Castlecomer Country Market

Castlecomer Country Market sets up early every Friday morning in the town’s community hall, running from 8:30am to midday, and like its counterpart in Thomastown it is a producer-run market rather than a commercial one. Castlecomer itself is a former coal-mining town in the north of the county, now better known for the Discovery Park built on the old colliery, and the Friday market is one of the small, steady fixtures of the town’s week, drawing early shoppers before the rest of the town properly opens.

What to expect

The hall fills with tables of home baking, fresh eggs and vegetables, jams, preserves and other home-produced goods, brought in by local growers and bakers who sell directly to shoppers rather than through a retailer. It is an early-morning market by design, aimed at the weekly shop rather than a leisurely browse, so the best selection is early, from 8:30am. As with country markets elsewhere in the county, the stallholders are largely the same familiar faces from week to week, and it functions as much as a social meeting point for the town as a shopping trip. It is a low-key, functional market rather than a tourist draw, best combined with other business in Castlecomer that morning.

Getting there

The community hall is in Castlecomer town centre, on the N78 about 16 kilometres north of Kilkenny city. On-street parking is available around the town, and Castlecomer Discovery Park is a short drive away for anyone making a longer morning of it.

While you’re in Castlecomer

Castlecomer’s mining history and its Discovery Park make it one of north Kilkenny’s more distinctive towns to explore beyond the market itself. There is more to see in Castlecomer and across Co. Kilkenny.

Good to know

• Date and time: every Friday, 8:30am to midday
• Venue: community hall, Castlecomer town centre
• Free to browse; pay only for what you buy
• Home baking, eggs, vegetables and preserves, sold by local producers
• Best selection early; it is a working morning market, not an all-day event