The former summer home of the family who gifted the 26,000-hectare Killarney National Park to the people of Ireland has been opened to the public.
Killarney House has been restored at a cost of €10 million and will become an interpretive centre for the national park and the Lakes of Killarney.
Harry O'Donoghue is the third generation of his family to work in the Killarney Estate. He was a butler to the McShain family for 16 years until the deaths of John McShain and his wife Mary.
After their deaths, Mr O'Donoghue saw the McShain summer home, Killarney House, fall into disrepair. Over the past six years he has played a critical role in its restoration.
Killarney House opens to the public following €10m restoration https://t.co/HyvMMcQ8hq pic.twitter.com/2fbdfRmSnW
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John McShain and his wife Mary used Killarney House as their summer residence from 1958 until 1998.
Mr McShain built the Pentagon and renovated the White House. He was known as the man who built Washington.
In 2011, in the depths of the economic collapse, the Government and Fáilte Ireland committed €10 million to the restoration of Killarney House, which was close to dereliction.
The gardens were first opened to the public. The house itself, which is on the edge of the town, was then restored, linking Killarney with Muckross House and the national park.
Work on Killarney House will continue, and in the coming months an interpretive centre for the National Park and its famous lakes will be opened there.
