New café and holiday apartments puts Kilkenny village in spotlight once again
One of Kilkenny’s most picturesque locations is set to be reinvigorated by the creation of a new café and holiday apartments in the centre of the village.
The famous building and restaurant known as Circle of Friends in Bank House on Inistioge’s High Street is set to undergo a major transformation which will include the construction of a new café/restaurant and four new Airbnb-style apartments on the upper floors.
Under its last guise, the Circle of Friends – named after the Maeve Binchy novel whose film adaptation was shot in Inistioge – had a retail unit on the ground floor and a restaurant on the first floor.
The plans submitted by the Johnnie McGrath (Approved Retirement Fund) and approved by Kilkenny County Council will see the café/restaurant move to a more accessible location on the ground floor.
The first and second floors will see two one-bedroom studio apartments for short-term holiday lettings created.
Bank House is a listed/protected building for conservation under the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
