View source for Killarney

{{short description|Town in County Kerry, Ireland}}
{{About|the town in Ireland}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=April 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox settlement
|settlement_type        = Town
|name                   = Killarney
|native_name            = {{lang|ga|Cill Airne}}
|image_shield           = Killarney COA.png
|image_skyline          = {{multiple image
|border = infobox
|total_width = 280px
|image_style = border:1;
|perrow = 2/2
|image1 = Killarney Cathedral, 2021-06-21, 02.jpg
|caption1 = [[St Mary's Cathedral, Killarney|St Mary's Cathedral]]
|image2 = High Street, Killarney, 2021-06-21, 02.jpg
|caption2 = High Street
|image3 = Red Deer of Ireland, Killarney, 2021-06-22.jpg
|caption3 = Red Deer sculpture
|image4 = Killarney House Garden, 2021-06-21, 02.jpg
|caption4 = [[Killarney House]] garden
}}
|mapsize                = 230px
|map_caption            = Location of Killarney in Ireland
|pushpin_map            = Ireland#Europe
|pushpin_relief         = 1
|pushpin_label_position = right
|pushpin_map_caption    = Location in Ireland
|coordinates            = {{coord|52.0588|-9.5072|dim:100000_region:IE|display=inline,title}}
|blank_name_sec1        = Irish Grid Reference
|blank_info_sec1        = {{iem4ibx|V969909}}
|unit_pref              = Metric
|elevation_m            = 50
|subdivision_type       = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name       = [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
|subdivision_type1      = [[Provinces of Ireland|Province]]
|subdivision_name1      = [[Munster]]
|subdivision_type2      = [[Counties of Ireland|County]]
|subdivision_name2      = [[County Kerry|Kerry]]
|subdivision_type3      = [[Local government in the Republic of Ireland|Council]]
|subdivision_name3      = [[Kerry County Council]]
|subdivision_type4      = [[Dáil Éireann]]
|subdivision_name4      = [[Kerry (Dáil constituency)|Kerry]]
|subdivision_type5      = [[European Parliament]]
|subdivision_name5      = [[South (European Parliament constituency)|South]]
|population_total       = 14,412
|population_as_of       = [[2022 census of Ireland|2022]]
|population_footnotes   = <ref name=cso2022>{{cite web | url = https://visual.cso.ie/?body=entity/ima/cop/2022&boundary=C04160V04929&guid=39600a5b-986b-44df-86cd-df9bc3f6fbd0 | title = Interactive Data Visualisations: Towns: Killarney |website=CSO Ireland | access-date = 26 September 2023}}</ref>
| area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in the Republic of Ireland|Telephone area code]]
| area_code = +353(0)64
| postal_code_type        =[[Eircode]] routing key
| postal_code             =V93
|timezone                = [[Western European Time|WET]]
|utc_offset              = ±0
|timezone_DST            = [[Irish Standard Time|IST]]
|utc_offset_DST          = +1
|website                = {{URL|www.killarney.ie}}
}}

'''Killarney''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ɪ|ˈ|l|ɑːr|n|i}} {{respell|kil|AR|nee}}; {{langx|ga|Cill Airne}} {{IPA|ga|ˌciːl̠ʲ ˈaːɾˠn̠ʲə|}}, meaning 'church of [[sloe]]s') is a town in [[County Kerry]], southwestern [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]. The town is on the northeastern shore of [[Lough Leane]], part of [[Killarney National Park]], and is home to [[St Mary's Cathedral, Killarney|St Mary's Cathedral]], [[Ross Castle]], [[Muckross House]] [[Muckross Abbey|and Abbey]], the [[Lakes of Killarney]], [[MacGillycuddy's Reeks]], [[Purple Mountain, County Kerry|Purple Mountain]], [[Mangerton Mountain]], [[Paps of Anu|Paps Mountain]], the [[Gap of Dunloe]] and [[Torc Waterfall]]. Its natural heritage, history and location on the [[Ring of Kerry]] make Killarney a popular tourist destination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tripadvisor.ie/TravelersChoice-Destinations-cTop-g186591|title=Best Destinations in Ireland - Travellers' Choice Awards - TripAdvisor|work=tripadvisor.ie}}</ref>

The town's population was 14,412 as of the [[2022 census of Ireland|2022 census]], making it the second largest in the county.<ref name="cso2022"/> Killarney won the Best Kept Town award in 2007, in a cross-border competition jointly organised by the [[Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment|Department of the Environment]] and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council. In 2011, it was named Ireland's tidiest town and the cleanest town in the country by Irish Business Against Litter.<ref>{{cite news | title=Killarney named Ireland's tidiest town | url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0905/tidytowns.html | access-date=2011-09-05 | work=RTÉ News | date=5 September 2011}}</ref>

