Live-in Care in Kilkenny
Fully managed live-in care across Kilkenny from Garda-vetted, experienced and insured carers — with someone in place within a few days.
Care usually starts within days, with no HSE assessment queue
Garda-vetted carers, employed and insured by us
One primary carer, with a familiar backup
4.8/5 on Google and 5/5 on Bark
What happens next
We call you back
Someone from our care team rings you to talk through what’s needed and answer your questions.
A short conversation
Which days and hours would help, what has got harder at home, and anything we should know about your loved one.
We match a carer
Garda-vetted, employed and insured by us. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner.
Two ways to arrange live-in care
Flex
A carer lives in the home and provides your agreed active care hours through the day, plus the reassurance of a carer resting in the home overnight.
Constant
A small team of carers provides cover around the clock, so someone is awake and on hand day and night. It suits higher-dependency needs.
What do our live-in carers help with?
Everyday support that keeps life at home going.
Medication
Housekeeping
Overnight Help
Personal care
Meal Prep
Companionship
How live-in care works in Kilkenny
In 2022, 574 Kilkenny people aged 85 and over were living alone, which was 39.7% of that age group in private households. Some of those homes stand well apart, up on the Castlecomer Plateau or on the slopes of Brandon Hill above Graiguenamanagh. Visits alone leave long, empty hours in places like these.
Under a live-in arrangement, the carer moves into the spare room and is there through the day and overnight. There is a main carer for your loved one, plus a familiar backup for days off, so the faces at the kitchen table are ones your loved one knows. For someone living with dementia, seeing the same people week after week helps the days feel familiar. The carer also learns the small habits of the house and can spot early when something changes, such as a poorer appetite or a new unsteadiness on the stairs.
It works well for families scattered between Kilkenny and further afield, where nobody can call in every day. Your care manager agrees the room and household arrangements with you before the carer arrives and stays in touch once care is under way. UIH employs and insures every carer directly, and each one is a Garda-vetted, trained healthcare assistant. Help with tablets is given as prompts and reminders. Injections, insulin and wound dressings sit outside the carer's role.
Live-in care across Kilkenny
A carer can live in with your loved one anywhere in County Kilkenny. It is often the most practical choice in the north, around Castlecomer and Ballyragget, and in the north-west near Freshford and Urlingford, where houses are far apart and a string of visits would mean long drives between calls. Homes along the Barrow at Goresbridge and Graiguenamanagh are covered as well. Before anything starts, your care manager walks through the bedroom and household setup a live-in carer needs.
Towns and areas we cover
Kilkenny city
Castlecomer
Mooncoin
Callan
Graiguenamanagh
Thomastown
Ballyragget
HSE health region
HSE Dublin and South East
Main hospital
St Luke's General Hospital Carlow Kilkenny, Kilkenny city
Also nearby
Kilcreene Regional Orthopaedic Hospital, Kilkenny city · University Hospital Waterford, Waterford city
GP out of hours
Caredoc
Growing older at home in Kilkenny
Three rivers shape County Kilkenny. The Nore cuts down the middle, from Kilkenny city on to Bennettsbridge, Thomastown and Inistioge. The Barrow marks part of the eastern edge at Goresbridge and Graiguenamanagh, and the Suir forms the southern boundary with Waterford. South of the city lies a low, fertile plain of dairy and tillage farms. Higher ground rings the edges, with the Castlecomer Plateau and Slieve Marcy to the north, the Slieveardagh Hills running west towards Tipperary and Brandon Hill, the county's highest point, near Graiguenamanagh.
Census 2022 put Kilkenny city at 27,184 people, roughly a quarter of the county's 104,160. Callan, the next largest town wholly in the county, had 2,678. Thomastown, Castlecomer, Piltown and a few others pass 1,000, and the rest are villages. In the far south, the area around Ferrybank, Slieverue and Kilmacow looks across the Suir to Waterford city.
The same census counted 17,056 people aged 65 and over, or 16.4% of the county, above the national share of 15.1%. Some villages are older again. Mullinavat's share is 32.9%, double the county rate, and Freshford's is 25.0%. Of over-65s in private households, 3,815 lived alone.
Care at home in Kilkenny often means reaching a village or a farm some distance from the city. Visit times have to allow for the road, and in the uplands a carer living in can be the steadier plan.
Sources: HSE, upmc.ie, Caredoc, CSO, TFI Local Link, Transport for Ireland, Citizens Information, Kilkenny County Council, Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Family Carers Ireland. Checked 23 October 2026.
Local support in Kilkenny alongside private care
Alongside private care, Kilkenny families can turn to these local services. Each is run separately from UIH, and numbers, routes and times can change, so check with the service directly.
- TFI Local Link Carlow Kilkenny Wicklow has fixed routes into Kilkenny with no booking, among them the 881 from Graiguenamanagh and the 891 from Fiddown, plus door-to-door trips, booked in advance, for passengers who register and qualify (0818 42 41 41).
- Kilkenny City Bus, a separate TFI service, accepts the Free Travel Pass on route KK2 to St Luke's Hospital.
- Citizens Information has one centre in the county, at 4 The Parade, Kilkenny (0818 07 7910).
