[2] The ten-day festival takes place each August in Kilkenny and is intended to be a showcase for Irish and international arts.

[3] Around 50,000 people have attended previous festivals, with performances taking place on the streets as well as in indoor venues.

Former venues across the city have ranged from rooms in pubs, to St Canice's Cathedral and Kilkenny Castle.

[4] Performances have included US poet laureate Robert Pinsky, pianist Sir András Schiff, Malian virtuoso Toumani Diabaté, musician Alexander Lingas, historian Roy Foster, Irish portraitist Mick O'Dea, Iranian harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, and Chinese-born pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei.

Other performers have included Brooklyn Rider, Jordi Savall, Garrison Keillor, Susan Philipsz, Colm Tóibín, and Dawn Upshaw.