It appears there is a future in store for a south Kilkenny building that had hosted a community cafe and shop.
Billy’s Tearooms officially opened in Ballyhale in 2018 (more here) after a lot of hard work by people of the area who pulled together in a bid to fight against the closures of other outlets in the village.
It was hugely popular, a grand place to get a good meal or to pick up essentials, somewhere there was always company to enjoy and a ready smile – so much so, it sparked similar offerings in Windgap and Muckalee with other areas considering the option.
However, in 2025 moves were made by those overseeing Billy’s to close it (see here) and after the decision was taken to do just that the premises, which is owned by Kilkenny County Council but had been leased to the community group behind the local venture, has been vacant and concerns had been raised regarding it’s appearance in recent years.
At this week’s Callan Thomastown Municipal District meeting it was revealed that the end of what’s been a lengthy process is in sight and there’s an interested party looking at moving into the spot.
KCLR News’ Edwina Grace was at that meeting and spoke with Cllr Deirdre Cullen who’d sought an update;
https://soundcloud.com/kclr96fm/kclr-news-update-on-future-of
