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Heritage

Cill Airne, the church of the sloes

Ireland's original tourist town, on the shore of Lough Leane at the gateway to Killarney National Park and the Ring of Kerry.

The name

Killarney's Irish name is Cill Airne, "the church of the sloes". The town grew up beside the Lakes of Killarney, below the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, Ireland's highest mountain range. Today it is the second-largest town in County Kerry and the start and finish of the Ring of Kerry.

Killarney in numbers

14,412
People living in the town (2022 census)
1853
The railway reaches Killarney and the hotel trade grows
1861
Queen Victoria visits, putting the lakes on the international map
1932
Muckross Estate becomes Ireland's first national park

Monks, chieftains and the first tourists

St Finian the Leper founded a monastery on Innisfallen Island in Lough Leane in the 7th century, where the Annals of Inisfallen were later written. The O'Donoghue Mór built Ross Castle on the lake shore in the late 15th century, and Donal McCarthy Mór founded the Franciscan friary at Muckross in 1448. Visitors were coming to see the lakes by the mid-18th century, encouraged by Thomas Browne, 4th Viscount Kenmare. The railway arrived in 1853 and Queen Victoria's visit in 1861 made Killarney famous worldwide.

Ireland's first national park

In 1932 the 4,330-hectare Muckross Estate was given to the State in memory of Maud Vincent, becoming the Bourn Vincent Memorial Park. Now Killarney National Park, it covers 10,289 hectares and has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1981. It holds Ireland's largest remaining native oak woods, its only wild native herd of red deer, and Reenadinna, one of only three pure yew woods in Europe.

Town and park landmarks

Highlights within an easy walk, cycle or jaunting-car ride of the town centre.
  1. 1

    St Mary's Cathedral

    The Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Kerry, designed by Augustus Welby Pugin. Building began in 1842.

  2. 2

    St Mary's Church of Ireland

    "The Church of the Sloes" on Kenmare Place, built in 1870 on a site with a church recorded since the 1200s. Open daily.

  3. 3

    Killarney House & Gardens

    The National Park's visitor centre, with restored formal gardens at the edge of town.

  4. 4

    Ross Castle

    A late 15th-century tower house of the O'Donoghue Mór on the shore of Lough Leane; boats leave from here for Innisfallen and the Upper Lake.

    Directions →
  5. 5

    Muckross Friary

    The ruins of the Franciscan friary founded in 1448, with a yew tree growing in its cloister.

  6. 6

    Muckross House

    A Victorian mansion completed in 1843 for Henry Arthur Herbert, with gardens and traditional farms.

    Directions →
  7. 7

    Torc Waterfall

    A short woodland walk from the N71 to the cascade on the Owengarriff River, on the Kerry Way.

Start at Killarney House

The National Park's visitor centre at Killarney House is the best first stop for maps, trail advice and the park's free talks.

People of Killarney

Notable People of Killarney

Meet the people whose lives are woven into Killarney.

Meet them