Kenmare () is a small town in the south of

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

form of ''Ceann Mara'', meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay. It is also a

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Location

Kenmare is located at the head of Kenmare Bay (where it reaches the farthest inland), sometimes called the Kenmare River, where the Roughty River (''An Ruachtach'') flows into the sea, and at the junction of the

Iveragh Peninsula The Iveragh Peninsula () is located in County Kerry in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula. Carrauntoohil, its hig ...

and the

Beara Peninsula Beara () or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare River (which is actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down its ce ...

. It is also located near the

MacGillycuddy's Reeks MacGillycuddy's Reeks () is a sandstone and siltstone mountain range in the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. Stretching , from the Gap of Dunloe in the east, to Glencar, County Kerry, Glencar in the west, the Reeks is Ireland's high ...

Mangerton Mountain Mangerton or Mangerton Mountain (), at , is the 19th-highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin list, and the 26th–highest mountain according to the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Vandeleur-Lynams, Vandeleur ...

and

Caha Mountains The Caha Mountains (''An Cheacha'' in Irish) are a range of low sandstone mountains on the Beara peninsula in south-west County Cork, Ireland. The highest peak is Hungry Hill, at . Other notable peaks include Knocknagree, Sugarloaf Mountain ...

and is a popular

hillwalking Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultiva ...

destination. Nearby towns and villages are

Tuosist Tuosist () is a small village and civil parish in the far south of County Kerry, Ireland. It shares the Béara Peninsula with the neighbouring parishes of County Cork, and the Caha Mountains form the county border. The nearest town is Kenma ...

Ardgroom Ardgroom () is a village on the Beara peninsula in County Cork, Ireland. Its name refers to two gravelly hills deposited by a glacier, Dromárd and Drombeg. It lies to the north west of Glenbeg Lough, overlooking the Kenmare River estuary. I ...

Glengarriff Glengarriff () is a village of approximately 200 people on the N71 national secondary road in the Beara Peninsula of County Cork, Ireland. Known internationally as a tourism venue, it has a number of natural attractions. It sits at the northe ...

Kilgarvan Kilgarvan () is a small village in County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated on the banks of the Roughty River which flows into Kenmare Bay. The nearest town is Kenmare which is 11 km to the west along the R569 road. Killarney is 18 km ...

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

Templenoe Templenoe () is a civil parish 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. Templenoe is the location of the Ring of Kerry golf club. There is a Gaelic At ...

and

Sneem Sneem () is a village situated on the Iveragh Peninsula (part of the Ring of Kerry), in County Kerry, in the southwest of Ireland. It lies on the estuary of the River Sneem which expands here to Kenmare River, Kenmare Bay. The N70 road (Ireland) ...

. Kenmare is in the Kerry constituency of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

History

Evidence of ancient settlement in the Kenmare area includes one of the largest

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of megalithic standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being ...

s in the south-west of Ireland. Close to the town, this stone circle shows occupation in the area going back to at least 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. Kenmare Stone Circle - geograph

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

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 entire area was granted to the English economist and scientist Sir

William Petty Sir William Petty (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth in Cromwellian conquest of I ...

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

as part payment for completing the mapping of Ireland, the

Down Survey The Down Survey was a cadastral survey of Ireland, carried out by English scientist William Petty in 1655 and 1656. It was created to provide for precise re-allocation of land confiscated from the Irish. The survey was apparently called the "Do ...

in 1656. He laid out the modern town circa 1670. Before him, a previous surveyor of Ireland,

Sir Valentine Browne Sir Valentine Browne (died 1589), of Croft, Lincolnshire, was auditor, treasurer and victualler of Berwick-upon-Tweed. He acquired large estates in Ireland during the Plantation of Munster, in particular the seignory of Molahiffe. He lived at ...

(1510–1589), ancestor of the

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 (1801), Viscount Kenmare (1798), and Baron ...

, was granted some lands in

during the resulting plantation, the

Munster Plantation Plantation (settlement or colony), Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland () involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the Kingdom of England, English The Crown, Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Br ...

. The three main streets that form a triangle in the centre of the town are called Main Street (originally William Street, after

William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (2 May 17377 May 1805), known as the Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Anglo-Irish Whig statesman who was the first home secr ...

), Henry Street (originally Sound Road), after the son of the 1st Marquis and Shelbourne Street (Henry Petty became the first

Earl of Shelburne Earl of Shelburne is a title that has been created twice 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 ...

). This name was also later applied to

Shelbourne Road Shelbourne Road () is a road in Ballsbridge, in the southeast part of Dublin, Ireland. History In John Rocque's map of 1756, today's Shelbourne Road and Upper Grand Canal Street, from which it extends, appear together as Beggars' Bush Road. '' ...

in Dublin. Kenmare mass Famine grave

The convent in the town, the

Poor Clare Sisters The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Sec ...