==History==
===Early history and development===
Killarney featured prominently in early Irish history, with religious settlements playing an important part of its recorded history.  Its first significantly historical settlement was the monastery on nearby [[Innisfallen|Innisfallen Island]] founded in 640 by [[Finian Lobhar|St. Finian the Leper]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/210/3/162.html |title=Saint Finian, surnamed Lobhar, or the Leper. March 16. Rev. Alban Butler. 1866. Volume III: March. The Lives of the Saints |publisher=Bartleby.com |access-date=2012-05-01}}</ref> which was occupied for approximately 850 years.

Innisfallen (from Irish: ''Inis Faithlinn'', meaning "Faithlinn's island") is an island in Lough Leane, one of the three Lakes of Killarney. It is home to the ruins of Innisfallen Abbey which was founded in 640 by St. Finian, and was occupied until the monks were dispossessed in 1594, by [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth I, Queen of England]]. According to tradition, the [[Irish High King]] [[Brian Boru]] received his education at Innisfallen.

[[Aghadoe]], the local townland which overlooks present day Killarney, may have begun as a pagan religious site.<ref>Long, Tom. "Tracing Our Faith." ''Fossa & Aghadoe: Our Heritage and History''. ed. Jim Larner. Fossa Historical Society. 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-9557739-0-7}}. p 1.</ref>  The site has also been associated with the 5th century missionary [[St. Abban]], but 7th century [[ogham]] stones mark the first clear evidence of Aghadoe being used as an important site.<ref name="Long1">Long, 1.</ref>  According to legend, St. Finian founded a monastery at Aghadoe in the 6th or 7th century.  The first written record of a [[Aghadoe Cathedral|monastery]] dates from 939 AD in the [[Annals of Innisfallen]] where the Aghadoe monastery is referred to as the "Old Abbey."<ref name="Long1"/>

Following the [[Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland]] in 1169, the Normans built [[Parkavonear Castle]], also at Aghadoe.  The castle was perhaps intended as an early warning outpost due to its views of the entire Killarney valley and lakes region.

[[Ross Castle]] was built on the lake shore in the late 15th century by local ruling clan the O'Donoghues Mor (Ross). Ownership of the castle changed hands during the [[Desmond Rebellions]] of the 1580s to the Mac Carty Mor.

[[File:Killarney Town Council, 2021-06-21.jpg|thumb|left|[[Killarney Town Hall]]]]
[[Muckross Abbey]] was founded in 1448 as a [[Franciscan]] [[friary]] for the Observantine Franciscans by Donal McCarthy Mor.  The abbey was burned down by [[Cromwell]]ian forces under [[Edmund Ludlow|General Ludlow]] in 1654, and today remains a ruin.

Killarney was heavily involved in the [[Irish War of Independence]].  The town, and indeed the entire county, had strong republican ties, and skirmishes with the British forces happened on a regular basis.
The Great Southern Hotel was for a while taken over by the British,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/wilkienotesb.html |title=Notes of Joe Wilkie - Killarney memories- page 2 |publisher=Rootsweb.ancestry.com |access-date=2012-05-01}}</ref> both as an office and barracks, and to protect the neighbouring railway station. One notable event during the war was the [[Headford Ambush]] when the [[Irish Republican Army|IRA]] attacked a railway train a few kilometres from town.

However, divisions among former colleagues were quick to develop following the truce and treaty, and Killarney, like many other areas, suffered in the rash of increasing [[Executions during the Irish Civil War|atrocities]] during the [[Irish Civil War|Civil War]].  A day after the [[Ballyseedy massacre]], five [[Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)|Republican]] prisoners were killed in Killarney by [[National Army (Ireland)|Free State forces]].

