The house is a charming late Georgian
house, overlooking the Barrow valley, and is conveniently situated halfway
between Kilkenny city and Carlow town. The house takes its name from the
Irish ‘cill greine’ which means ‘sunny hill’ or ‘sunny wood’.
Kilgraney has seen many changes over the centuries. The house, spelt Kylgrany, appears on
Mercator’s Map of Carlow in 1595 and parts of the lower courtyard, reached
through the kitchen garden, date to around this time. The main house was
built around 1820 although the north wing is part of older dwelling and
thought to be mid-18th century. A fire in the 1920’s destroyed
the original interiors and the rebuilding left Kilgraney House with a
Georgian exterior and a plain early 20th century interior. Now
carefully restored, the house has immense character and a simple elegance
that is full of irony and amusement. The lush interiors are an eclectic mix
of traditional furniture with carefully chosen pieces of fabric, furniture
and art from around the world.
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