For clarity many of the Brownes had the first name Valentine. Curiously the Kenmare in the title comes from Kenmare Castle near Hospital, Limerick rather than the nearby Kerry town.
Sir Valentine Browne was appointed Surveyor General of Ireland during the reign of Elizabeth I in 1559. For his role in the Plantation of Munster (1586), he received some 6,500 acres in Kerry from the Crown in addition to land already received around Limerick. For a reference point in history, the Spanish Armada would have been wrecked off the Irish coast during this period. It also coincided with the diminution of the McCarthys, de facto rulers of Munster since their decisive victories at Ringrone, Callan and Tooreencormick in and around 1260.
In 1689 the first title (Viscount Kenmare) was given to the 3rd Baronet Sir Valentine Browne (1638-1694) by James II for his support of the Jacobite cause in the war against William of Orange. In 1798 another Valentine received the superior title 'Baron Castlerosse' and was upgraded further to become the 1st Earl of Kenmare in 1801 for his support of the Act of Union with England. The line of earls continued until the death of the 7th Earl in 1952, who had no male heirs.
The most flamboyant male of the line was the 6th Earl Of Kenmare - Valentine Edward Charles Browne. He wrote a widely read column "The Londoners Log" - the first member of the peerage to write a gossip column. His exploits around wine, women and huge dinners became the stuff of local (and wider) legend. One story involves a planeload of orchids being flown into Baden-Baden to aid in matters of seduction. Apparently a bill commensurate with the efforts followed, with no note on the results of his endeavours. His lasting legacy to Killarney was the development of the O'Mahoneys Point golf course as part of the relocated Killarney Golf and Fishing Club which opened in 1939.
Beatrice Grosvenor, niece to the 6th and 7th Earls, inherited the near bankrupt estate (but not the title) in 1952 on the death of her uncle. She built the existing hotel in 1960 on the same site as the earlier Royal Victoria Hotel - one of 19th century Irelands "grand" hotels.
The Royal Victoria Hotel played host in its day to an array of notables. Jane Austen (of Pride and Prejudice fame), Eugenie - Empress of France, King Edward VII, Liliuokalani - Queen of Hawaii and Sultan Aga Khan III are listed among others.
The hotel was bankrupted during WWI and in 1920 Lord Castlerosse had the tenant and his young family evicted and rendered homeless. It was sold on in 1930 and the hotel fell into disrepair. It was rebuilt and opened in 1960 as the Castlrosse hotel, named after the 6th Earl who had been known colloquially as 'Lord Castlerosse'.
There is parking nearby in the Castelrosse Hotel by the playground.