Hotel Killarney, Castlerosse Hotel, Killarney Lakes Hotels, Golf Hotel Killarney, Hotels Killarney, Family Hotel Killarney, Killarney cottages, Killarney self catering

The Rt. Hon. Sir Valentine Browne was appointed Surveyor General of Ireland by Elizabeth 1st in 1559 and in 1587 following the plantation of Munster made Molachiffe Castle, on an estate of 6560 acres, the first seat of the Brownes in Killarney. By the 18th century their estates in Munster had grown to 92,000 acres and the Brownes and their descendents received the titles Viscounts Castlerosse and later Earls of Kenmare. The family lived in Killarney with greatly reduced possessions until the 7th Earl died in 1952.

Down the centuries, the Castlerosse-Kenmares contributed greatly to the development of Killarney as a town and later as a world renowned holiday resort. Killarney was made famous by the visit of Queen Victoria in 1861, who stayed in Killarney House as a guest of the 3rd Earl.

In recent history by far the most flamboyant of the family was the 6th Earl, known simply as Castlerosse who was the first member of the aristocracy to write a gossip column for a newspaper. The column was entitled Londoners Log in The Sunday Express owned by his friend Lord Beaverbrook. He was notorious as a playboy - eating, drinking, gambling and womanising to excess. He built the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club in 1938 which was his greatest contribution to Killarney. He was married twice but had no children. His second wife Enid Maud Lindeman of Sydney, already widowed three times, was to loose another husband 9 months after their marriage. Castlerosse, the 6th Earl of Kenmare died suddenly during the night in September 1943 following a whopping dinner.

The Castlerosse Hotel is built on the site of the Royal Victoria Hotel, one of the great hotels of Ireland during the 19th and early 20th century. Its guest list included H.M King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and Crown Princes, Dukes and Earls from all over Europe.

The present Castlerosse Hotel was opened with 30 bedrooms in 1960 by the 6th Earls niece, Beatrice Grosvenor C.B.E, herself a granddaughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster and a distant cousin of Diana Princess of Wales. She ran the hotel until her death in 1985 when it was acquired by its present owner. The hotel has undergone major expansion over the last 20 years bringing it to its present size and range of guest facilities.

The Castlerosse location however is its greatest asset. It is sited on the last private holding of land of the great Kenmare estate. The scenery is just as it was 400 years ago. No man-made object can be seen in its 10km panoramic view of Lough Leane - Killarney's Lower Lake and the Magillicuddys - Ireland's highest mountains.

Find us next time in Google using these search terms: Castlerosse Hotel, Hotel Killarney, Killarney Lakes Hotels, Golf Hotel, Family Hotel Killarney, Golf Hotel Kerry, Killarney Hotels, self catering Killarney cottages.