Killarney, Here We Come!

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We began our trip to Killarney at the Great Southern Hotel. No, we didn’t stay here, it just happened to be next to the municipal parking lot
and had a bathroom in the lobby 🙂
It was way too fancy for us! It made me nervous just being in the lobby filled with glass and what looked like antiques.
Nora loved the staircase because she said it looked like a “princess staircase”.

Outside the restaurant in the hotel was the coat rack we need! Big enough for all of us, plus extra!

Right next to the hotel was where we were scheduled to meet our driver for a horse-drawn carriage ride to some of the sights in Killarney.
The locals called this a “jaunting car”.
Our driver was Paul, who has been doing this job for 30 years and was a wealth of local knowledge! Photo credit goes to Paul.
The horse was Becky, who seemed none too pleased to be out working in the wind and the rain.
Bobby and Kelly got to sit up front with Paul. Very exciting!
We went through part of Killarney National Park and saw Lough Leane (Lake of Learning), one of 3 lakes in the park.
Ducks, lots and lots of ducks!
We stopped at Ross Castle, right beside the lake. It was not open this time of year, but we were able to walk around the grounds a little.
After the carriage ride, we went to see St. Mary’s Cathedral. It was designed by the same architect who designed Big Ben and the House of Parliament in London.
There was a wedding going on, so we were not going to go in, but then the wedding chauffeur saw us standing outside and told us we could go in. He said everyone knows that tourists want to see the inside of the church and not to worry. Since it had started pouring, we decided to go quietly into the back of the church. We ended up getting to see the couple take their vows and have their first kiss.
Later that night, when we sat down to dinner at the pub in our hotel, who should walk in but the chauffeur!
We had a nice long chat and he gave us lots of good info about the town.
Next was Killarney House, which was part of the National Park. The house has been turned into a museum that covers all the local history, from how the glaciers formed the 3 lakes in the park to the last owners of the house gifting the house and land to the Irish government.
This lovely display was about the Rhododendron plant and how it is an aggressive plant that the park rangers are trying to get rid of.
The last owners of Killarney house were John McShain and his wife. He was an American architect and builder born into an Irish immigrant family in Philadelphia.
He was responsible for building the Jefferson Memorial and renovating the White House.
They bought Killarney House because they fell in love with the location beside the lake.

Stay tuned for day 2 of our trip to Killarney tomorrow!

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Published by broganfamily8069

We're a homeschooling family of eight - five girls and three boys. Our children are ages 20, 19, 17, 15, 12, 10, 7, and 5. We will be living in Ireland for the next six months, and then going to Tennessee! This blog is a documentation of our travels. Enjoy!! :)

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12 thoughts on “Killarney, Here We Come!”

  1. What a beautiful Cathedral! My great grandfather helped build many of the cathedrals in Ireland. If only I knew all of them! I know my grand Uncle built the chair St John Paul II sat on when he viisted Ireland. I am enjoying all the pictures you email!

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      1. My grand uncle? Yes, he was and when my parent’s went to visit, his wife said she ran into the shed as soon as it was finished to “sit in the same chair where the Pope’s (behind) would sit” My mother still gets a kick out of that to this day lol

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  2. Great pics of Killarney!!! Not sure if my text got through to you earlier today but wanted to wish Colleen a very Happy 13th Birthday! Aunt Carrie is missing celebrating our birthdays together! Big hugs all around!!! Xo

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  3. Killarney is so lovely. You chose the best way to see it all. In fact, there is a song about The Irish Jaunting Car. You may know someone who sang this song along with a group of sixth graders at a Feis at Manhattan College when the dinosaurs roamed the earth!

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