Accommodation in Killarney

Just outside the town you'll find Ross Castle built by the aforementioned O'Donoghue Ross chieftains. Overlooking Lough Leane lake, and perhaps best viewed from a boat in the summer, this stately pile is a typical stronghold from the fifteenth century. The art gallery in Killarney has a strong community of local and national artists and hosts regular culture nights.

Coolwood Wildlife Park is ideal for children. The fifty acre complex has a huge wildlife sanctuary, children's playground and a coffee shop. Stretch your legs and hike to Torc Waterfall which is surrounded by verdant woodland. At eighty feet high, the impressive falls flow over the Mangerton Mountain, as Owengarriff river flows out towards the sea.

Ross Castle

A stunning example of a typical late medieval Irish stronghold, this castle was probably built by the O'Donoghue Ross chieftains in the fifteenth century. Two of the original towers remain, and the castle is filled with sixteenth and seventeenth century oak furniture. It's easy to imagine Irish chieftains sweeping around this grand space.

Killarney National Park

Rugged mountains (Ireland's tallest) and cornflower blue lakes stretch for 26,000 acres, punctuated by woods and waterfalls. Ross Castle and Innisfallen Island border this natural expanse, the latter home to an ancient monastery founded in the seventh century. The annals of Innisfallen were a major source of early Irish history and are now housed in Oxford's Bodleian Library.

St. Mary's Cathedral

This incredible cathedral, in the midst of stunning countryside filled with mountains and lakes, looms over the town of Killarney. Dating from the 1855, it is the third largest cathedral in Ireland, a feat for this fervent country, and is still the centre of the community today.

Muckross Abbey

This ancient Irish monastery dates back to Christianity's first beginnings in Ireland. Supposedly built by Saint Fionan as far back as the 6th century, the Abbey's current ruins date to a Franciscan friary from the fifteenth, which was sacked by Oliver Cromwell in the 1640's.

Muckross House

Five minutes away is this cultural and historic jewel, overlooking the lake and National Park. Its sixty-five rooms were designed by Scottish Architect William Burns in the nineteenth century. The house once hosted Queen Victoria but was sold by the Herbert family, because of financial difficulties, and is now open to all.