, was founded in 1861 when five nuns including Sister Mary Frances Cusack (The Nun of Kenmare), who was also an author and publisher of many books, moved to Kenmare from their convent in

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. Under the guidance of Mother Abbess O'Hagan in 1864 a

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

-working industry was established and Kenmare lace became noted worldwide. The convent no longer exists and Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine secondary school occupies this site since 2001. 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. During and after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

(1922–1923), there were a number of incidents in Kenmare, including the killing of O'Connor brothers in September 1922 by the

Anti-Treaty IRA The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

, and the brutal assault against the allegedly Unionist daughters of a local doctor by three

Dublin Guard The Dublin Guard was a unit of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and then of the Irish National Army in the ensuing Civil War. Foundation In May 1921 the Active Service Unit of the Irish Republican Army's Dublin Brigad ...

officers led by

Paddy Daly Paddy Daly (5 June 1888 – 16 January 1957) sometimes referred to as Paddy O'Daly, served in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence''Michael Collins: A Life'' by James Mackay, p. 132 and subsequently held the rank of m ...

in 1923 (which is sometimes referred to as the ' Kenmare incident'). Kenmare was briefly held by the Anti-Treaty IRA, during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

, before being successfully retaken by the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

in December 1922. The town library is one of the Carnegie Libraries funded by

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

. It opened in 1918, and the architect was R.M. Butler. The library building is now home to the Carnegie Arts Centre and theatre, hosting a local drama group and a number of travelling productions each year, as well as music and comedy nights. Holy Cross Catholic Church in Kenmare was consecrated in 1864. It was built under the guidance of Archdeacon Fr. John O'Sullivan – who is interred within the church. The church has stained glass windows by O'Connor London (1863), by Caseys Dublin (1864) and by Earley Dublin (1864). The organ is by Telford & Telford(1865). Buried in the church grounds is Monsignor Francis Cremin (died 2001), who was a periitus or theological expert at Vatican II. He was a native of Kenmare and had been Professor of Canon Law and Moral Theology at St Patrick's College, Maynooth from 1949 until 1980. He was a brother of Con Cremin, an Irish diplomat, who represented Ireland in France and Germany during World War II and subsequently in Portugal, the Holy See, the United Kingdom and at the United Nations. Main Street Kenmare Ireland between 1880 and 1914

Main Street Kenmare Ireland between 1880 and 1914

The

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

church of St Patrick celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008. The town has been a winner in the

Irish Tidy Towns Competition Tidy Towns ( Irish: ''Bailte Slachtmhara'') is an annual competition, first held in 1958, organised by the Department of Rural and Community Development in order to honour the tidiest and most attractive cities, towns and villages in the Republ ...

in 2013, 2000 and was a runner-up in 2003 and 2008.

Tourism

Kenmare lies on two noted Irish tourist routes, the

Ring of Kerry The Ring of Kerry () is a circular tourist route in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. Clockwise from Killarney it follows the N71 to Kenmare, then the N70 around the Iveragh Peninsula to Killorglin – passing through Sneem, Watervi ...

and the

Ring of Beara Beara () or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare River (which is actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down its cent ...

, approximately from

. As a result, it is a popular tourist destination and many of the businesses in the area cater to tourists. The town is noted for its food and pubs. Since the late 1990s the tourism industry has driven local construction work, with land being sold at high prices to developers wishing to build estates of

holiday homes A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...

. This has led to an 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.

Notable people

Inter-county

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

ers Mickey 'Ned' O'Sullivan,

Stephen O'Brien Sir Stephen Rothwell O'Brien, (born 1 April 1957) is a British politician and diplomat who was the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. O'Brien assumed office on 29 May 2015, succee ...

and Paul O'Connor are from the Kenmare area, while

Pat Spillane Patrick Gerard Spillane (born 1 December 1955), better known as Pat Spillane, is an Irish former Gaelic football pundit and player. His league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned seventeen years from 197 ...

is from nearby

. Kenmare is also the home of Irish Olympic slalom skier Thos Foley. Kenmare was home to composer

Ernest John Moeran Ernest John Smeed Moeran (; 31 December 1894 – 1 December 1950) was an English composer whose work was strongly influenced by English and Irish folk music of which he was an assiduous collector. His output includes orchestral pieces, concerto ...

for a number of years up to his death and a local bar was named after him – but has since been renamed. Diplomat

Con Cremin Cornelius Christopher Cremin (6 December 1908 – 20 April 1987) was an Irish diplomat who was born in Kenmare, County Kerry. One of four children, Cremin was born to a family that operated a drapery business. His brother, Francis Cremin, be ...

was also from Kenmare, as is senator Mark Daly. Writer Anna McPartlin grew up in Kenmare, and her 2007 novel ''Apart from the Crowd'' was set in the town. Francis Brennan is the owner of the five-star Park Hotel in Kenmare. He and his brother John, owner of the nearby Dromquinna Manor Hotel in Templenoe, are known for their TV series "At Your Service".

