Butler House, Kilkenny, Dower house in Kilkenny, Ireland

Butler House is a three-story Georgian residence featuring three bays and two curved facade sections, positioned next to a walled garden and Kilkenny Castle. The building now operates as a four-star hotel and conference venue with direct access to Kilkenny's Medieval Mile district.

Butler House was completed by 1786 as the dower house for Kilkenny Castle, built for the 16th Earl of Ormonde so his wife could live there once their son inherited the title. Lady Eleanor Butler was its first occupant, though it is uncertain whether she and her husband moved in before his death. In 1831 the 1st Marquess of Ormonde lived here during reconstruction work on the castle, and in 1832 a cholera epidemic led the family to use the house as a soup kitchen. The Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland was formed here in the 1870s.

The Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, now the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, was founded in this house in the 1870s. Since 1989 the Kilkenny Civic Trust has run it as a hotel and conference centre, and the walled garden behind it was restored in 2000.

The location sits at 16 Patrick Street with direct access to Kilkenny Castle grounds and the surrounding Medieval Mile area. As it operates as a working hotel, visitors can explore public areas during the day or stay as overnight guests.

The Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, now the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, was founded in this house in the 1870s. The three full-height bowed bays on the east side face the walled garden that backs onto the Castle Yard and stables.