Kilgarvan Kilgarvan Kilgarvan ' onMouseout='HidePop("91579")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Killarney">Killarney
Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region is home to St...
,
TemplenoeTemplenoe is a settlement in County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated four miles from Kenmare, on the N70 road to Sneem, which forms part of the Ring of Kerry....
and
SneemSneem is a town situated on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry in the southwest of Ireland. It lies on the estuary of the River Sneem. National route N70 runs through the town....
.
History
The entire area was granted to the
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
scientist,
Sir William PettySir William Petty was an English economist, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to survey the land that was to be confiscated and given to Cromwell's soldiers...
by
Oliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.He was one of the commanders of the New Model Army which defeated the royalists in...
as part payment for completing the mapping of Ireland, the
Down SurveyThe Down Survey, also known as the Civil Survey, refers to the mapping of Ireland carried out by William Petty, English scientist in 1655 and 1656....
in 1656. He laid out the modern town circa 1670. Like
William PettySir William Petty was an English economist, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to survey the land that was to be confiscated and given to Cromwell's soldiers...
, a previous surveyor of Ireland (1584),
Sir Valentine BrowneSir Valentine Browne, of Crofts, Lincolnshire, was an English politician. He was appointed Surveyor General of Ireland in 1559 by Queen Elizabeth I of England, later being appointed Auditor General....
, ancestor of the
Earl of KenmareThe title of Earl of Kenmare was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1801. It became extinct upon the death of the 7th Earl in 1952.All of the Earls bore the subsidiary titles of Viscount Castlerosse , Viscount Kenmare , and Baron Castlerosse in the Peerage of Ireland...
was granted some lands in
County KerryCounty Kerry is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Munster. Kerry is the fifth largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and 14th largest in terms of population...
during the resulting plantation, the Munster Plantation.
The three main streets that form a triangle in the centre of the town are called Main Street (originally William Street, after Sir William, 1st. Marquis of Lansdowne), Henry Street (originally Sound Road), after the son of William the 1st. Marquis and Shelbourne Street (Henry Petty became the first
Earl of ShelburneEarl of Shelburne is a title that has been created two times while the title of Baron Shelburne has been created three times. The Shelburne title was created for the first time in the Peerage of Ireland in 1688 when Elizabeth, Lady Petty, was made Baroness Shelburne. She was the wife of the noted...
). This name was also later applied to Shelbourne Road in
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
.
However, the area has more ancient roots. One of the largest
stone circleA stone circle is an ancient monument of standing stones. It is not always precisely circular, often forming an ellipse, or more rarely a setting of four stones laid on an arc of a circle. The size and number of stones in a 'circle' varies from example to example...
s in the south-west of Ireland is close to the town, and shows occupation in the area going back to the Bronze Age (2,200-500 B.C), when it was constructed. The circle has 15 stones around the circumference with a boulder dolmen in the centre.
Vikings are said to have raided the area around the town which at that time was called
Ceann Mhara, which means "head of the sea" in Irish.
The convent in the town, the
Poor Clare SistersThe Order of Poor Ladies, also known as the Order of Saint Clare, the Poor Clares, the Poor Clare Sisters, the Clarisse, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, or the Second Order of St. Francis, , is an order of nuns in the Roman Catholic Church...
, was founded in 1861 when five nuns including Sister Mary Frances Cusack, who was also an author and publisher of many books, moved to Kenmare from their convent in Newry, Co.Down. Under the guidance of Mother Abbess O'Hagan in 1864 a
laceLace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
-working industry was established and
Kenmare Lace became noted worldwide.
A suspension bridge, which is claimed to be the first in Ireland, over the Kenmare River was opened in 1841 and served the community till 1932 when it was replaced by a new concrete bridge.
