Parking
Use the car park by Derrycunnihy Church on the N71. The Mass Path entrance is across the road, where wooden steps and a boardwalk descend into the woodland.
Overview
About The Mass Path: Derrycunnihy Church to Lord Brandon’s Cottage
Why go
- Oak woodland, streams, ruins and lake views make a varied walk
- Finishes at Lord Brandon’s Cottage on Upper Lake
Heads up
- Point-to-point route needs a separate return plan
- Rough footing and winter flooding can slow or disrupt the walk
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Killarney map
Full mapElevation18–103 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Killarney Tour Guide
Your drive to The Mass Path: Derrycunnihy Church to Lord Brandon’s Cottage, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Killarney National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Derrycunnihy Church and the Mass Path0:00 / 0:33
“You're approaching Derrycunnihy Church and the start of the Mass Path. The small stone church dates from around eighteen ninety and makes a brief exterior stop.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Killarney Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Derrycunnihy Falls and Cascade
- Ladies View
- Upper Lake Viewpoint: Rock Shaped by Ice
- Looscaunagh Lough Viewpoint
- 18 audio storiesacross Killarney’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Sika Deer, Feral Goat, and 11 more
- Works offlinemaps, 29 trails, 32 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking The Mass Path: Derrycunnihy Church to Lord Brandon’s Cottage
A one-way walk to Upper LakeThe Mass Path is a 2.7-mile (4.
The Mass Path is a 2.7-mile (4.3 km) point-to-point walk from Derrycunnihy Church to Lord Brandon’s Cottage on Upper Lake, and a section of the Kerry Way. It drops from the church-side access into oak woodland, crosses streams, passes old ruins and finishes along the lake shore. Allow about 1½ to 2 hours one way. Choose this when you want a woodland-to-lakeshore walk, but plan the return before setting out: the mapped route does not loop back to the car park.
Down the first stepsThe Mass Path entrance is across the road from the car park by Derrycunnihy Church.
The Mass Path entrance is across the road from the car park by Derrycunnihy Church. Wooden steps and a boardwalk descend into the woodland below. This is a real downhill start, not a level stroll, so take care on the steps before settling into the rougher path. Streams cross the route in the woods. The surface changes underfoot, and parts of the walk can flood in winter.
Ruins and a cascade viewThe woodland path passes abandoned ruins, but no reliable account of their date or former use…
The woodland path passes abandoned ruins, but no reliable account of their date or former use turned up, so there is no story to fill in around them. The route also has views of Derrycunnihy Cascade. A separate spur leads closer to the falls; it is steep and rocky and can be slippery when wet. That detour is optional and is not included in the mapped distance. If conditions are wet, stay on the main path unless you are comfortable with the rough descent.
Where the trees give way to the lakeFarther along, the enclosed woodland opens onto a broader path beside Upper Lake.
Farther along, the enclosed woodland opens onto a broader path beside Upper Lake. The walk’s character changes here: the water and small islands spread out below the hills, with the McGillycuddy Reeks beyond. This is the route’s best wide view. From the shoreline, include a little of the near bank in a photo so the islands and mountain backdrop keep their sense of scale.
The park notes that white-tailed sea eagles may be seen from the route. Treat that as a possibility rather than a promise; the lake and open slopes give you places to scan while you walk.
Make a return planUse the car park by Derrycunnihy Church; the trail starts across the road.
Use the car park by Derrycunnihy Church; the trail starts across the road. The other end is Lord Brandon’s Cottage, so arrange a pickup or onward connection before you leave the church. Walking back means retracing the route for another leg. Confirm any onward service directly; the cottage sits at the far end of a one-way walk.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Killarney
106 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
209 sightingsSika DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsFeral GoatMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
49 sightingsSwanMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
48 sightingsHeronMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
16 sightingsCormorantMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Killarney. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
