The most important highlights of Killarney
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.
