Built by Charles Fourier Stollmeyer, Killarney was the first great house to be constructed in the St Clair subdivision; established on lands which had previously been used as a government stock farm. It was also the first of “The Magnificent Seven”.
Construction Stollmeyer’s Castlestarted in 1902 and was completed in 1904. The architect and contractor of this elaborate structure was a Scotsman, Robert Gillies, from the firm Taylor and Gillies. Described to be Scottish Baronial in architectural style, it is said that the structure of the house was patterned after a wing of Balmoral Castle in Scotland. When construction was completed, Mrs.C.F. Stollmeyer found it too ostentatious for her simple tastes and her husband gave it to their son, Charles Conrad, who was about to marry. The new Mrs. Stollmeyer gave the structure the name Killarney, after the place in Ireland where she had hoped to spend her honeymoon.
During the Second World War, Killarney, like its neighbour Whitehall was commandeered by US Forces and was popularly referred to as “The Castle”. It is from this period that Killarney became better known as Stollmeyer’s Castle.
Castle Killarney is not only a key feature in the architectural history of Port of Spain; it is a National Treasure, with a mandated use as an Art and Cultural centre, for historical guided tours, exhibitions and approved small events.
