Solar eclipse in Kilkenny
Wednesday, 12 August 2026 · Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
In Kilkenny the eclipse of 12 August 2026 is partial: the Moon covers up to 95.1% of the Sun at 19:11, with the Sun only 15.0° above the western horizon. Deep enough to be worth planning your evening around — and still not totality.
Eclipse data for Kilkenny
Partial eclipse · no totality
95.1% of the Sun covered at maximum · Light visibly changes
- First contact
- 18:14
- Maximum eclipse
- 19:11
- Eclipse ends
- 20:06
- Magnitude
- 0.955
- Sun’s altitude at maximum
- 15.0°
- Whole event lasts
- 1 h 53 min
All times in Irish Standard Time (IST, UTC+1). Kilkenny is a town of about 27,184 people in Co. Kilkenny, at 52.654°N, 7.252°W.
The evening in Kilkenny, minute by minute
- First contact: 18:14
- Maximum eclipse: 19:11
- Eclipse ends: 20:06
Set an alarm for about ten minutes before 19:11: the last stretch before maximum is when the light finally starts to look wrong.
What you will actually see in Kilkenny
At 18:14 the Moon touches the edge of the solar disc and the partial phase begins in Kilkenny — through certified eclipse glasses, since nothing about this is visible or safe without them. The bite grows for just under an hour, until maximum at 19:11, when the Moon covers 95.1% of the Sun. Then it unwinds at the same pace and the Moon finally clears the disc at 20:06, before sunset. The whole thing lasts about 1 h 53 min.
At 95.1% the daylight itself changes: an eerie, flat, metallic dusk, shadows with razor edges and a real drop in temperature — the strangest evening most people in Ireland will ever stand in, though still not darkness.
It is worth being blunt about what 95.1% is not. Totality is not "almost all of the Sun covered": it is all of it. The last few percent of the photosphere are thousands of times brighter than the corona, so from Kilkenny there will be no corona, no stars, no horizon-to-horizon twilight and not one second when the glasses can come off. The nearest real totality to Kilkenny is not in Ireland at all: Reykjavík, about 1,528 km away, gets 1m 02s with the Sun a comfortable 24.5° up, and the Spanish path starts around Cariño (A Coruña), about 994 km away, with 1m 47s of totality.
The practical problem in Kilkenny is not the Moon, it is the horizon. At maximum the Sun stands only 15.0° above it — about a hand's width at arm's length — low in the west-north-west and dropping. A hedge, a housing estate, a hill or a bank of coastal haze is enough to hide the whole event, so pick a spot with an open western horizon: a west-facing beach, an exposed headland, a pier, a hilltop or any wide-open field with nothing tall in the way. Get there early and check the sightline before 18:14, not after.
Irish August weather cannot be forecast this far out, and this site does not pretend to: check Met Éireann, the national meteorological service, in the final days and have a second viewing spot in mind.
Circumstances computed for the coordinates of each Irish locality with JPL DE440s ephemerides — the same pipeline behind every other country on this site. All times are Irish Standard Time (IST, UTC+1), exactly as they appear on an Irish clock. No point in the Republic lies inside the path of totality: every figure on these pages is for a partial eclipse.
Never look at the Sun without certified filters
In Kilkenny the Sun is never fully covered, so there is no safe moment to look with the naked eye at any point in the event. Use eclipse glasses that carry the EN ISO 12312-2 marking printed on the frame, keep them on from 18:14 to 20:06, and put them on before you look up, not after. Ordinary sunglasses — however dark, however many pairs stacked — are never safe, and neither is looking through a camera, binoculars or a telescope unless it carries a proper solar filter over the front.
How to check your eclipse glasses in two minutes →
American Astronomical Society: vetted suppliers and filters (eclipse.aas.org) →
If 95.1% is not enough
Plenty of people who watch a 95.1% eclipse spend the following years chasing a total one. There is no shortcut from Kilkenny: the whole island is outside the path, so 100% means getting on a plane. Two real options that evening, with the figures from our own datasets:
- Reykjavík — a capital city inside the path → 1m 02s of totality with the Sun 24.5° up, roughly 1,528 km from Kilkenny in a straight line — one short flight, and the eclipse happens in the afternoon rather than at dusk. Our Iceland section has every locality.
- Cariño (A Coruña) — where the Spanish path begins → 1m 47s of totality, about 994 km from Kilkenny. Further along the path, Navia (Asturias) reaches 1m 53s — the longest in our Spanish dataset. The 50 best places in Spain ranks them by seconds of totality.
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Questions about the eclipse in Kilkenny
What time is the solar eclipse in Kilkenny?
On Wednesday, 12 August 2026. In Kilkenny the partial phase begins at 18:14, maximum comes at 19:11 and the eclipse ends at 20:06 — all Irish Standard Time (IST, UTC+1), straight off an Irish clock. Computed for this locality's own coordinates with JPL DE440s ephemerides.
Will the eclipse be total in Kilkenny?
No. Kilkenny lies outside the path of totality, and so does every other town on the island. Here the Moon covers at most 95.1% of the solar disc, at 19:11. For 100% you have to reach the path: Reykjavík (1m 02s, about 1,528 km away) or northern Spain, where Cariño (A Coruña) gets 1m 47s about 994 km from here.
How dark will it get in Kilkenny?
At 95.1% the daylight itself changes: an eerie, flat, metallic dusk, shadows with razor edges and a real drop in temperature — the strangest evening most people in Ireland will ever stand in, though still not darkness. With 95.1% covered the Sun still outshines a full Moon many times over, so street lights will not come on and the stars will not appear.
How high will the Sun be during the eclipse in Kilkenny?
Low: about 15.0° above the horizon at maximum, in the west-north-west. That single number decides where you should stand — you need an unobstructed western horizon far more than you need a "dark sky" site.
How long does the eclipse last in Kilkenny?
About 1 h 53 min from the moment the Moon first touches the Sun (18:14) until it clears it again (20:06).
Which glasses do I need, and when can I take them off?
Because the eclipse never becomes total anywhere in Ireland, there is no safe moment to look with the naked eye: certified eclipse glasses marked EN ISO 12312-2 stay on for the whole event, from first contact to last. Ordinary sunglasses, welding glass below shade 14, smoked glass, exposed film and phone screens are never safe. If in doubt about a pair, check it against the American Astronomical Society's list of vetted suppliers and filters (eclipse.aas.org).
Where do I check the forecast for Kilkenny?
Irish August weather cannot be forecast this far out, and this site does not pretend to: check Met Éireann, the national meteorological service, in the final days and have a second viewing spot in mind.