COUNTY KERRY - KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK


Ireland`s first National Park lies to the south and west of Killarney town at the foot of Ireland`s highest mountain range, The MacGillycuddy`s Reeks. Killarney National Park contains the most extensive areas of natural woodland remaining in Ireland. The park today covers an area of over 26,000 acres with numerous walking trails. The park also boasts the three world famous Lakes of Killarney.

South and west of the town of Killarney in Co. Kerry is an expanse of rugged mountainous country. This includes the McGillycuddy`s Reeks, the highest mountain range in Ireland which rise to a height of over 3000 feet. At the foot of these mountains nestle the world famous lakes of Killarney. Here where the mountains sweep down to the lake shores, their lower slopes covered in woodlands, lies the 26,000 acres of Killarney National Park . The distinctive combination of mountains, lakes, woods and waterfalls under ever changing skies gives the area a special scenic beauty.

The nucleus of the National Park is the 10,000 acre Bourn Vincent Memorial Park which was presented to the Irish State in 1932 by Senator Arthur Vincent and his parent-in-law, Mr and Mrs William Bowers Bourn in memory of Senator Vincent`s late wife Maud.

The focal point of the National Park for visitors is Muckross House and Gardens. The house which is presented as a late 19th century mansion featuring all the necessary furnishings and artifacts of the period is a major visitor attraction is jointly managed by the Park Authorities and the Trustees of Muckross House.

The former Kenmare Desmene close to Killarney Town is also part of the National Park and features Killarney House and Gardens and Knockreer House which is the education center of the park.

Killarney National Park contains many features of national and international importance such as the native oak woods and yew woods together with an abundance of evergreen trees and shrubs and a profusion of bryophytes and lichens which thrive in the mild Killarney climate. The native red deer are unique in Ireland with a presence in the country since the last Ice Age.

Human presence in the Killarney area dates back at least to the early Bronze Age, over 4,000 years ago, when copper was first mined at Ross Island . In early Christian times, monastic settlements provide the main evidence of the occupation of the area. The most important of these was the monastery on Innisfallen founded by St. Finian the Leper. The `Annals of Innisfallen,` written there in the 11th-13th centuries, are a major source of information on the early history of Ireland .

Killarney National Park was designated as a Biosphere Reserve in 1981 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), part of a world network of natural areas which have conservation, research, education and training as major objectives.