“stay close to nature;...limestone tiles add an air of authenticity and timelessness to indoor...

“Stay close to Nature; it will never fail you.”

Irish Blue Limestone, one of Ireland’s most precious resources, has been treasured and used for centuries. This charismatic and multi-faceted stone has many destinies, from the centre-pieces of contemporary home design to the principal theme of architectural projects from rural Ireland to downtown Manhattan.

Within these pages, we introduce our extensive range of Irish Blue Limestone products, individually rendered in a number of high-precision quality finishes. Various shade and finish combinations tease the stone into its many expressions of colour and texture, as it courts the light and develops in complexity with time. Welcome to the beauty of Irish Blue Limestone.

KILKENNY L IMESTONE · 2

INTRODUCT ION

LIMESTONE RICH AREA

The story of Irish Blue Limestone begins long before the Ages of Man or the Age of the Dinosaurs, during what is called the ‘Age of the Crinoids’, some 340 million years ago.

In the warm, shallow, tropical seas that once extended across much of what we know today as north-east Europe, sea life and calcium carbonate crystallised over time to form the sedimentary rock with its characteristic coral strata, crinoid, brachiopod and gastropod fossils. There it remained for hundreds of millions of years until Europe’s settlers began to conceive of building robust and timeless structures.

The story of this material tracks the development of civilisation in Ireland. Blue limestone was used by the Neolithic people to construct monuments in a time

before the Pyramids of Egypt were first imagined. As society developed, the stone was utilized for the more sophisticated means of carving and is seen in Ireland’s famed Celtic crosses.

A technically superior building material, the stone’s elegant and timeless qualities have been consistently celebrated in Irish architecture from ancient monasteries and abbeys to the castles and houses of chieftains and lords. This is a tradition that continues through to the modern day.

Fully appreciating the rarity and uniqueness of this stone, Kilkenny Limestone has dedicated itself to its correct and appropriate usage in contributing to the great buildings and landscapes of our modern age.


THE STORY OF IR ISH BLUE L IMESTONE

Interior Tiles for Floors & Walls


INTER IOR T I LES FOR FLOORS AND WALLS

Used for centuries in the prestigious and stately buildings of Ireland and Europe, Irish Blue Limestone tiles developed a well-earned reputation for classic and timeless elegance. The premium range of Kilkenny Limestone wall and floor tiles come in a range of styles and finishes. Natural Irish Blue Limestone tiles add an air of authenticity and timelessness to indoor environments.

Precision-finished in any of 9 individual textures, these traditional tiles promise an original and natural interior feature. Available in 11 standard formats.


PolishedLeathered

Sanded

Suitable finishes:Standard formats: 15 × 15 cm20 × 20 cm30 × 30 cm40 × 40 cm50 × 50 cm60 × 30 cm60 × 40 cm60 × 60 cm80 × 80 cmFree Lengths × 30 cmFree Lengths × 40 cm


INTER IOR T I LES FOR FLOORS AND WALLS

Cottage Blue Honed Dark Honed

Abbey Stonewashed Light Stonewashed Dark


Exterior Paving


EXTER IOR PAVING

Available in 11 individual textures, these traditional cut paving tiles promise an original and natural exterior feature. Kilkenny Limestone’s range of Irish Blue Limestone paving is designed to exist in harmony with its surrounding environment. Our range is environmentally friendly, highly resistant to wear, pollution, frost and de-icing salts. Its durable nature makes it the ideal material for superior quality paving, setts and cobbles as well as for kerbing, steps, borders and tree surrounds.


Suitable finishes:Standard formats: 15 × 15 cm20 × 20 cm30 × 30 cm40 × 40 cm50 × 50 cm60 × 30 cm

ChiselledPeon-hammeredIce Flower

Sawn Sanded

60 × 40 cm60 × 60 cm80 × 80 cmFree Lengths × 30 cmFree Lengths × 40 cm


EXTER IOR PAVING

Serena

Old Mechanical Chiselled Sbattu Flamed

Bush-hammered Stonewashed Light


PAVING:

MoreLondon Project, United Kingdom


EXTER IOR PAVING

MoreLondon, is one of Foster + Partners’ flagship projects in the British capital. A key characteristic of London’s prominent new public space is the impressive 3 hectare plaza and streetscape made up of flame-textured Irish Blue Limestone paving.

In an innovative use of the material, the paving was supplied in random length strips which were laid in a uni-directional pattern which gives the striking impression of sweeping through the landscape.

In addition to the paving works, Kilkenny Limestone created a dramatic, sunken limestone amphitheatre, known as The Scoop. Adjacent to City Hall, the arena seats 800 and is host to high profile public events, theatre productions and concerts.

Expertly crafted seating, cladding and balustrading adorns the development, along with a unifying limestone water feature which lures pedestrians through the urban landscape. The project team received a major award for factors including quality of work, sympathy of scale to surroundings and the innovative use of stone.


Our Company

Technical Information

QualityKilkenny Limestone maintains a quality approach to our work. We subject all of our processes to rigourous and regular quality control checks, from inspection of raw materials, through monitoring of the entire manufacturing process to final quality approval and guarantee of our end products.

Our system of CE marking highlights the performance standards expected from our products. The products are produced from ATG-certified materials. The ISO: 9001 quality system implemented by Kilkenny Limestone is independently audited and verified.

The low-waste production methods used complement the naturally low embedded carbon that makes Irish Blue Limestone an exceptionally environmentally friendly material.

QuarriesKilkenny Limestone runs the largest quarry and processing operation for Irish Blue Limestone. We operate dimensional stone quarries and production centres in three locations: Kellymount, Co. Kilkenny, Holdensrath, Co. Kilkenny and Old Leighlin, Co. Carlow.

There, we extract and shape Classic Blue, Dark Selection, Oyster fossil and Coral fossil varieties of Irish Blue Limestone.

Our sales team will be happy to assist you with any technical queries and requests. For more information and specifications regarding our product range, please visit www.kilkennylimestone.com.


OUR COMPANY

Kilkenny Limestone Quarries LimitedKellymountPaulstownCo. KilkennyIreland

Head office: +353 59 972 6191Sales: +353 59 972 1227Fax: +353 59 972 6276Email: [email protected]

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