Killarney was granted [[town commissioners]] under the [[Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act 1854]], which was converted to an [[urban district (Ireland)|urban district]] under the [[Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898]], and a [[town council (Ireland)|town council]] under the [[Local Government Act 2001]]. The [[Local Government Reform Act 2014]] dissolved the town council with the creation of Killarney Municipal District under the authority of [[Kerry County Council]]. [[Killarney Town Hall]] was erected in Kenmare Place in around 1930.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/21400829/killarney-town-hall-kenmare-place-killarney-killarney-co-kerry|title=Killarney Town Hall, Kenmare Place, Killarney, County Kerry|publisher=National Inventory of Architectural Heritage|access-date=13 November 2023}}</ref>
{{Historical populations|state=collapsed
|1821|7014
|1831|7910
|1841|7127
|1851|5901
|1861|5204
|1871|5195
|1881|6651
|1891|5510
|1901|5656
|1911|5796
|1926|5328
|1936|5609
|1946|5947
|1951|6298
|1956|6464
|1961|6825
|1966|6877
|1971|7541
|1981|9083
|1986|10189
|1991|9950
|1996|12011
|2002|13167
|2006|14603
|2011|14219
|2016|14504
|2022|14412
| footnote=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cso.ie/census |title=Census for post 1821 figures. |publisher=Cso.ie |access-date=2012-05-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050309005718/http://www.cso.ie/census/ |archive-date=9 March 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org |title=histpop.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507023856/http://www.histpop.org/ |archive-date=7 May 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=NISRA |url=http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census |title=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency - Census Home Page |publisher=Nisranew.nisra.gov.uk |access-date=2012-05-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217095720/http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census |archive-date=17 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
| last=Lee|first=JJ| author-link =J. J. Lee (historian)|editor-last=Goldstrom|editor-first=J. M.|editor2-last=Clarkson
| editor2-first=L. A.|title=Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell
| year=1981|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford, England
| chapter=On the accuracy of the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Pre-famine]] Irish censuses}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal  | last1 = Mokyr  | first1 = Joel
| author-link = Joel Mokyr  | last2 = O Grada  | first2 = Cormac
| author2-link = Cormac Ó Gráda  | title = New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850  | journal = The Economic History Review  | volume =  37  | issue =  4
| pages = 473–488  |date=November 1984
| url = http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120035880/abstract  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20121204160709/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120035880/abstract  | url-status = dead  | archive-date = 2012-12-04  | doi = 10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x  | hdl = 10197/1406  | hdl-access = free  }}</ref><ref name="sapmap2016">{{cite web | url = http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=9EF412D8-1334-4146-85B1-9F0699E18ED5#SAPMAP_T1_100 | publisher = [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)|CSO]] | work = Census 2016 | title = Sapmap Area - Settlements - Killarney | date = 2016 | access-date = 12 January 2018 | archive-date = 21 January 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210121102403/http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=9EF412D8-1334-4146-85B1-9F0699E18ED5#SAPMAP_T1_100 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="2022census">{{cite web|url = https://data.cso.ie/table/F1015 | title = Census 2022 {{!}} Profile 1 - Population Distribution and Movement {{!}} F1015 - Population| website = data.cso.ie | accessdate = 29 July 2023 }}</ref>
}}

=== Tourism development ===
{{multiple image
 | align     = right
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 | header_align = center
 | header    =
 | image1    = DV405 no.253 Killarney.png 
 | width1    = 220
 | alt1      =
 | footer = Two views of Killarney painted by a visiting artist in 1830
 | image2    = DV405 no.265 Killarney.png
 | width2    = 220
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 }}
Killarney's tourism history goes back at least to the mid 18th century, when [[Thomas Browne, 4th Viscount Kenmare|Thomas, fourth Viscount Kenmare]] (Lord 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 some international exposure.

Killarney benefited greatly from the coming of the railway in July 1853. British trade directory publisher [[Isaac Slater]] noted that there were three hotels in the town in 1846<ref>Slater, Isaac. Slater's Directory. 1846.</ref> but by 1854, one year after the coming of the railway, James Fraser named seven hotels and described their locations:<blockquote>the Railway Hotel opposite the Railway Station; the Kenmare Arms and Hibernia which are on the main street and immediately opposite the church... the Victoria which is about a mile [1.5&nbsp;km] to the west of the town on the shores of the Lower Lake; the Lake View which is about the same distance to the east of the town and also on the shore of the Lower Lake; the Muckross about two and a half miles [4&nbsp;km] away and near the [[Muckross Lake]] and the Torc which occupies an elevated site about a mile and a half [2.5&nbsp;km] from the town on the hill which rises immediately over the Lake Hotel.<ref>Fraser, James. Guide to Killarney. 1854</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Peasant home - Killarney LCCN2014694752.jpg|Peasant home, Killarney, early 1910s|thumb]]
In 1858, Irish born Victorian journalist, [[Samuel Carter Hall]] named O'Sullivan's Hotel and the Innisfallen rather than the Hibernia and Torc, but Isaac Slater also named the Hibernia in 1846. At the time he was writing, tours of the [[Ring of Kerry]] were already an industry and Killarney was considered the starting point of the {{convert|110|mi|km|order=flip|round=5|adj=on}} circuitous route. He was fascinated by the horses' endurance on the two-day trip, and leaves clear advice for other travellers; 
<blockquote>
It is a common and wise custom of those who make this tour, and are not pressed for time, to hire the carriage at the hotel in Killarney and continue with it 'all the way round.' It is absolutely marvellous what these mountain bred horses can get through "thinking nothing" of thirty miles [50&nbsp;km] for days together or even fifty miles [80&nbsp;km] in a single day.<ref>Hall, Carter. ''A Week in Killarney''. 1858</ref>
</blockquote>
As part of the trip, he noted that there were hotels in [[Glenbeigh]] and  [[Waterville, County Kerry|Waterville]] along with a "comfortable inn", which is now the [[Butler Arms Hotel]].

