The 30th Kilkenny Arts Festival opened last night with a fireworks display that illuminated the skies above the medieval city, which will be en fête for the next 10 days.
Enjoyed by thousands of local people and visitors, the Tower of Light was created by the English company Walk the Plank, who provided the fireworks for Paul McCartney's wedding reception in Co Monaghan.
The festival, which was officially opened by the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, includes events from several disciplines, with performers drawn from across Europe and beyond.
An environmental artist, H. A. Schult from Germany, has brought his Trash People exhibition to the grounds of Kilkenny Castle.
The spectacular display involves 1,000 life-sized "soldiers" created entirely from discarded tin cans and metal containers.
The soldiers are neatly lined up in colourful regiments against the Kilkenny sky.
Over the last seven years Schult has exhibited his soldiers at some of the world's highest-profile locations. One of the Trash People has even made it into orbit on board the space shuttle Endeavour.
All in all, the festival takes a fresh look at artists working in a number of different art forms and offers a unique residency to emerging musicians as part of a commitment to the next generation of performers. The public has a choice of classical, jazz, popular and Irish music, as well as a variety of theatrical, visual arts and literary events.
The chairman of Kilkenny Arts Festival, Mr John Purcell, said the programme offered the public a chance to experience all forms of art in a fun and interesting way.