Kilkenny County Council: 1979 Local Election
| Party | Seats | Votes | Share | Candidates | Constituencies | |||||
| Fianna Fáil |  | 11 | (-1) | 12899 | 41.0% | (-1.8%) | 23 | (-1) | 4 | |
| Fine Gael |  | 10 | (-1) | 11841 | 37.6% | (+0.8%) | 23 | (+1) | 4 | |
| Labour Party |  | 4 | (+2) | 4653 | 14.8% | (+1.1%) | 12 | (-1) | 4 | |
| Sinn Féin (Workers' Party) |  | 1 | (+1) | 1374 | 4.4% | (+4.4%) | 4 | (+4) | 2 | (+2) |
| Independent |  | 0 | 698 | 2.2% | (-0.9%) | 2 | (-1) | 2 | (-1) | |