Living authority on Muckross Estate turns 90

HE’S often described as, perhaps, the greatest living authority on the rich history of the beautiful Muckross area in Killarney.

Whether it’s landlords, tenants, craftsmen, rowing, deer or the people of the area you want to learn about, Danny Cronin, who celebrated his 90th birthday over Christmas, is your man.

He has lived there all his days and is the only surviving person to have worked in Muckross House, one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, when it was privately owned. The house came into State ownership in 1932.

Born on Christmas Eve 1914, he worked as a wheelwright and carpenter and was the third generation of his family to work in Muckross Estate. He worked for the Vincent family and later was employed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. He became clerk of works with responsibility for Killarney National Park, Derrynane and Garnish Island.

In the days of the landed families, it was very much an upstairs/downstairs scenario at Muckross House, which had a large household staff, with footmen, cooks, housemaids and others working under a butler and a housekeeper.

It was also an era when ‘elbow grease’ had to be used for domestic tasks, with setting fires and lighting lamps among the daily chores. Floors were polished with real beeswax, which was melted down, he recalls.

Danny was a key source of information for the book, Killarney National Park - A Place to Treasure. The ritual lighting of oil lamps in a basement lamp room was a task he detailed.

“You’d see maybe 20 or 30 of these lamps. They’d be lit maybe an hour before darkness, because these lamps used to make a lot of noise, a kind of a roar until they’d heat up and they’d have to be adjusted then.”

He regrets the demise of many old crafts, including the skill of the hoop splitter, who split hazel and sally rods to make hoops for barrels.

He remembers John McCormack and WB Yeats visiting Muckross House and has also seen many presidents, Taoisigh and visiting statesmen walk through its portals. He continues to serve as a trustee of the house.

The nonagenarian celebrated his birthday with his wife Josie and nine of their 11 children.