Killarney

Killarney lies beside a chain of lakes beneath the mountains of Kerry. On the shore of Lough Leane, Ross Castle was the stronghold of the O'Donoghues, while nearby Muckross friary sheltered a community of Franciscan friars. The lakes and woods formed the setting for the lands of Gaelic lords and, later, the estates of incoming families.

Muckross was founded in 1448 under the patronage of Donal MacCarthy Mór. The friary suffered during the Desmond rebellions and was attacked again by Parliamentarian troops in 1652. In the eighteenth century the Browne family recovered its estates and remodelled Kenmare House near Killarney. The town grew around these estates and the routes leading to the lakes, whose setting began to attract visitors in increasing numbers.