Killarney, Vancouver

Killarney is a neighbourhood in East Vancouver East-End, British Columbia with a population of over 28,000 (2011) and lies in the far southeast corner of the city. It is on the south slope of the ridge that rises above the Fraser River, and contains a collection of single-family residences with a few multi-family homes as well as the townhouses and high-rises of the Fraserlands development along the river.

The Killarney neighbourhood, which contains the area known as Champlain Heights, runs north from the Fraser River to its north border along East 41st Avenue and Kingsway, and stretches from Boundary Road, Vancouver's eastern border with Burnaby, British Columbia, to a line including Elliott Street and Vivian Drive on the western border. The neighbourhood is mostly built on the slope of the rise from the Fraser River, facing southward across Richmond, and is focused around Rupert Street (which merges with Kerr Street near 49th Avenue).

The neighbourhood contains a number of green spaces that are reflective of its history as one of the last areas to be developed in the Vancouver area.

The Killarney area was one of the last portions of Vancouver to be developed, and was mostly second-growth forest until after World War II. Farms had been cut out of the forest since 1868, when William Rowling, a surveyor in the British military, was given a land grant that eventually consisted of much of southern Killarney, including all of its riverfront land. George Wales was the first to settle in northern Killarney in 1878, and eventually development began to move from the more populated areas to the west as the interurban streetcar line was constructed north of Kingsway.

After World War II, development accelerated with a growing need for housing, and the street grid moved south towards Southeast Marine Drive. In the 1970s, Champlain Heights was developed as a comprehensive residential development.

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