Killarney House set for a much-needed €7m makeover

Killarney House, one of a number of magnificent properties in the National Park, will also be extended to accommodate an interpretive centre in a planned €7 million make-over.

Its continuing state of disrepair was a near embarrassment for the Government, a minister conceded at the weekend..

The property, a few minute’s walk from Killarney town centre, was handed over to the state in 1998 by the McShain family, American philanthropists.

However, it had been left to deteriorate and become a den for squatters and drinking parties.

The planned funding also allows for the development of an exhibition and cultural centre and the rooms are to be restored with original furnishings.

The project is being undertaken by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

The adjoining pleasure gardens are also being restored.

Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar, in Killarney at the weekend, said €5.2m would be available under Fáilte Ireland’s capital investment programme.

“Many people don’t realise the national park starts right here in the middle of the town,” the minister said, at the entrance to the 10,300 hectare national park.

Killarney is also the headquarters of the Department of Tourism.

Meanwhile, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan also announced details of a further €2m in restoration work being led by the OPW and the NPWS.

He said the provision of the funds would bring “an end to the embarrassment to the state and to Killarney”.

The McShains’ only child, a US-based nun, had in recent years, strongly criticised the neglect of her parents’ home, saying she could not understand such neglect at the height of the Celtic Tiger era.

But Mr Deenihan said he personally telephoned Sr Pauline McShain on Friday about the planned investment “and she was really thrilled and delighted”.

The Kerry-based minister described the national park — a UNESCO biosphere reserve and part of a worldwide network of national parks as his “Garden of Eden”.

Plans were afoot, he said, to make Killarney a national centre for bio-diversity. “This is not just a local Killarney project but one of national significance. It’s the combination of built and natural environment — of castles, abbeys, period houses — in a perfect setting in Killarney National Park with its native woodlands, blanket bog, heath, lakes, and a wide array of wildlife habitats which are very special in Ireland and abroad that makes this place so precious,” he said.

“But the house will also be developed as a visitor centre in its own right, with some of the formal rooms being restored, used to display its valuable collection of antiques, and to tell the story of the house and its inhabitants.”

Taking into account the purchase of original furniture and other restoration works which began recently, the investment in Killarney House will most likely top €10m. Killarney House set for a much-needed €7m makeover

By Anne Lucey

THE restoration of an 18th century house, donated to the state in the 1980s, will be the largest single investment in any tourism project this year.

Killarney House, one of a number of magnificent properties in the National Park, will also be extended to accommodate an interpretive centre in a planned €7 million make-over.

Its continuing state of disrepair was a near embarrassment for the Government, a minister conceded at the weekend..

The property, a few minute’s walk from Killarney town centre, was handed over to the state in 1998 by the McShain family, American philanthropists.

However, it had been left to deteriorate and become a den for squatters and drinking parties.

The planned funding also allows for the development of an exhibition and cultural centre and the rooms are to be restored with original furnishings.

The project is being undertaken by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

The adjoining pleasure gardens are also being restored.

Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar, in Killarney at the weekend, said €5.2m would be available under Fáilte Ireland’s capital investment programme.

“Many people don’t realise the national park starts right here in the middle of the town,” the minister said, at the entrance to the 10,300 hectare national park.

Killarney is also the headquarters of the Department of Tourism.

Meanwhile, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan also announced details of a further €2m in restoration work being led by the OPW and the NPWS.

He said the provision of the funds would bring “an end to the embarrassment to the state and to Killarney”.

The McShains’ only child, a US-based nun, had in recent years, strongly criticised the neglect of her parents’ home, saying she could not understand such neglect at the height of the Celtic Tiger era.

But Mr Deenihan said he personally telephoned Sr Pauline McShain on Friday about the planned investment “and she was really thrilled and delighted”.

The Kerry-based minister described the national park — a UNESCO biosphere reserve and part of a worldwide network of national parks as his “Garden of Eden”.

Plans were afoot, he said, to make Killarney a national centre for bio-diversity. “This is not just a local Killarney project but one of national significance. It’s the combination of built and natural environment — of castles, abbeys, period houses — in a perfect setting in Killarney National Park with its native woodlands, blanket bog, heath, lakes, and a wide array of wildlife habitats which are very special in Ireland and abroad that makes this place so precious,” he said.

“But the house will also be developed as a visitor centre in its own right, with some of the formal rooms being restored, used to display its valuable collection of antiques, and to tell the story of the house and its inhabitants.”

Taking into account the purchase of original furniture and other restoration works which began recently, the investment in Killarney House will most likely top €10m.