THE IRISH PENNY JOURNAL. NUMBER 37. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1841. VOLUME I. [Illustration: ROSS CASTLE, KILLARNEY.] We have heard some of our readers express surprise that we should not before this have taken notice, among our topographical collections, of some of the features of the far-famed Lakes of Killarney; but the truth is, that those features, though of the highest beauty, are not, for the greater part, such as wood-cut illustrations could adequately express; and even those which are properly suited to the powers of the graver have been in most instances already so often drawn and described, that it is now almost hopeless to expect to find either any new points of view or historical incidents connected with them, which have not already been made familiar to the reading public. Still, as our little weekly pennyworth is not intended exclusively for the wealthy and well informed, but even to a greater extent for those by whom more expensive publications are unattainable, it is right that we should occasionally notice subjects of popular interest, however familiar they may have been already made to a portion of our readers; and in doing so, we trust that we shall be able to make them in some degree acceptable to all, by the fidelity of our drawings, or the occasional novelty of the facts with which we shall illustrate them. We have chosen, accordingly, as the first of our Killarney subjects, the old favourite Ross Castle; not indeed as the best or least hacknied, but as properly that which should begin the series, for it is the first with which the Killarney tourist becomes familiar, and from which he usually starts to enjoy all the others. In a historical and antiquarian point of view, however, Ross Castle is indeed one of the most interesting objects to be found in connection with the enchanting scenery of the lakes. It is the time-worn fortress of their ancient chiefs, and its presence connects the history of man in distant times with the objects of eternal natural beauty by which it is surrounded, and imparts to them that delightful feeling or charm of romance which, exquisite as they are, they would necessarily want if it were absent.