- Kilkenny County Council's Age Friendly Programme, run through the Age Friendly Alliance and the Older People's Council, is on its third strategy. Kilkenny was the first Irish city to gain Age Friendly status. Contact 056 7794920.
- The Alzheimer Society of Ireland provides day care at Millennium Court, Kilkenny, and a free Kilkenny Dementia Adviser. Helpline 1800 341 341.
- Family Carers Ireland is at Butler Court, 14 Patrick Street, Kilkenny (056 7721424).
- ALONE leads the strategy's action on isolation, with Support and Befriending and a Community Connector service (0818 222 024).
Setting up care after a hospital discharge in Kilkenny
St Luke's General Hospital Carlow Kilkenny, on the Freshford Road, was recognised as Ireland's first Age Friendly Hospital. If your loved one is due home from a stay there and should not be on their own, a carer living in can see them through the first weeks, with help to wash and dress, meals cooked at home and reminders for tablets. Ring us before the discharge date, so your care manager has time to find a well-matched carer.
Why families choose United Irish Healthcare
We employ, vet and insure every carer, and we arrange cover ourselves when your carer takes leave. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner, and your loved one has one primary carer with a familiar backup.
Why Kilkenny families choose us
Higher ground rings Kilkenny, from the Castlecomer Plateau in the north to Brandon Hill by Graiguenamanagh, and on an upland farm a live-in carer means nobody waits on a visit coming up the hill.
St Luke's in Kilkenny city was Ireland's first Age Friendly Hospital, and when your loved one should not be alone after a stay there, a live-in carer can see them through the first weeks.
What families say
United Irish Healthcare have been beyond any of my expectations. UIH had us sorted in a matter of hours. I cannot thank Daniel, Olivia and Jean enough — highly recommend.
Doireann Kate Gough
We use UIH for night care for our Mam. The staff have been fantastic — it is very personal and she is comfortable with her carers.
Orla Daly
For the last 8 months Mum has had two very kind carers fulfilling her wish to stay in her own home. The peace of mind is well worth it.
Verified Google review
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a setup or placement fee?
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Yes. A one-time placement fee covers the work of assigning your carer and setting up the placement. Your care manager includes it in your quote, and a replacement carer never costs extra.
Can I decide which days and hours the carer works?
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Yes, you can specify the days and hours in accordance with your package. The number of days is flexible; a 24/7 package means a carer is available every day of the week.
Will I have the same carer consistently?
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Yes. You will have a designated primary carer, available except when on leave, on holiday, or unwell — when a reliable secondary carer familiar to the family and client steps in.
Does the carer have to live in the home full time?
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No. Our carers have their own homes and may return to them when they are off duty.
Questions about live-in care in Kilkenny
Does live-in care suit someone in Kilkenny who is living with dementia?
Often it does, because your loved one keeps one main carer and a backup they come to recognise, in a home that is already familiar. On days with a GP or hospital appointment, the carer living in can get your loved one dressed, fed and out the door on time. For information and signposting, the Alzheimer Society's Kilkenny Dementia Adviser works with families free of charge and in confidence, and the Society also answers calls from families on its helpline, 1800 341 341.
Our loved one is on an out-of-the-way farm near Mullinavat or Kilmoganny. Is live-in care realistic there?
Yes. With the carer staying in the house, nobody has to make the drive out for each call, and that drive is what makes visiting care hard to schedule in remote spots. Shopping and trips into town for prescriptions are planned in advance with your care manager. If your loved one is registered with Local Link for its pre-booked Door to Door service, that can be part of the plan too.
Do you arrange care around Ferrybank and Slieverue, close to Waterford city?
Yes. Care from UIH is available in all 26 counties, so homes on both sides of the Suir are covered. University Hospital Waterford on the Dunmore Road is close to this corner of the county, and your care manager can plan around wherever your loved one attends. Graiguenamanagh-Tinnahinch, which the CSO counts as one town spanning Kilkenny and Carlow, is covered on either side of the county line. Call 0818 700 100 to talk it through.
Kilkenny is in a new HSE region. Does that change anything for private home care?
All of County Kilkenny sits within HSE Dublin and South East, the region that also takes in Carlow, Wexford, Waterford, Tipperary South, Wicklow and part of South Dublin. Private home care sits outside that structure. UIH is independent of the HSE and there is no HSE assessment queue to join first, so care usually begins within days, sometimes sooner. Your loved one's GP and public health nurse stay involved, and we work alongside them.
Is there help in Kilkenny with adapting a home for care, or with paying for private care?
Kilkenny County Council's housing grants for older people include the Housing Aid for Older People Grant, the Housing Adaptation Grant and the Mobility Aid Grant. Through the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme, someone over 65 can have a free assessment at home from a local coordinator. For the care itself, Form HK1 lets you claim tax relief on private home care, up to 40% at your marginal rate, and Citizens Information on The Parade can answer questions about entitlements.
Up to 40%
home-carer tax relief at your marginal rate
Relief is claimed on Form HK1 at your marginal rate. Always check your position with Revenue.
Other care we arrange in Kilkenny
Live-in Care in nearby counties
Live-in Care in Carlow · Live-in Care in Laois · Live-in Care in Tipperary · Live-in Care in Waterford · Live-in Care in Wexford