==Economy==
===Industry===
[[Thomas Browne, 4th Viscount Kenmare]] founded linen mills in the 1740s as part of his efforts to increase the population and economy of Killarney. In later years, [[hosiery]] and shoe making were major industries in the town. One such shoe factory was Hillards, which employed 250 people at its peak.<ref>{{cite news |last1=O´Mahoney |first1=John |title=John Richard’s family were great employers in Killarney |url=https://www.killarneytoday.com/john-richards-family-were-great-employers-in-killarney/ |access-date=31 May 2024 |publisher=Killarney Today |date=28 January 2021}}</ref>

Modern employers include [[Liebherr Group|Liebherr Cranes]], which has had a presence in Killarney since 1958, with a combined manufacturing/research and development facility in the town manufacturing container cranes. In honour of its founder, a street in Killarney was named Hans Liebherr Road.<ref>{{Cite web|last=O'Mahony|first=John|date=2021-11-01|title=Liebherr was heading for Mallow… but Killarney locals had other ideas|url=https://www.killarneytoday.com/liebherr-was-heading-for-mallow-but-killarney-locals-had-other-ideas/|access-date=2021-12-14|website=KillarneyToday.com|language=en-US}}</ref> Other businesses include [[Tricel]] (also known as Killarney Plastics) which was founded in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tricel Killarney|url=https://tricel.eu/group-organisation/tricel-killarney/|access-date=2021-12-14|website=Tricel Eu|language=en-GB}}</ref>

In the public sector, both the [[Department of Culture, Communications and Sport]] and [[Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration]] have offices in Killarney.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Financial Shared Services|url=https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/fe275-financial-shared-services/|access-date=2021-12-14|website=www.gov.ie|date=9 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

===Tourism===
[[File:Killarneycart.jpg|thumb|Tourists near Ross Castle]]

Tourism is the largest industry in Killarney, generating around €410 million every year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1.1 million visitors to Killarney, but new report also sees tourism threats|url=https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/11-million-visitors-to-killarney-but-new-report-also-sees-tourism-threats-36593216.html|access-date=2021-12-14|website=independent|date=12 February 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Roughly 1.1 million tourists visit the town every year, with foreign tourists making up over 60% of all visitors.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lucey|first=Anne|date=2018-02-13|title=Killarney tops with overseas and local visitors|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20467056.html|access-date=2021-12-14|website=Irish Examiner|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sheehy|first=Paschal|date=2018-02-12|title=Tourism worth €400m to Killarney annually - report|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/munster/2018/0212/940021-killarney-tourism-visitors/|language=en}}</ref> [[File:Flower Garden at Muckross House.jpg|thumb|Flower Garden at [[Muckross House]]]]

In 2023, in a scheme intended to reduce [[litter]] volumes during the tourist season, Killarney became the first town in Ireland to ban single-use coffee cups.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/14/it-was-a-plague-killarney-becomes-first-irish-town-to-ban-single-use-coffee-cups | website = theguardian.com | title = 'It was a plague': Killarney becomes first Irish town to ban single-use coffee cups  | date = 14 October 2023 }}</ref>

==Transport==

===Road===
Killarney is served by [[Roads in Ireland#National primary roads|National Primary Route]] [[N22 road (Ireland)|N22]] (north to [[Tralee]] and [[Castleisland]] and east to [[Cork (city)|Cork]]); the [[Roads in Ireland#National secondary roads|National Secondary Route]]s [[N72 road (Ireland)|N72]] (west to [[Killorglin]] and east to [[Mallow, County Cork|Mallow]], [[Fermoy]], and [[Dungarvan]]) and the [[N71 road (Ireland)|N71]] (south to [[Kenmare]] and [[Bantry]]).

===Rail===
[[File:Plaque commemorating the coming of the Railway to Killarney.JPG|thumb|Plaque commemorating the coming of the Railway to Killarney]]
[[Killarney railway station]] (operated by [[Iarnród Éireann]]) has direct services to [[Tralee railway station|Tralee]], [[Cork Kent railway station|Cork]] and [[Dublin Heuston railway station|Dublin]], with connections to the rest of the rail network.

