kiln-formed work, under a title that points to the raw materials and the firing process behind every piece in the room. It follows on from the gallery’s spring 2026 show on contemporary Irish ceramics, continuing a pattern of craft-medium exhibitions through the year. The show was a festival highlight at its opening in early August, then settles into the gallery’s regular autumn programme for the rest of its run.
The gallery is in Castle Yard, immediately behind Kilkenny Castle, a short walk from the city centre and from Butler Gallery on John’s Quay. The Castle car park is the closest option for anyone driving, and the site is fully accessible on foot from High Street and Parliament Street.
Castle Yard puts the gallery within a few minutes’ walk of Kilkenny Castle, the Castle Park and Butler Gallery, so it fits easily into a wider afternoon around the castle grounds. There is more to see in Kilkenny and across Co. Kilkenny.
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