Muckross House

I did a six hour drive all the way down to the town of Killarney. I have heard how this are is one of the most beautiful in the country and I wanted to see it for myself. I will be spending two nights here so I don’t need to rush through all these places all at once. Besides, it was a long drive, I want to take it easy for the first day. I arrived in Killarney town just past noon. By that time I had already checked in the hotel where I was staying at. The town is close to a few sights so I thought it would be good to have a quick look at some of the places here. One of the places which is most recommended here in Killarney is the Muckross House.

Muckross House is one of the more well known landmarks here in the town of Killarney. I’m surprised to see that a house is consistently ranked as one of the top sights in Killarney, considering how many natural sights are within driving distance of Killarney. Anyway, I decided to visit the Muckross House first. The Killarney National Park is just outside the town and can be easily reached on foot. Muckross House is a mansion built on the shores of Muckross Lake. It was built in 1843, the design is said to be Tudor style. It seemed to have gotten famous that the Queen decided to visit the place. Because of this there were massive improvements made to the place until is essentially bankrupted the family which let to it being sold.

The property even passed through the hands of Arthur Guinness, the founded of Guinness Brewery. It changed hands a few times until it was presented to the Irish Nation as a gift by the Bourne family and their son-in-law Arthur Vincent. Ireland’s first national park was then born – Killarney National Park, part of it is known as Bourne-Vincent Memorial Park.

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