In Killarney our AirBnB had a 4 PM check in time so we had time to spare. That gave us a chance to visit Muckross House which was right on our way. It was built by the Herbert family who wanted a cozy home to be built and the results were a 65 room manse with 365 windows, one for each day of the year, 52 chimneys, one for each week of the year. It was build on the peninsula between Muckross Lake and Lake Leane and was finished in 1843. The Herbert family reached the peak of their social standing when they received a visit by Queen Victoria in 1861. The entire house was updated, new uniforms for the servants and a new set of China was designed and purchased. Many other expenses were incurred and as a result the family found themselves in financial troubles. This led to the sale of the estate to Baron Arthur Guinness who then sold it to a wealthy California mining family, the Bournes, who purchased it for their only daughter as a wedding present. Maude and her husband lived there from 1911 to 1929 when Maude died suddenly. At that point it was bequeathed to the State of Ireland to be preserved as a park.
The trees were massive on the estate
Centuries of fine groundskeeping
We had a delay at the admission booth as the guide in front of us forgot the pin number to his credit card
The folks he was guiding had to pool their money to get in
This gut was particularly funny and he put his sticker on his nose
Golden Eagles
Very stuffed
Osprey
Racks and racks
Dinner anyone?
We have platters to spare
A thoughtful pose
The library
An exquisite mirror
The hunt
Salmon anyone?
The pool room
The wallpaper throughout the house was most detailed
In this room many exotic birds were presented
They were mush prettier on the wall paper than they would be stuffed
More racks upstairs
All of the old chairs had holly leaves placed on top of them so no one would sit on them
The upstairs main bedroom
A very fine example of woodwork
Very detailed inaly
Extra frilly
The view from the second floor
Fancy chamber pots in the nursery
A sporting gent
Hopefully this is more of a caricature than accurate representation
Hippo tusk powder horns
More holly on the toilet seat
Harp the herald angels sing
Queen Vicctoria and Prince Albert
A fine bust
Her bust is almost showing
The bed where Queen Victoria slept
More beautiful woodwork
In the kitchens
Fire control
This reminded us of Downton Abbey and the balls for the servants
Another fire extinguisher
The wine cellar was a bit rough
A whole shoe room
Fine tiny spoons
An entire room just for tea making
A set of equipment for Garden Golf
The main oven
Copper cookware
So many sizes
Crockery
Chipping Norton is a town in England
The mansion keeps on going
Nice art
The front of the estate
Facing the lake
A serious lawn indeed
It took six people to encircle the tree trunk
It took two pictures to capture the entire tree
Greenhouse in the gardens
There were still a few autumn blooms
Dahlia!
Yellow dahlia
the bees really liked this bloom
Finishing up
We then traveled into Killarney
The AirBnB was nice
Cozy and comfortable
While unpacking the cat I discovered a stowaway
Starlings in the back yard
A delightful bird
Time to Howl!
It was a full moon
There was an eclipse to happen at 3:45 AM so we simulated it with a power line
