Killarney House & Gardens

Top choice in Killarney National Park


Dating from the early 18th century, Killarney House was once part of a much larger residence that was later demolished; it was restored in 2016 and now houses the Killarney National Park visitor centre. There are free guided tours of the house every half-hour, and seasonal guided walks in the vast gardens, which sweep majestically towards a gorgeous view of the Kerry mountains.

The house was originally the stable block of a much larger French-chateau-style mansion that was built for the landowning Browne family in the 1720s; the chateau was demolished in the 1870s when the family moved to then newly built Knockreer House nearby. When that was destroyed by fire in 1913, the stables were remodelled as a family residence, but abandoned in the 1950s. Despite its proximity to the centre of Killarney, the house lay empty and unused for half a century.