Fair days

Due to its location at the centre of a large agricultural area, Kenmare served as the local

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

. Until the establishment of an auction

mart Mart may refer to: * Mart, or marketplace, a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods * Mart (broadcaster), a local broadcasting station in Amsterdam * Mart (given name) * ''Mart ...

in the early 1990s, the approximately monthly '' fair days'' 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 15 August, which coincides with the Catholic

holy day of obligation In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation or precepts are days on which Christians, Catholic Christians are expected to attend Mass (Catholic Church), Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation (i.e., they are to refrain from engagin ...

marking the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of w ...

. The day attracts crowds of locals and visitors and is the busiest day of the year in Kenmare.

Transport

There are daily bus-services in summer to

and in the off-season, the bus runs Monday-Friday. There is also a daily service to/from

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

in the summer months on the N71 via

Bantry Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula i ...

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The River Ilen runs through the town; it reaches the sea about 12 kilometres away, at the seaside village of Baltimore. Located ...

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population was 5,112 at the 2022 census. T ...

and Bandon. In mid-2023, a new service from Killarney to Skibbereen via Kenmare was announced, replacing the previous Killarney to Kenmare and Kenmare to Skibbereen services with additional journeys and extended hours. The N71 also connects Kenmare to Killarney on a mountainous and scenic part of the Ring of Kerry route via Moll's Gap and Ladies View. Alternatively one can reach Killarney via the slightly longer but more comfortable route through

. Kenmare also lies on the N71

national secondary road A national secondary road () is a category of road in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. These roads form an important part of the national route network but are secondary to the main arterial routes which are classified as national primary roads. Nat ...

south-

route to

. In November 2014, the Eastern Relief Road was opened, allowing drivers from the R569 Kilgarvan Road to bypass the town centre when accessing the supermarkets and schools. Kenmare railway station opened, in October 1893, as the terminus of a branch from the

Great Southern and Western Railway The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the larges ...

's Mallow–Tralee line at Headford Junction. The station closed, along with the branch, in early 1960 and the last passenger train ran on 1 February 1960. The track was lifted shortly afterwards.

Services

The town has a primary and secondary school, a public library, community hospital, as well as Catholic, Church of Ireland and Methodist churches.

Sports

The GAA club, Kenmare Shamrocks, competes in

Kerry GAA The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), or Kerry GAA, is one of the 32 County board (Gaelic games), county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry, and for the Kerry county teams. ...

competitions. George Mayberry from Kenmare participated in the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

. Kenmare Kestrels Basketball Club was founded in 2006 and competes in the Kerry Area Basketball League. The local soccer team Inter Kenmare F.C. competes in the

Kerry District League The Kerry District League (known as the Denny Kerry District League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league featuring amateur and junior clubs from County Kerry. The KDL is a winter league run by Adrian Casey. Its top division ...

at U17, Youth & Senior Men's/Women's level and in the Kerry Schoolboys/girls League for all underage teams. Overlooking Kenmare Bay and adjacent to the Park Hotel is the 18 hole, Kenmare Golf Club.

In popular culture

In the fictional ''Harry Potter'' universe, Kenmare is home to the ''Kenmare Kestrels'', one of only thirteen Quidditch teams that play in the

Quidditch Quidditch () is a fictional sport invented by author J. K. Rowling for her fantasy book series ''Harry Potter''. It first appeared in the novel ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). In the series, Quidditch is portrayed as a dang ...

League of Britain and Ireland. The team players wear emerald-green robes emblazoned with two yellow K's across the chest. The eponymous song ''"As I leave behind Neidín"'' was written by

Jimmy McCarthy James MacCarthy (born 1953) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Early life and career (1953–1979) MacCarthy was born in Macroom, County Cork, Ireland, to Ted MacCarthy (died 1998) and Betty MacCarthy (died 2009). He has 11 siblings. For a time, ...

and recorded by

Mary Black Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland. Background Mary Black was born into a m ...

amongst others. The town was also referenced in the ''

Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', originally titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001 to May 13, 200 ...

'' episode " Breaking the Ice". The crew aboard the spaceship answer questions received from school children who are said to be from Kenmare.

References

External links

*
Kenmare Lace
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Kerry Townlands of County Kerry Civil parishes of County Kerry