===Bus===
[[Bus Éireann]] provides bus services to Limerick (and onwards to Dublin), Tralee, [[Cork (city)|Cork]], [[Kenmare]] and [[Skibbereen]].

===Air===
[[Kerry Airport]] (17&nbsp;km), in [[Farranfore]] between [[Tralee]] and Killarney, provides a number of air services with connecting trains running from [[Farranfore railway station]] to [[Killarney railway station]]. [[Cork Airport]] (89&nbsp;km), easily accessible by bus or rail, also serves the Kerry region.

==Sport==
===Association football===
The [[International Football Association Board]] (IFAB), the body that determines the [[Laws of the Game (association football)|Laws of the Game]], met at the Lake Hotel in Killarney in 1905.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1905min.pdf|title=Minutes of the Annual General Meeting}} From the [https://ssbra.org/ifab/#/1900 archives] of the [[International Football Association Board]].</ref>

Killarney has three [[association football|football]] clubs&mdash;all of which compete in the [[Kerry District League]].

Killarney Athletic A.F.C. was founded in 1965, and played its first competitive game in the Desmond League as a youth team. It entered a junior team at the start of 1966.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} In the early 1970s, the club became a founding club of the Kerry District League (KDL). Originally the club played in the centre of Killarney, but have since moved to a modern facility (with two pitches) in the Woodlawn area of the town.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Killarney Celtic was founded in 1976. The club purchased their own ground in 1993 and have invested in their facilities since then.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.killarneyceltic.com |title=Killarney Celtic Football Club |publisher=Killarneyceltic.com |date=19 January 2006 |access-date=2012-05-01}}</ref> There is a grass pitch and a FIFA 1-star full-size synthetic all-weather pitch (both floodlit to match standard), a 50 x 80 meter grass training pitch and a 70 x 35 metre synthetic training pitch which is also fully floodlit.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Cedar Galaxy was formed in 2011 and play in the [[Kerry District League]] Division 2B. The team were promoted to Division 2A for the 2013/2014 campaign.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

===Gaelic games===
[[File:FitzGeraldStadium.jpg|thumb|[[Fitzgerald Stadium]]]]
The [[Kerry GAA]] branch of the [[Gaelic Athletic Association]] was founded in 1888. [[Kerry county hurling team|Kerry's county hurling]] and [[Kerry county football team|county football teams]] play at the [[Fitzgerald Stadium]] in Killarney, which opened in 1936 and has capacity for 43,180 spectators.

Killarney has three [[Gaelic football]] clubs: [[Dr Crokes GAA|Dr Crokes]], [[Killarney Legion GAA|Killarney Legion]] and [[Spa GAA|Spa]]. The rural hinterland also has a number of football teams, including [[Kilcummin GAA|Kilcummin]], [[Fossa GAA|Fossa]], [[Firies GAA|Firies]], [[Glenflesk GAA|Glenflesk]] and [[Gneeveguilla GAA|Gneeveguilla]]. All these teams compete in the Kerry County league and the [[East Kerry Senior Football Championship]] (O'Donoghue Cup) and league.

Dr. Crokes is the most successful of these teams, winning the [[All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship]] in 1992 and the [[Munster Senior Club Football Championship]] in 1991, 1990 and 2007. The club has also won the [[Kerry Senior Football Championship|County Championship]] on 7 separate occasions, including in 2010. Dr. Crokes is the only club in Killarney with a [[hurling]] team; it won the Kerry Intermediate Hurling Championship in 1999 and 2001.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

===Rowing===
There are six [[Rowing (sport)|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 six-person boats. Since the 1980s, a number of the clubs have moved toward coastal type rowing and modern 'slide' or Olympic style rowing.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Muckross Rowing Club is the largest of the clubs, having developed into a full-time 'sliding' club with 32 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 at the [[Home International Regatta]], [[Coupe de la Jeunesse]], [[World Rowing Championships]] and [[Olympic Games]]. [[Paul Griffin (rower)|Paul Griffin]], [[Sean Casey (rower)|Sean Casey]] and [[Cathal Moynihan]] members of Muckross Rowing Club, are Olympic and Irish World Championship rowers.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

===Rugby===
[[Killarney RFC]] play in the Munster Junior League. The club's 1st XV won promotion to Division 2 in 2009–10.<ref name="Heroic Killarney win promotion">{{cite news
|url=http://www.thekingdom.ie/news/story/?trs=mhmhaueyau
|title=Heroic Killarney win promotion
|publisher=The Kingdom
|date=15 April 2010
}}{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> while the same season the club fielded a 2nd XV for the first time. The club has also a large youth and underage set-up catering for all young enthuasists from the town and surrounding areas.

