O Gormans Kilkenny House

About Us

Traditional Family Pub located on the top of John Street offering Live music every Saturday night and Tradition music every Friday night during the summer months.
O’Gorman’s Pub is nothing less than a Kilkenny institution! Situated at the top end of John Street, it’s also known as “The Kilkenny House”.
My first visit to it was with my grandfather some time in the late 1950s. In the late seventies, I began to learn traditional music as an adult… yes, an early concept of “lifelong learning”, I suppose!
Eventually, we came to play in O’Gormans on Saturday nights. There, the session was led off by the legendary fiddle-player, Jim Manning of Clara Castle. He shared his great fund of session tunes with us all, along with his daughter Eileen, and son Martin, great box-players both.
Some years ago, O’Gormans began to be leased to a number of tenants, all of whom ran it as a very successful business, maintaining its unique atmosphere as a parish pub, a city pub and a country pub.
O’ Gormans style as a “local” is what makes it unique, and the pub takes its style from its customers. It’s a noted venue for pre- and post match “get togethers”, being so close to Nowlan Park and the train station.
However, a new generation of O’Gormans have come to maturity. Eamonn Mahony has taken over the running of the pub with the assistance of his brothers and the ever-friendly Paul Pembroke (or Cabbage as he is more familiarly known).
Eamonn is a grandson of the late Mrs O ‘Gorman and the pub was originally bought by his great great grandparents Daniel and Rose Lenehan, making Eamonn the fifth generation to run the establishment.
He has recently decided to revive traditional music session in Gormans. The first one, featuring a new generation of Kilkenny’s finest players, is due to take place every Friday. It will feature some of the younger generation who are impressing listeners all over Kilkenny.
Memory by Gary Lynch - local traditional musician
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