Art

Killarney then and now: Aspects recognisable from when Harry Kernoff painted them in 1943

Some of the views Irish artist Harry Aaron Kernoff painted of Killarney while on a cycling trip with Patrick Kavanagh haven’t changed much in more than 70 years

'Pound Row, Lewis Road Killarney', a painting made by Harry Kernoff from his room in The Arbutus Hotel across the street in 1943. The area is now named Michael Collins Place. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
'Pound Row, Lewis Road Killarney', a painting made by Harry Kernoff from his room in The Arbutus Hotel across the street in 1943. The area is now named Michael Collins Place. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
Bryan O'Brien's picture
Bryan O'Brien
Sun Jan 05 2025 - 05:30

Sean Buckley, owner of Killarney’s Arbutus Hotel, holds a picture of his father Pat as a young boy. It was painted by the artist Harry Kernoff in September 1943: “My father used to say that the best thing about having his portrait painted was that he got a day off school”.

Kernoff and his friend the poet Patrick Kavanagh were on a cycling holiday in Kerry. During the artist’s stay in the Arbutus Hotel he painted a number of street scenes, landscapes and portraits. Sean’s grandfather Tim was running the hotel at the time, and Kernoff painted his young son in exchange for accommodation.

Harry Aaron Kernoff (1900-1974) is best known for his streetscapes and portrayals of ordinary social life, in addition to landscapes, woodcut illustrations and set designs.

I grew up in Killarney but was unaware of the Kernoff connection until I noticed a painting called Fitzgerald Park, Killarney in a recent Adams art auction. A few research rabbit-holes later and I was heading home, to retrace some of the artist’s footprints.

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While Killarney has undergone many changes since Kernoff visited – and I grew up – there are some constants. The beauty of the surrounding natural landscape remains the same and, despite the town’s increased traffic and street signage, much core architecture does too.

Sean Buckley, proprietor of the Arbutus Hotel in Killarney, holds a copy of the portrait of his father Pat, painted by Harry Kernoff in 1943. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Sean Buckley, proprietor of the Arbutus Hotel in Killarney, holds a copy of the portrait of his father Pat, painted by Harry Kernoff in 1943. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Harry Kernoff's portrait of Pat Buckley, then a schoolboy whose father owned the Arbutus Hotel, which he made as payment for accomodation. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
Harry Kernoff's portrait of Pat Buckley, then a schoolboy whose father owned the Arbutus Hotel, which he made as payment for accomodation. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
One of two paintings Kernoff made of Magillicuddy's pub, also known as Con Macs, on Killarney's Main Street. The pub is no longer there. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
One of two paintings Kernoff made of Magillicuddy's pub, also known as Con Macs, on Killarney's Main Street. The pub is no longer there. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
Vernon Cromwell, a visitor from Montana in the United States, enjoys a beer in JM Reidy's pub on Main Street, Killarney. Photogrph: Bryan O’Brien
Vernon Cromwell, a visitor from Montana in the United States, enjoys a beer in JM Reidy's pub on Main Street, Killarney. Photogrph: Bryan O’Brien
'Arbutus and the Kerry Hills', a painting made Kernoff by the lakes in Muckross just outside Killarney. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
'Arbutus and the Kerry Hills', a painting made Kernoff by the lakes in Muckross just outside Killarney. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
The lakes and trees have changed little since Kernoff painted them more than 70 years ago. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
The lakes and trees have changed little since Kernoff painted them more than 70 years ago. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Watercolour by Kernoff entitled 'Old Georgian House opposite Town Hall, Killarney'. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
Watercolour by Kernoff entitled 'Old Georgian House opposite Town Hall, Killarney'. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
The building is a different colour today but still there. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
The building is a different colour today but still there. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Kernoff made a number of portraits in Killarney, including this one entitled 'Mick Price, jarvey, Lake Hotel, Killarney'. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
Kernoff made a number of portraits in Killarney, including this one entitled 'Mick Price, jarvey, Lake Hotel, Killarney'. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
Michael Sweetman (61), a third-generation jarvey in Killarney. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Michael Sweetman (61), a third-generation jarvey in Killarney. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Kernoff watercolour entitled 'Fitzgerald Park, Killarney', featuring a couple seated on a grassy hill above the town's GAA grounds looking towards the Magillicuddy Reeks. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
Kernoff watercolour entitled 'Fitzgerald Park, Killarney', featuring a couple seated on a grassy hill above the town's GAA grounds looking towards the Magillicuddy Reeks. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
Der Brosnan, chairman of Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, on the east side embankment that was once a grassy hill where sheep grazed between games. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Der Brosnan, chairman of Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, on the east side embankment that was once a grassy hill where sheep grazed between games. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
'The Handy shop after rain', a watercolour street scene by Kernoff. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
'The Handy shop after rain', a watercolour street scene by Kernoff. © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff
The Handy Stores is still going strong, selling newspapers, sweets, souvenirs and refreshments. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
The Handy Stores is still going strong, selling newspapers, sweets, souvenirs and refreshments. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

Pound Row, a painting he made from his bedroom in the Arbutus, is still an uphill curve on the road but is now called Michael Collins Place, and the little houses have been replaced by a hotel. The Handy Stores today has an ATM, and tables and chairs outside where customers sip coffee. Fitzgerald Park is now a Stadium and its grassy embankments have been replaced by steel and concrete.

A year after his visit Kernoff exhibited 35 pictures of Killarney at an exhibition in the Grafton Gallery. An Irish Press piece praised the show, saying: “All of the pictures are real, visual art, pleasing at first glance, with sound lines and beautiful colour, and with a welcome absence of pretentiousness.”

All reproductions of Harry Kernoff work here: © Estate of Harry Aaron Kernoff.

WeekendKillarneyPatrick Kavanagh