Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Heritage Centre
This museum, in the back rooms of the TI, consists of a series of storyboards and a model
of the planned town. A 20-minute visit here explains the nearby ancient stone circle, the
history of Kenmare's lacemaking fame, and the story of a feisty troublemaking nun (see
the sidebar on Kenmare's history).
Cost and Hours:
Free, May-Oct Mon-Sat 9:00-18:00, Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Nov-
April, tel. 064/664-1233.
Kenmare Lace and Design Centre
A single large room (above the TI) displays the delicate lacework that put Kenmare on
the modern map. From the 1860s until World War I, the Poor Clare convent at Kenmare
was the center of excellence for Irish lacemaking. Inspired by antique Venetian lace, but
creating their own unique designs, nuns taught needlepoint lacemaking as a trade to girls
in a region struggling to get back on its feet in the wake of the catastrophic famine. Queen
Victoria commissioned five pieces of lace in 1885, and by the end of the century tourists
began visiting Kenmare on their way to Killarney just for a peek at the lace. Nora Finneg-
an, who runs the center, usually has a work in progress to demonstrate the complexity of
fine lacemaking to visitors.