The town is noted for winning the
Irish Tidy Towns CompetitionThe Irish National Tidy Towns Competition is an annual competition organized by the Irish Government's Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government...
in 2000 and being a runner-up in 2003 and 2008. The Catholic Church in the town contains stained glass from
Franz Mayer & Co.Franz Mayer and Co. is a stained glass company based in Munich, Germany and is responsible for stained glass in at least nine of Ireland's Cathedral churches . The site for St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin, New Zealand has this to say about the firm:Franz Mayer and Co., Munich...
and a beautiful hand carved
Bath StoneBath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
chancel and side altars.
The town library is one of the
Carnegie LibrariesCarnegie libraries are libraries which were built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. More than 2,500 Carnegie libraries were built, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
funded by
Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie was a Scottish industrialist, businessman, entrepreneur, and a major philanthropist....
. It opened in 1918, and the architect was R.M. Butler.
The
Church of IrelandThe Church of Ireland is a Christian church, an autonomous province of the Episcopal/Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland, and the largest non-Roman Catholic religious body on the island...
church of St Patrick celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008.
Tourism
Kenmare lies on two of the more famous Irish tourist attractions, the
Ring of KerryThe Ring of Kerry is a tourist trail in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. The route covers the 170 km circular road , starting from Killarney, heading around the Iveragh Peninsula and passing through Kenmare, Sneem, Waterville, Cahersiveen and Killorglin...
and the
Ring of BearaThe Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It has two mountain ranges running down its centre: the Caha Mountains and the Slieve Miskish Mountains...
, approximately 32 kilometres (20 miles) from
KillarneyKillarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region is home to St...
. As a result it is a very popular
touristTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
destination and many of the businesses in the area cater to tourists. Since the late 1990s this has led to a large amount of construction work, with land being sold at very high prices to developers wishing to build
estatesA housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
of
holiday homesVacation rental is a term in the travel industry meaning renting out a furnished apartment or house on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. Vacation rentals have long been a popular travel option in Europe as well as in Canada and are becoming increasingly popular across the...
. This has led to a significant increase in the town's population, particularly during the peak tourist season, and prompted fears among some residents that the town is becoming overdeveloped and losing much of its identity.
People
Kenmare was home to
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
Ernest John MoeranErnest John Moeran was an English composer.-Early life:Moeran was born in Heston , the son of an Irish clergyman...
for a number of years up to his death and a local bar is named after him.
Gaelic footballGaelic football , commonly referred to as "Football" , "Gaelic" or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
er Mickey 'Ned' O'Sullivan is from the town, while another footballer,
Pat SpillanePatrick Gerard Spillane , better known as Pat Spillane, is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Templenoe and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1975 until 1991...
, comes from nearby
TemplenoeTemplenoe is a settlement in County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated four miles from Kenmare, on the N70 road to Sneem, which forms part of the Ring of Kerry....
. Current
Kerry GAAThe Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...
player
Paul O'ConnorPaul O'Connor is an Irish Gaelic footballer with the Kenmare club and Kerry county team.- Playing career :Paul O'Connor was Kerry's star forward in the 2005 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship. The following year, he was selected for the senior panel...
hails from Kenmare. Kenmare is also the home of Irish
OlympicThe Olympic Games are a major international event of summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes compete in a wide variety of events. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in...
slalom skierSlalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...
Thos FoleyThos Foley from Kenmare in County Kerry, Ireland, is a men's slalom skier. He currently lives and trains in the village of Verbier in Switzerland...
. Diplomat
Con CreminCon Cremin in Kenmare, County Kerry – April 1987) was an Irish diplomat.-Career:One of four children, Cremin was born to a family that operated a drapery business. His early education was spent at St...
was also from Kenmare. NY construction magnate Patrick Harrington was also from Kenmare.
Anna McPartlinAnna McPartlin is an Irish novelist. Her novel Pack Up the Moon was her debut feature.-Biography:Anna McPartlin was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1972. As a teenager she grew up with her aunt and uncle as a fosterling in Kenmare, County Kerry. She studied marketing before working as a stand-up...
grew up in Kenmare, in 2007 she wrote the novel Apart from the Crowd, with setting in Kenmare.
