Killarney (Irish: Cill Airne, meaning "The church of the sloes") is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town is home to St. Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castle, Muckross Abbey, Torc Waterfall and Gap of Dunloe.

Killarney was awarded the "Best Kept Town" award for 2007 in a cross-border competition jointly organised by the Department of the Environment and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council. Owing to its natural heritage, history and proximity to the Dingle Peninsula, Skellig Michael island and its location on the Ring of Kerry, Killarney is a popular tourist destination.

Transport

Killarney is served by National Primary Route N22 (north to Tralee and Castleisland, south to Cork) and National Secondary Route N72 (west to Killorglin, east to Waterford).

There are train services to Tralee, Limerick, Cork and Dublin operated by Iarnród Éireann. Bus Éireann provides bus services to Limerick (and onwards to Dublin), Tralee, Cork, Kenmare and Skibbereen. Killarney railway station opened on 15 July 1853.

Kerry Airport, in Farranfore between Tralee and Killarney, provides an increasing number of air services. Cork Airport, easily accessible by bus or rail, also serves the Kerry region.

Sport

Gaelic games

Killarney has three Gaelic football teams: Dr. Crokes, Killarney Legion and Spa. The rural hinterland has a large number of Gaelic football teams, such as Kilcummin, Fossa, Firies, Glenflesk and Gneeveguilla. All these teams compete in the Kerry County league and the East Kerry Championship (O'Donoghue Cup) and league.

Dr Crokes are the most successful of these teams, with the most notable triumphs being the capture of the All-Ireland Club Championship in 1992 and the Munster Club Championship in 1991 and 1990. The club has also won the County Championship on 6 separate occasions, the last being in 2000. Dr Crokes are the only club in Killarney with a hurling team, which has had some important successes, most recently winning the Kerry Intermediate Hurling Championship in 1999 and 2001.

Rowing

There are six active rowing clubs in the town, who share a common history in Ireland's oldest surviving regatta, the Killarney Regatta, which is held annually on the first or second Sunday in July. The six clubs are Commercial RC (Killarney), Flesk Valley RC, Fossa RC, Muckross RC, St. Brendan's RC and Workmen RC. The style of rowing seen at the regatta is traditional, fixed seat rowing in wide, wooden 6 person boats. Since the eighties, a number of the clubs have moved toward coastal type rowing and modern 'slide' or Olympic style rowing.

Muckross Rowing Club is the largest and most successful of the clubs, having developed into a full time 'sliding' club with 24 National Championships (since 1996) at various levels from Junior to Senior. A number of members of the club have also been selected to row for Ireland and have competed successfully at the Home International Regatta, Coupe de la Jeunesse, World Rowing Championships and Olympic Games. Paul Griffin and Sean Casey, members of Muckross Rowing Club and Cathal Moynihan, a former member, are Irish World Championship rowers. Paul Griffin, racing in Irish Mens Lightweight Four, finished sixth at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, won a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships and a bronze at the 2006 World Championships. He was also (as a member of the Lightweight Four) overall category winner of the 2006 World Cup Rowing series. Sean Casey is currently a member of the Irish Heavyweight Four which has qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games following their tenth place finish at the 2007 World Championships. In the same crew, Sean also won the 'B' final (seventh overall) at the 2006 World Championships and won bronze at the 2006 Munich World Cup Regatta. Cathal Moynihan made his international Senior debut in the Mens Lightweight Four at the 2007 Linz World Cup Regatta in Austria.

Other

Killarney Rugby Club competes in the Munster Junior 1 League Division 3. Killarney Cycling Club is involved in road racing, cross country mountain biking, and has had recent success in downhill mountain biking.

Industry

Hosiery manufacturing and shoe making were major industries in the town during the last century but have since seen decline. Liebherr Cranes have had a presence in Killarney since 1958, with a combined manufacturing/research and development facility in the town. Dollinger-SPX, a filtration products firm and Killarney Plastics have production facilities in the local IDA Industrial Estate. In recent years Beocare, a healthcare company set up a manufacturing and research and development base in the town with the assistance of Enterprise Ireland. The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism have also moved to Killarney, a key beneficiary of the decentalisation of Civil Service departments outside the capital, Dublin. Certain sections of the Department of Justice have been situated in Killarney for a number of years.

Tourism

Tourism is by far the largest industry in Killarney. With the exception of Dublin, there are more hotel beds in Killarney than in any other Irish town or city. The tourist population is increasingly diverse however a significant proportion of tourists originate from the USA, Ireland, the UK, Germany and other European countries.

