Yeah, Kilkenny is lovely and there’s great coastal villages all along county Dublin to explore.
if you like your walks, Howth on the north side and the bray to Greystones cliff walk south of Dublin are the best. Dalkey and Malahide villages are both great with a lovely vibe. Lots of tours of that’s your thing and I might be biased but I don’t think any city I’ve been to has a better selection of pubs, maybe London being the exception.
The Grave Diggers on the north side.
Kehoes, Mulligans, The Long Hall and Toners all centrally located.
The harbour bar in bray if you go out that way and as an astute poster has already mentioned, The Blue Light pub up the mountains would be my favourite, great view over the city.