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Queen Victoria fell in love with Ireland and visited four times

Her affection for Ireland began when she was a young woman

Published Saturday, May 21, 2011, 11:35 AM

Updated Saturday, May 21, 2011, 11:39 AM

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Queen Victoria

Queen Elizabeth II’s historic trip to Ireland is throwing up parallels with previous royal visits to Ireland, particularly those of Queen Victoria, the present monarch’s great-great grandmother.

The royal history books show Victoria visited the island four times during her reign, when she threw the spotlight firmly on Ireland as a destination fit for a queen.

Victoria’s affection for Ireland began as a young woman, and she’s reported to have fallen in love with scenic Killarney in County Kerry in the southwest of the island.

Her third official visit to Ireland, in 1861, took in four days in Kerry, putting it firmly on the international map as a holiday hotspot.

It remains one of Ireland’s most popular places to this day, and travellers can still visit attractions made famous by Britain’s longest reigning monarch to date.

Ladies View in the heart of the stunning Killarney National Park is one of the best known. A popular stopping point along the world-famous Ring of Kerry, Ladies View is named after Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting who were taken to the area during the royal visit of 1861. They were so enraptured with the view it was named after them.

Ladies View provides truly spectacular vista over the Lakes of Killarney, including the Gap of Dunloe, the Black Valley and the 15th-century Ross Castle. A gift shop, cafe and bar at the viewpoint now offer the visitor a number of reasons for stopping there.

Muckross House and Gardens, one of County Kerry’s most popular visitor attractions, also owes its fame largely to Victoria. The royal party stayed two nights there as guests of the Herbert family during the 1861 visit. The Herberts had carried out elaborate preparations, commissioning tapestries, mirrors, Persian carpets, silverware, musical instruments, linen, china and servants uniforms for the occasion. The curtains that still hang in the Muckross House dining room were specially woven for the occasion.

Restored to its original Victorian splendour, Muckross House and Gardens are open to the public. Visitors can enjoy wandering through the mansion, taking a turn around the beautiful walled garden, and dropping into the craft shop.

Although Queen Elizabeth II is not including County Kerry in her itinerary, she will be giving the royal seal of approval to the Rock of Cashel in Tipperary, as well sites in Dublin, Kildare, and Cork.

The Irish are hoping she will echo the words of Victoria who, although famously often ‘not amused,' was very positive about Ireland.

“I am very sorry to leave Ireland. I have had an extremely pleasant time,” she said at the end of her last official visit to the Emerald Isle in 1900.

****Courtesy of Discover Ireland

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cillowen | May 23, 2011, 06:04 PM EDT

the irish go gaga over those what done it to them - it tells the story of a people brain dead.

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Trealach | May 22, 2011, 02:57 PM EDT

More British journalistic crap!! She loved Ireland so much, that she oversaw and participated in the genocide of 1.5 million of her subjects through FAMINE! and now we're told to bury the past, get over it and move on without as much as an apology from her great-great-granddaughter - give me a break!!

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seanaci | May 22, 2011, 02:54 PM EDT

Hi, jamthecat, I'm no fan of Queen Victoria but feel I should set the record straight. Her subscription in fact was £2,000 and can be verified on the original subscription list preserved in the National Library, Dublin or the official report of the British Association that records the total collected as £470,000. This is taken from Cecil Woodham-Smith's well researched book "The Great Hunger".

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Sparklet | May 22, 2011, 12:26 PM EDT

Dont know much about her, but I kind of have the idea that she was pretty cold altogether. According to the Dickensian stories, her own people weren't exactly looked after either.

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McNamara31 | May 22, 2011, 12:18 PM EDT

"Victoria’s affection for Ireland"????? Victoria blocked aid to starving Irish during the famine years. "In 1845, Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid declared his intention to send £10,000 to Irish farmers but Queen Victoria requested that the Sultan send only £1,000, because she herself had sent only £2,000. The Sultan sent the £1,000 sterling but also secretly sent three ships full of food. The English courts tried to block the ships, but the food arrived at Drogheda harbour and was left there by Ottoman sailors."

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Jamcelt | May 22, 2011, 10:35 AM EDT

This woman sat idly by and did absolutely nothing while half our population died or were forced to emigrate. This "person" was no friend of the Irish. She may have loved the country, but she did not give the proverbial damn about it's people.

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jamthecat | May 22, 2011, 10:28 AM EDT

Interesting. Y'know, here's a story I heard that pretty much sums up the depth of Queen Victoria's love for Ireland. During the height of the famine, this amazingly wealthy woman gave a whole five pounds to Irish famine relief. Then just to make sure people understood she wasn't playing favorites, she also gave five pounds to the RSPCA. Yeah. That's love.

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