Killarney's tourism history goes back at least to the mid 1700s, when Thomas, fourth Viscount Kenmare, began to attract visitors and new residents to the town. The date of 1747 was used in recent 250-year celebrations to honour the history of Killarney tourism. A visit by Queen Victoria in 1861 gave the town international exposure, which it has enjoyed ever since. In the Summer months, Killarney is busy with tourists perusing the town's numerous shops and tourist attractions. Many shops are tourist oriented with many gift shops around the town. The town centre also offers a wide range of hotels, pubs and restaurants to cater for every requirement. Killarney is also famous for its jaunting cars (horse drawn carts) operated by local jarvies. Tourists can avail of jaunting car rides and a guided tour of the town's attractions offered by the jarvies.

Killarney SummerFest is a highlight of the year in the town, featuring outdoor and indoor concerts from major Irish and international acts. Previous acts include Snow Patrol, The Cranberries, Bryan Adams, The Corrs, Westlife, Tom Jones, Kris Kristofferson, David Gray and Pink. In 2008, Westlife return to headline the outdoor concerts, supported by Shane Ward. Singer KT Tunstall and comedian Des Bishop are among the other acts announced. Other events scheduled for SummerFest 2008 include outdoor theatre, hot air ballooning, Riverdance, art exhibitions, children's events, and the annual SummerFest Black Tie Ball. Sporting events during the festival include the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle, the Killarney Regatta, the 5km SummerFest Fun Run and the Killarney Races.

Attractions

• Lakes of Killarney
• Killarney National Park
• Muckross House
• The Black Valley
• Aghadoe
• Ross Castle - this square medieval tower was built by the O'Donoghues on the shores of Lough Lein in the 15th century. Now restored, the castle houses a collection of 16th and 17th century oak furniture. Ross Castle is the departure point for boat tours on Lough Lein.

Nightlife

Killarney is a popular destination for partygoers. Killarney's nightspots are often busy seven days a week during the summer months, when the population of the town and the surrounding area increases significantly. Pubs and clubs most commonly visited include Mustang Sallys, McSorleys, Scruffys, Scotts, Charlie Foleys, Jades, The Grand Hotel and The Granary.

Car Rallying

For many years, Killarney was the destination of the Circuit of Ireland Rally, which was held every year over the Easter holiday weekend. Nowadays, on the first weekend of May each year, the town plays host to the International Rally of the Lakes. The rally brings spectators in their thousands to watch the top tarmac rally crews do battle over the classic stages of the southwest.

In recent years the event has attracted vast numbers of "boy racers" and an increase in public order offences. The 2008 event saw a large Gardaí presence in the town to tackle such problems but the event was still marred by 64 arrests in the town for various degrees of public order offences including burnt out cars, destruction of property and numerous reckless driving arressts

People

• Dick Fitzgerald, Kerry Gaelic footballer
• Paul Coghlan, Senator
• John O'Leary, former TD
• Edward Eagar, lawyer and convict
• Michael Fassbender, actor
• Hugh Kelly, writer
• Michael Moynihan, former TD
• Breeda Moynihan Cronin, former TD
• Diarmuid O'Carroll, soccer player
• Brendan Moloney, soccer player
• John M. O'Sullivan, TD
• Colm Cooper, Gaelic footballer.
• Eoin Brosnan, Gaelic footballer.
• Paul Griffin, Olympic and World Championship rower
• Seamus de Faoite, Writer and Playwright
• Seán Kelly, Former President of the GAA and Chairman, Irish Institute of Sport
• Gillian O'Sullivan, Athlete , Racewalker - Former Olympian, World Record Holder and Silver Medallist at the World Athletics Championships 2003.
• Eileen Sheehan, Poet
• Tadhg Lyne, three times All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winner with the Kerry GAA Gaelic football team.
• Jessie Buckley, singer, actress and finalist in the I'd Do Anything BBC series.

Twinning

• flagicon USA Concord, North Carolina, USA
• flagicon USA Cooper City, Florida, USA
• flagicon UK Kendal, Cumbria, England
• flagicon USA Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA
• flagicon USA Springfield, Illinois, USA
• flagicon Italy Castiglione di Sicilia, Italy
• flagicon Germany Pleinfeld, Bavaria, Germany

See also

• List of towns in the Republic of Ireland
• Ring of Kerry

References

External links

• Killarney Visitors Guide