===Golf===
[[Killarney Golf & Fishing Club]] attracts various national competitions such as the [[Irish Open (golf)|Irish Open]].
The Ross Golf Course is a 9-hole golf course less than one mile from the centre of the town.

===Other sports===
[[Killarney Racecourse]] is located just outside the town and holds flat and national hunt meetings.

The Ring of Kerry Cycle, a charity cycle around the Ring (175&nbsp;km) takes place every first Saturday in July.<ref>{{cite news |title=Registration for Ring of Kerry cycle to open on March 1st |url=https://www.radiokerry.ie/news/registration-for-ring-of-kerry-cycle-to-open-on-march-1st-318570 |access-date=31 May 2024 |agency=Radio Kerry News |publisher=Radio Kerry |date=21 February 2023}}</ref> There is also a club in Killarney called Killarney Cycling Club.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dennehy |first1=Fergus |title=Killarney Cycling Club aims to get newcomers comfortable on the roads |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerry/south-kerry-news/killarney-cycling-club-aims-to-get-newcomers-comfortable-on-the-roads/a652434467.html |access-date=14 December 2024 |agency=The Kerryman |publisher=Independent News & Media |date=19 April 2024}}</ref>

St. Paul's Killarney Basketball Club, founded in 1985, has entered both youth and senior teams in tournaments organised by [[Basketball Ireland]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Mahony |first1=John |title=Big John’s memory will live on in Killarney |url=https://www.killarneytoday.com/big-johns-memory-will-live-on-in-killarney/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |agency=The Kerryman |publisher=Killarney Today |date=20 October 2024}}</ref> Killarney is also the home of Irish [[floorball]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.killarneyvikings.yolasite.com/|title=Killarney Vikings|website=www.killarneyvikings.yolasite.com}}</ref>

==In popular culture and music ==
In 1900 the composer [[Cyril Rootham]] wrote his Op.8 "Four Impressions (Killarney)" for solo violin and small orchestra.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0275%2FRootham%2FF7 |title="Four impressions (Killarney): miniatures for violin solo and small orchestra by Cyril B. Rootham" - manuscript in the Library of St John's College, Cambridge |date=July 1900 |access-date=2016-05-20}}</ref> The work was never published, but Rootham later arranged the work for pianoforte duet (Op.8 No.2, unpublished) and for violin and piano (Op.8.No.3, published in 1902 as "Impressions pour Violon et Piano").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0275%2FRootham%2FI5 |title=Impressions pour Violon et Piano |publisher=Bosworth & Co |date=1902 |access-date=2016-05-20}}</ref>

At the beginning of the 20th century, many songs which romanticized Ireland made direct mention of Killarney. Examples included "My Father Was Born In Killarney - Don’t Run Down The Irish" (1910), "[[Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral]]" (1914) and "For Killarney and you" (1910).<ref>{{Cite web|title=My father was born in Killarney [music] : (don't run down the Irish)|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-177598489|access-date=2021-12-14|website=Trove|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ra that's an Irish lullaby|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100008000/|access-date=2021-12-14|website=Library of Congress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=For Killarney and you|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100009314/|access-date=2021-12-14|website=Library of Congress}}</ref>

"There's Only the One Killarney" is a song that was written by Irish songwriter [[Dick Farrelly]] and recorded by Irish tenor Patrich O'Hagan. Killarney also appears in "How Can You Buy Killarney," written by Kennedy, Steels, Grant and Morrison, and recorded by Joseph Locke, among others. Killarney is also mentioned in "[[Christmas in Killarney]]" (written by Redmond, Cavanaugh and Weldon) and "Did Your Mother Come From Ireland?" (written by Kennedy and Carr), both most notably recorded by [[Bing Crosby]]. "Some Say the Devil Is Dead" by [[Derek Warfield]] contains the line "Some say the devil is dead and buried in Killarney/ More say he rose again and joined the British Army."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kinglaoghaire.com/site/lyrics/song_397.html |title=Some Say The Devil Is Dead |publisher=Kinglaoghaire.com |date=25 May 1944 |access-date=2012-05-24}}</ref>

[[Van Morrison]] references the town in the opening lines of his 1974 song "[[Fair Play (song)|Fair Play]]" off of his album ''[[Veedon Fleece]]'': "''Fair play to you / Killarney's lakes are so blue / And the architecture I'm taking in with my mind / So fine''."

