‘Great news for Kilkenny’ – Smithwicks Experience to reopen next year

Kilkenny has received a major boost after it was confirmed that the award-winning Smithwicks Experience is to reopen next year.

The news was confirmed by drink giant Diageo in correspondence to Kilkenny Mayor Andrew McGuinness this week.

Last April it was announced the Smithwick’s Experience was closing permanently, resulting in the loss of jobs and the knock-on impact on Kilkenny’s tourist offering.

But now the company has confirmed the tourist attraction will return in 2022.

In a letter to Cllr McGuinness – seen by KilkennyNow.ie – Diageo confirmed: “We are delighted to announce that Smithwick’s Experience will reopen next year. We look forward to sharing the reopening plans in 2022.

“We would like to sincerely thank all the parties involved for their very positive engagement in the consultation process. The discussions have been constructive and wide ranging, during which we collectively explored many options.

“We appreciate all the support we have received to date, and we are delighted to continue with these discussions as we work towards creating a viable and sustainable solution for Smithwick’s Experience Kilkenny for the future.”

Cllr McGuinness (pictured below) said the development is “fantastic news” for Kilkenny.

He added: “As Mayor of Kilkenny I’m delighted to see that the Smithwicks Experience has been saved and will continue to play an integral part in our tourist and visitor offering. Well done to our vintners and all involved in the process.

“The Smithwicks brand has been synonymous with Kilkenny for generations. Its part of our history here locally and has been a huge employer. It’s important to keep that history alive and for the story to be told to our visitors. This is great news today for Kilkenny.”