Fair Days
Due to its location at the centre of a large agricultural area, Kenmare served as the local
market townMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
. Until the establishment of an auction
martMart may mean:*A fair.*a trading center, a market.*a place where goods are sold.*data mart.*shoppers drug mart* Mart , Syriac title for women saints* The Montachusett Regional Transit Authority*Mart, Texas...
in the early 1990s, the approximately monthly
fair daysA fair is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. Activities at fairs vary widely...
were a time when farmers would
stand their animals in the streets for sale to visiting stock dealers. The only fair which continues to be held is that of August 15, which coincides with the Catholic
Holy Day of ObligationIn the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:...
marking the
Assumption of MaryThe Assumption of Mary is a belief held by Christians of the Catholic Church as well as some Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Anglicans, that the Virgin Mary, at the end of her life, was physically taken up into heaven...
. The day attracts large crowds of locals and visitors and is the busiest day of the year in Kenmare.
Transport
- There are daily bus-services to Killarney
Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region is home to St...
. There is also a daily service to/from CorkCork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster...
in the summer months on the N71The N71 road is a national secondary road in Ireland.-Route: Cork – Halfway bypass – Innishannon – Bandon – Ballinascarty – Clonakilty – Rosscarbery – Leap – Skibbereen – – Bantry – Ballylickey – Glengarriff – Kenmare...
via BantryBantry is a town on the coast of County Cork, Ireland, located on the N71 route at the head of Bantry Bay. The Beara peninsula is to the northwest, with Sheep's Head also nearby, on the peninsula south of Bantry Bay....
and ClonakiltyClonakilty , often referred to by locals simply as Clon, is a small town in West County Cork, Ireland, approximately 45 minutes away by road to the west of Cork City. The town is on the southern coast of the island, and is surrounded by hilly country devoted primarily to dairy farming, the region...
. The N71 also connects Kenmare to Killarney on a mountainous and scenic part of the Ring of Kerry route via Molls Gap and Ladies View. Alternatively one can reach Killarney via the longer but more comfortable route through KilgarvanKilgarvan Kilgarvan Kilgarvan .gif", event)' onMouseout='HidePop("17248")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Cork_(city)">Cork
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster...
route to
GlengarriffGlengarriff is a village of approximately 800 people in the south-west region of County Cork, Ireland. Known internationally as a tourism venue, it boasts many natural attractions...
.
- Kenmare railway station opened on 4 September 1893 and finally closed on 1 February 1960.
Sports
The GAA club,
Kenmare ShamrocksKenmare GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Kenmare in County Kerry....
, competes in
Kerry GAAThe Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...
competitions.
George MayberryGeorge Mahoney Mayberry was an Irish track and field athlete who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.He was born in Kenmare and died in Frant....
from Kenmare participated in the
1908 Summer OlympicsThe 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
.
Use in popular culture
Kenmare is the home of a professional
QuidditchQuidditch is a fictional sport developed by J. K. Rowling for the Harry Potter book series. It is described as an extremely rough but very popular semi-contact sport played by wizards and witches around the world. Matches are played between two teams of seven players riding flying broomsticks,...
team operating within the fictional
Harry Potter universeThe fictional universe of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels comprises two separate and distinct societies: the wizarding world and the Muggle world...
. The Kenmare Kestrels are one of only thirteen Quidditch teams that play in the professional Quidditch League of
BritainEarly Modern Britain is the history of Great Britain, roughly corresponding to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Major historical events in Early Modern British history include the English Renaissance, the English Reformation and Scottish Reformation, the English Civil War, the Restoration of...
and
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
that was established in 1674. The team players wear emerald-green robes emblazoned with two yellow K’s across the chest. They are well known for the spirited displays of their leprechaun mascots.
Kenmare was also mentioned in a Star Trek Enterprise episode "Breaking the Ice" in which the crew answer questions from children in a fictional school located in the town.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- Market Houses in Ireland
Market Houses are a notable feature of many Irish towns with varying styles of architecture, size and ornamentation making for a most interesting feature of the streetscape. Originally there were three, four or even five bays on the ground floor which were an open arcade. An upper floor was...
External links