Colin O'Sullivan's 2013 novel, ''Killarney Blues'', is set in the town and was awarded the "[[Prix Mystère de la critique]]" in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Killarney Blues by Colin O'Sullivan |url=https://betimesbooks.com/list-of-titles/killarney-blues-by-colin-osullivan/ |website=Betimes Books |date=28 July 2014 |access-date=13 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Plougastel |first1=Yann |title=Franz Bartelt et Colin O'Sullivan Prix Mystère de la Critique 2018 |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/polar/article/2018/03/16/franz-bartelt-et-colin-o-sullivan-prix-mystere-de-la-critique-2018_6002197_5470928.html |access-date=13 April 2022 |agency=Le Monde |date=16 March 2018}}</ref>

==Notable people==
{{See also|Category:People from Killarney}}
<!-- Please respect alphabetical order; Please provide references -->
[[File:IRAMemorialKillarney.jpg|thumb|upright|Memorial to members of the [[List of brigades of the Irish Republican Army|2nd Kerry Brigade of the IRA]] who died in the Irish War of Independence]]
*[[Eoin Brosnan|Eóin Brosnan]], [[Gaelic football]]er and solicitor<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.radiokerry.ie/news/kerry-solicitor-says-more-people-seeking-legal-remedies-after-assault-during-a-game-254284 | publisher = Radio Kerry | website = radiokerry.ie | title = Kerry solicitor says more people seeking legal remedies after assault during a game | date = 12 October 2021 | accessdate = 6 November 2021 }}</ref>
*[[Jessie Buckley]], singer and actress<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/kerry-actress-jessie-buckley-on-partying-with-paul-mescal-missing-her-family-and-romeo-and-juliet-40272547.html | publisher = Independent News & Media | website = independent.ie | title = Kerry actress Jessie Buckley on partying with Paul Mescal, missing her family and Romeo and Juliet | date = 4 April 2021 | accessdate = 6 November 2021 }}</ref> 
*[[Paul Coghlan]], former senator<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20395669.html| publisher = Irish Examiner | website = irishexaminer.com | title = Paul Coghlan celebrates with tea and toast after narrow Seanad win | date = 29 April 2016 | accessdate = 6 November 2021 }}</ref>
*[[Colm Cooper]],  Gaelic footballer<ref>{{cite book | title = Colm 'Gooch' Cooper: Great Irish Sports Stars | publisher = O'Brien Press Ltd | last = Mahoney | first = Donny | date = 2019 | isbn = 9781788490856 }}</ref>
*[[John J. Crowley|Fr. John J. Crowley]],  20th century Catholic priest in California known as the ''Padre of the Desert''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Breen |first1=Joe |title=An Irishman’s Diary about Fr John Crowley, ‘Padre of the Desert’ |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-irishman-s-diary-about-fr-john-crowley-padre-of-the-desert-1.2499779 |access-date=5 June 2024 |publisher=The Irish Times |date=18 January 2016}}</ref>
*[[Edward Eagar]], lawyer and convict<ref>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography |id2=eagar-edward-2013 |first=N D |last=McLachlan |title=Eagar, Edward (1787–1866) |volume=1 |year=1966 |pages=343–344 |access-date=6 November 2021 }}</ref>
*[[Michael Fassbender]], actor<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2008/0530/1212048820425.html |title=Blood, Sweat, Tears |publisher=The Irish Times |website=irishtimes.com |date=5 April 2008 |access-date=6 November 2021 |archive-date=23 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023083552/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2008/0530/1212048820425.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[Thomas Fitton]], cricketer and [[Royal Air Force]] officer{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
*[[Dick Fitzgerald (Gaelic footballer)|Dick Fitzgerald]], Kerry Gaelic footballer<ref>{{cite web|url = http://fitzgeraldstadium.com/history01.html| publisher = Fitzgerald Stadium | website = fitzgeraldstadium.com | title = History - Dick Fitzgerald | date = | accessdate = 6 November 2021 }}</ref>
*[[Hugh Kelly (poet)|Hugh Kelly]], writer{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
*[[Seán Kelly (politician)|Seán Kelly]], MEP, former President of the GAA and chairman of the Irish Institute of Sport<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/news/sean-kellys-father-dies-at-his-home-near-killarney-27406325.html| publisher = Independent News & Media | work = The Kerryman | title = Sean Kelly's father dies at his home near Killarney | date = 20 April 2011 | accessdate = 6 November 2021 }}</ref>
*[[Mark Lanegan]], American musician and author who lived in Killarney from 2020 until his death in 2022.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2022-02-23|title=Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan dies at 57|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-60487917|access-date=2022-02-23}}</ref>
