A Week in Killarney

September 8-15, 2025

We have spent the last week in Killarney, County Kerry, taking care of Chili the long-haired Chihuahua--the first of our adventures with Trusted Housesitters. It has been a wonderful experience. The flat where we are staying is small--Chili's owner lives here by herself--but is the perfect size for the two of us, and is extremely well-located. We are about 2 blocks from Killarney House and Gardens, which also serves as an entrance to Killarney National Park. We are also just a short walk from the heart of downtown Killarney, with as many pubs and restaurants as we could ever hope to visit.

Our time here has been tempered by the fact that I got a cold pretty much as soon as we arrived, and now it seems that Cal has caught it. Fortunately, we had a good home-base in which I could rest and recover, and the pharmacy's here in Ireland are incredibly helpful. The woman behind the counter at one was able to quickly and kindly help me find exactly the meds I needed for my particular symptoms, and quite frankly provided me better medical care than my GP has in the last five years.

Even with the sniffles, we were able to explore and enjoy Killarney. We walked the National Park to Ross Castle, visited the Traditional Farms at Muckross House, and patronized several pubs.

Friday night we had a particularly magical experience at Courtney's Pub, which we had visited for the trad music. We arrived before the music was set to begin so we could get a good spot and a pint. We sat across from the bar where a man was speaking to another group as they were getting ready to leave. As he said his goodbyes, he turned to us and began chatting. He introduced himself as "Pa,"--short for Patrick, which he says was the name given to every boy born in Ireland in the 1960s. There was something ineffably magical about Pa--I'm quite sure that he was a leprechaun who decided to stop in for a pint that night. He spoke to us for about 2 hours, during which Calvin and I said very little, and stopped only for the occasional step outside for a hand-rolled cigarette. He gave toasts--"May we live as long as we want, and may we not want as long as we live!"--performed poetry, and practiced the age-old art of Irish storytelling. The conversation wrapped up as easily as it began, as Pa headed home for the night, and we got to enjoy the trad.

Meet Pa!

While staying in Killarney we also made two day trips--one to Kinsale and the other to Dingle. Both are small coastal towns featuring scenic walks, colorful shops, and delightful people. In Kinsale we walked along the coast to Charles Fort, a star-shaped fort built in the 1680s and used for various purposes through WWI. In Dingle, we had a chance to tour Dingle Distillery, which makes our favorite gin. The distillery was founded in 2012 with the purpose of making whiskey, but as whiskey takes at least 3 years to produce, they started distilling vodka and gin in the meantime to turn a profit while they awaited the whiskey. The gin has gained world-renown as some of the best on the market, and now that we have tried the whiskey we can say it was worth the wait! The other exciting stop in Dingle was a visit to Murphy's ice cream--probably my favorite ice cream shop in the world. They have several locations throughout Ireland (which we visited in both Galway and Killarney), as well as two locations in Dingle itself, both of which we visited during our visit. I have dreamt of their sea salt ice cream since we were last here in 2016, and I am happy to say it is still as lovely as I remember.

Today is our final day in Killarney. Chili's mom should arrive back around 3 pm, at which time we will pack up the car and head east to Cork, our final stop in Ireland before heading back to Dublin. While we are excited to finish our trip, we are sad to say goodbye to Chili, who has been a lovely companion and consistent presence on our laps every time we have sat down during this stay.