Killarney ( , meaning "The church of the sloes") is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town is home to St. Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castle, Muckross Abbey, Torc Waterfall and Gap of Dunloe.

Killarney was awarded the "Best Kept Town" award for 2007 in a cross-border competition jointly organised by the Department of the Environment and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council. Owing to its natural heritage, history and proximity to the Dingle Peninsula, Skellig Michael island and its location on the Ring of Kerry, Killarney is a popular tourist destination.

Transport

Killarney is served by National Primary Route N22 (north to Tralee and Castleisland, south to Cork) and National Secondary Route N72 (west to Killorglin, east to Waterford).

There are train services to Tralee, Limerick, Cork and Dublin operated by Iarnród Éireann. Bus Éireann provides bus services to Limerick (and onwards to Dublin), Tralee, Cork, Kenmare and Skibbereen. Killarney railway station opened on 15 July 1853.

Kerry Airport, in Farranfore between Tralee and Killarney, provides an increasing number of air services. Cork Airport, easily accessible by bus or rail, also serves the Kerry region.

Gaelic games

Killarney has three Gaelic football teams: Dr. Crokes, Killarney Legion and Spa. The rural hinterland has a large number of Gaelic football teams, such as Kilcummin, Fossa, Firies, Glenflesk and Gneeveguilla. All these teams compete in the Kerry County league and the East Kerry Championship (O'Donoghue Cup) and league.

Dr Crokes are the most successful of these teams, with the most notable triumphs being the capture of the All-Ireland Club Championship in 1992 and the Munster Club Championship in 1991 and 1990. The club has also won the County Championship on 6 separate occasions, the last being in 2000. Dr Crokes are the only club in Killarney with a hurling team, which has had some important successes, most recently winning the Kerry Intermediate Hurling Championship in 1999 and 2001.

Rowing

There are six active rowing clubs in the town, who share a common history in Ireland's oldest surviving regatta, the Killarney Regatta, which is held annually on the first or second Sunday in July. The six clubs are Commercial RC (Killarney), Flesk Valley RC, Fossa RC, Muckross RC, St. Brendan's RC and Workmen RC. The style of rowing seen at the regatta is traditional, fixed seat rowing in wide, wooden 6 person boats. Since the eighties, a number of the clubs have moved toward coastal type rowing and modern 'slide' or Olympic style rowing.

Muckross Rowing Club is the largest and most successful of the clubs, having developed into a full time 'sliding' club with 24 National Championships (since 1996) at various levels from Junior to Senior. A number of members of the club have also been selected to row for Ireland and have competed successfully at the Home International Regatta, Coupe de la Jeunesse, World Rowing Championships and Olympic Games. Paul Griffin and Sean Casey, members of Muckross Rowing Club and Cathal Moynihan, a former member, are Irish World Championship rowers. Paul Griffin, racing in Irish Mens Lightweight Four, finished sixth at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, won a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships and a bronze at the 2006 World Championships. He was also (as a member of the Lightweight Four) overall category winner of the 2006 World Cup Rowing series. Sean Casey is currently a member of the Irish Heavyweight Four which has qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games following their tenth place finish at the 2007 World Championships. In the same crew, Sean also won the 'B' final (seventh overall) at the 2006 World Championships and won bronze at the 2006 Munich World Cup Regatta. Cathal Moynihan made his international Senior debut in the Mens Lightweight Four at the 2007 Linz World Cup Regatta in Austria.