By the 1980s, Killarney had a name for all that was awful in mini-break getaways. But the Irish town has leaned into some brilliant green ideas – and the results are remarkable. Located on the shores of Lough Leane and surrounded by rugged mountains and lush valleys, Killarney is one of the most beautiful spots in Ireland .
It has stiff competition, however, as it is just one stop on The Wild Atlantic Way , the stunning 2,500km tourist trail tracing Ireland's west coast that takes in some of the country's most scenic landscapes. The Wild Atlantic Way was launched a decade ago, but Killarney's roots as a tourist town go back almost 300 years, to 1747, when Thomas Browne, the Viscount Kenmare, came of age. Travelling to the Killarney estates he had just inherited in Ireland's far south-west, he discovered barren, boggy wastes and a great deal of debt.
Yet he saw tourism potential in the islands that dot Killarney's three lakes and the beauty of Muckross Abbey and Ross Castle – dating to the 14th and 15th Centuries, respectively – and organised the planting of trees, draining of bogs and mending of roads. Inns were built. The coming of the railway in 1853 and Queen Victoria's 1861 visit sealed the deal.
Killarney was officially a tourist hot spot, its reputation for its natural beauty extending far beyond Ireland's shores. But had the visionary Viscount been able to see the future, might he have left the bogs soggy? In 1895, Thomas Cook launched the first organised tours h.