*[[Tadhg Lyne]], three times [[All-Ireland Senior Football Championship]] winner with the [[Kerry GAA]] Gaelic football team{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
*[[James McDonogh]], first-class cricketer{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
*[[Michael McElhatton (footballer)|Michael McElhatton]], soccer player<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.balls.ie/football/michael-mcelhatton-footballer-kerry-bournemouth-rushden-diamonds-435309| website = balls.ie | title = 'Chris Kamara Said On Live TV That I Was The Next Roy Keane' | date = 31 May 2020 | accessdate = 6 November 2021 }}</ref>
*[[Brendan Moloney]], soccer player<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/sport/soccer/brendans-brilliant-voyage-and-its-not-finished-yet-39146901.html| publisher = Independent News & Media | work = The Kerryman | title = Brendan's brilliant voyage... and it's not finished yet | date = 25 April 2020 | accessdate = 6 November 2021 }}</ref>
*[[Breeda Moynihan-Cronin]], former [[Teachta Dála|TD]]{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
*[[Michael Moynihan (Kerry politician)|Michael Moynihan]], former TD{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
*[[Paul Nagle]], rally co-driver<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.the42.ie/paul-nagle-meeke-interview-2511919-Dec2015/ | website = the42.ie | title = Killarney man Paul Nagle on his hopes of becoming world champ alongside Kris Meeke down the road | date = 24 December 2015 | accessdate = 6 November 2021}}</ref>
*[[Peter O'Brien (Gaelic footballer)|Peter O'Brien]], Gaelic footballer
*[[Diarmuid O'Carroll]], soccer player<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/ocarroll-stepping-back-to-go-forward-1990187.html | title = O'Carroll stepping back to go forward | publisher = Independent News & Media | website = independent.ie | date = 27 December 2009 | accessdate = 6 November 2021 }}</ref>
*[[Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty]], Roman Catholic priest who lived in Killarney as a child<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fleming|first=Brian|title=The Vatican Pimpernel: the wartime exploits of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty|publisher=Collins Press|year=2008|location=Wilton, Cork|page=14|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_cMAQAAMAAJ|isbn=978-1-905172-57-3 | quote = }}</ref>
*[[John O'Leary (Kerry politician)|John O'Leary]], former TD <ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary: John O'Leary - Fianna Fáil TD |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/obituary-john-oleary-fianna-fail-td/31594370.html |agency=Irish Independent |publisher=Independent News & Media |date=10 October 2015}}</ref>
*[[Gillian O'Sullivan]], former Olympian racewalker, world record holder and silver medalist at the World Athletics Championships 2003<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/os/gillian-osullivan-1.html |title=Gillian O'Sullivan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329042828/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/os/gillian-osullivan-1.html |archive-date=2009-03-29 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[John M. O'Sullivan]], TD<ref>{{cite TIWW |article=O'Sullivan, Professor John M.|page= 199}}</ref>
*[[Eileen Sheehan]], poet{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland}}
Killarney is [[town twinning|twinned]] with:
:{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Castiglione di Sicilia]], [[Province of Catania|Catania]], [[Sicily]], Italy
:{{flagicon|GER}} [[Pleinfeld]], [[Bavaria]], Germany
:{{flagicon|North Carolina}} {{flagicon|USA}} [[Concord, North Carolina|Concord]], North Carolina, United States
:{{flagicon|Florida}} {{flagicon|USA}} [[Cooper City, Florida|Cooper City]], Florida, United States
:{{flagicon|Illinois}} {{flagicon|USA}} [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]], Illinois, United States
:{{flagicon|South Carolina}} {{flagicon|USA}} [[Myrtle Beach, South Carolina|Myrtle Beach]], South Carolina, United States
:{{flagicon|Arizona}} {{flagicon|USA}} [[Scottsdale, Arizona|Scottsdale]], Arizona, United States
:{{flagicon|England}} [[Kendal]], [[Cumbria]], England, [[United Kingdom]]
:{{flagicon|SWE}}  [[Staffanstorp]], [[Scania]], [[Sweden]]
:{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Casperia]], [[Rieti]], [[Lazio]], Italy

==See also==
* [[List of towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland|List of towns and villages in Ireland]]
* [[St Brendan's College, Killarney]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{wikivoyage inline|Killarney}}

{{County Kerry}}
{{Tidy Towns (Ireland)}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Killarney| ]]
[[Category:Towns and villages in County Kerry]]
[[Category:Former urban districts in the Republic of Ireland]]