Killarney House & Gardens

Recently restored, Killarney House and Gardens brings the Killarney National Park right into the heart of our town and has created the largest urban park in the world. The restoration of the house and formal gardens has resurrected in part the style of 18th century French chateaux and a 20th century Edwardian property. The restoration work to the landscaped gardens continues.

In the 1950s, the House was bought by John McShain from the USA. Mr McShain was an Irish-American building contractor, who was known as “The Man Who Built Washington”, with the Pentagon & the Jefferson Memorial among the many structures in the US Capitol he built. In the 1970s he sold the House and thousands of acres of parklands to the Irish State for a nominal sum to ensure it would forever be enjoyed by the Irish public. 

The uniqueness of Killarney House and its Gardens is that they open the centre of town to the stunning panorama of the National Park. This magnificent property is a prologue to some of the most stunning natural scenery in the world.

Access to Killarney’s newest attraction is either via a new side entrance, alongside the Monsignor O’Flaherty statue on the Mission Road, or the wonderfully restored “Golden Gates” on the Muckross Road and three centuries of garden styles will be reflected in the restoration and landscaping work.