Killarney House
Encyclopedia
Kenmare House
Kenmare House is located on the shores of Lough Leane and was the principal residence of the Brownes of Killarney, Earls of Kenmare. Sir Valentine Browne and his son, also Valentine Browne, were the first members of the family to settle in Ireland in 1588, the year of the Armada. Sir Valentine...
(1726) as the seat of the Earl of Kenmare
Earl of Kenmare
The 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...
.
It was the fourth Earl that decided to build a new mansion on a hillside with spectacular views of Lough Leane
Lough Leane
Lough Leane is largest of the three lakes of Killarney. The River Laune flow from the lake into the Dingle Bay.The lake's name means "lake of learning" probably in reference to the monastery on Innisfallen, an island in the lake...
in 1872. The old house was demolished and an Elizabethan-Revival manor house on a more elevated site. The cost was well over £100,000. This house was supposed to have been instigated by Lady Kenmare (Gertrude Thynne, granddaughter of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath
Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath
Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath KG , styled Viscount Weymouth from 1789 until 1796, was a British peer.-Background and education:...
) and inspired by Lord Bath's genuinely Elizabethan seat, Longleat
Longleat
Longleat is an English stately home, currently the seat of the Marquesses of Bath, adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. It is noted for its Elizabethan country house, maze, landscaped parkland and safari park. The house is set...
, Wiltshire (which is not red-brick); but it was not unusual for the descendants of Elizabethan or Jacobean settlers in Ireland to assert their comparative antiquity in this period by building Jacobethan
Jacobethan
Jacobethan is the style designation coined in 1933 by John Betjeman to describe the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance , with elements of Elizabethan and...
houses. The architect was George Devey
George Devey
George Devey was a British architect, born in London, the second son of Frederick and Ann Devey. Devey was educated in London, after leaving school he initially studied art, with an ambition to become a professional artist...
but, according to Jeremy Williams, '... that feeling of being built up over the centuries that distinguished Devey's work was entirely lacking, partly due to the job being supervised by W.H. Lynn [the Belfast architect] at his most relentless ... The western-most gate lodge, gabled and galleried, [which survives, is] Devey at his most delightful.' The house, which in addition to its other defects apparently did not sit happily in the landscape as it had many gables and many oriels. The interior was pannelled and hung with Spanish leather. It was considered one of the finest mansions in Ireland. Sadly, it was burnt out twice - once in 1879, just after its completion, and again, and finally, in November 1913 and never re-built; instead the stable block of the older Kenmare House
Kenmare House
Kenmare House is located on the shores of Lough Leane and was the principal residence of the Brownes of Killarney, Earls of Kenmare. Sir Valentine Browne and his son, also Valentine Browne, were the first members of the family to settle in Ireland in 1588, the year of the Armada. Sir Valentine...
was converted for family use.
Killarney House and the Browne estate in Kerry were donated by Mrs. Grosvenor (niece of the seventh Earl) to form Killarney National Park
Killarney National Park
Killarney National Park is located beside the town of Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. It was the first national park established in Ireland, created when Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish state in 1932...
.
A €7 million restoration was announced by Leo Varadkar
Leo Varadkar
Leo Varadkar is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Dublin West constituency since June 2007. He is currently the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, being appointed on 9 March 2011....
one morning in 2011.