Back to Destination Articles - Killarney, Ireland

It's hard to believe the weekend has finished and Monday morning has come so quickly. Only a few articles were submitted since Friday, so at least I have an easy morning's work.

One of my favourite destinations is Ireland, so when the article below "dropped-in" for approval, I read it with interest.

Killarney does sound a wonderful place to visit.

This is my selection for "Article of the Weekend":

Best 10 things to do and see in Killarney in under 10 days

1. Jaunting Cars

Take a horse-drawn guided tour by the famous lakes and ancient castles. Jaunting Cars are available for hire at the following locations. Choice of destinations offered. Cost (depending on distance): €25- €57 per jaunting car (up to 4 persons). First Entrance to Killarney National Park (1M). Follow N71 for 3 kms. Car park and jaunting car stand on left. Also available from Kate Kearney’s Cottage. Follow R562 for 5 kms. approx. First surfaced road left after Hotel Europe (unmarked road). Bridge over River Laune. Left at Dunloe Castle Hotel. Left at next junction to Kate Kearney’s Cottage.

2. Ross Castle

Ross Castle is 10 minutes by car from Killarney. It started life in the 15th century as a chieftain’s stronghold but has been adapted many times since. It was opened to the public after restoration in 1990. This Castle may be considered a typical example of the stronghold of an Irish Chieftain during the Middle Ages. Probably built in the late 15th century by one of the O’Donoghue Ross chieftains. Much of the bawn was removed by the time the Barrack building was added on the south side of the castle sometime in the middle of the 18th century.

Picturesquely sited on the edge of Lough Leane, legend had it that the castle would never be conquered by land. In the 17th century, Cromwellian forces successfully attacked the castle by crossing the lake, fulfilling the prophecy.

After the tour, take the trip to Innisfallen Island on adjacent Lough Leane. It’s home to a ruined 12th-century Augustinian priory where the Annals of Innisfallen, a chronicle of early Irish history, were written. It’s one of the most serene places you’re ever likely to visit. You can take a motor launch but it’s much nicer to row. Ross Castle is open daily (closed November-March) with guided tours every half hour for £3. One-hour water bus tours of the lake, including Innisfallen, cost £5. Rowing boat hire to Innisfallen (two-hour/three-mile round trip) costs £5 an hour.

3. McSorley’s pub.

Probably the most lively place in Killarney, at night at least. Frequent live music with some of the best bands playing during summer months. No cover charge. Great reputation. For the young at heart. Drinking and loudness involved.

4. Muckross House

The focal point of Killarney’s Middle Lake is Muckross House and Gardens. Built for the Herbert family in 1843, the 20-room mansion hosted a royal visit by Queen Victoria in 1861 and many of the items on display date from that occasion. The extensive gardens, famous for their giant rhododendrons, offer panoramic views over the lake and include a 17-acre arboretum. The adjoining Muckross Traditional Farms recreate rural Ireland as it was in the 1930s, with three separate working farms complete with shire horses, donkeys, geese, chickens and traditional farm machinery. Muckross House and Gardens/Muckross Traditional Farms (00 353 64 31440, www.muckross-house.ie). Open daily 9am-7pm. Farms closed November-mid-March, £4, joint ticket £6.

5. Golf

With its world famous golf courses including Killeen and O’Mahony’s Point, Killarney truly is a Golfer’s paradise. Other famous Kerry courses such as Ballybunion, Ring of Kerry, Kenmare, Dooks and Tralee are all within a short drive of Killarney.

6. Walking/Cycle

Killarney National Park is a walker’s and cyclist’s paradise. There are numerous options but try the four-hour/10-mile circumnavigation of Middle Lake. From the ruins of Muckross Abbey, follow Lover’s Walk by the lake shore to the Muckross Peninsula, then along the Arthur Young Trail through one of the largest natural Yew woods in Europe. Keep on to Brikeen Bridge and Dinis Island on the far shore of the lake, returning via Toothache Bridge and Torc Waterfall. £7 for a day’s cycle hire from O’Sullivan’s Cycles, Bishop’s Lane, New Street, Killarney, Co Kerry (00 353 64 31282).

7. Murphy’s Ice Cream, 37 Main Street

Award-winning ice-cream, teas and coffees, chocolates, bakery and other indulgences. Described by ‘Let’s go Ireland’ as “The only cappuccino worthy of the name for 100 miles” and by the Sunday Independent as “The most sinful cakes”. Need i say more?

8. Go to an Irish sport event and find out what drives half the population of Ireland (mad). A good place to start is the website of the local Gaelic Athletics Association. Amateur, passionate, popular and a great way to meet locals and understand the culture.

9. Go to Sunday morning Mass. Even if you’re not Catholic its a great way to see and meet locals but above all observe one of the traditions that reveals most about Ireland.

10. Get lost - a personal favorite. Lower your expectations, take a packed lunch, get off the beaten track, take random roads, stop in the nicest pub around lunchtime, have a pint. Conentrate on roads that take you up mountains; there are a hundred views around Killarney each just as worthwhile as the famous ‘Ladies View‘.

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More About Killarney

Destination Guides > Europe & Russia > Europe > Ireland > County Kerry > Killarney

Although KILLARNEY has been commercialized to saturation point and has little in the way of architectural interest, the real reason for coming here is without doubt the surrounding landscape. Its three spectacular lakes , Lough Leane (the Lower Lake), Muckross Lake (the Middle Lake) and the Upper Lake, are only the appetizer. Behind them loom Macgillycuddy's Reeks , which have a grandeur out of all proportion to their height: rarely exceeding 3000ft, they're still the highest mountains in Ireland. Much of this wonderful scenery is contained within the huge Killarney National Park .

If you've come to Ireland for the scenery and the remoteness, you'll certainly find them in County Kerry : miles and miles of mountain-moorland where the heather and the bracken are broken only by the occasional lake; smooth hills whose fragrant, tussocky grass is covered with sea pinks, speedwells, thrift and red campion, and that fragment into jagged rocks as they reach the sea. The ocean looks enormous, and you can stand in the sunshine and watch a storm coming in for miles before you have to run for cover. The only catch is that a good part of the county is very much on the tourist trail. However, the plus side of Kerry's long tradition of welcoming tourists is that it's very easy country to travel in, with plenty of accommodation and food in all price brackets, and, during the summer at least, transport is pretty good - though with some notable exceptions.

Broadly speaking, Kerry divides into four areas: the Dingle Peninsula; the Iveragh Peninsula, encircled by the Ring of Kerry, with Killarney in its hinterland; the Kenmare River, bordered to the north and south by the Iveragh and Beara peninsulas; and northern Kerry, from Tralee to the Shannon. Each section is quite distinct and has its partisans. By far the most visited area - indeed the most visited in the whole of Ireland - is Killarney and the Ring of Kerry . Deservedly famous for the beauty of the adjacent lakes and mountains, this region is, predictably, geared up for tourism, and the principal roads and sights are often overburdened with visitors. Luckily, however, the real wilds are never far away, and whether you head for the mountains or the sea you can soon lose yourself and feel remote from modern civilization.

Exploring County Kerry

• Ardfert and Banna Strand
• Beara Peninsula
• Castleisland
• Dingle Peninsula
• Kenmare
• Killarney
• North Kerry
• Ring of Kerry
• Tralee