The bustling town of Tralee, the capital of Kerry, derives its name from the Gaelic Trá Lí, the strand of the River Lee. The county´s administration, hospitals, and courthouse are all situated here. Tralee also has Ireland´s finest visitor attractions, making it a hugely popular all-weather holiday resort.

The town appears to have been founded about 1216 by John FitzThomas Fitzgerald, who was also responsible for establishing the Dominican Friary in 1243. The port of Tralee was an important trading area, but because of the silting caused by the river, ships had to anchor in the bay and unload their cargoes onto smaller boats, which ferried them to the quays.

The first reference to town walls occurs in 1286, when the locals were granted a charter permitting them to collect a toll on all commodities brought into the town for sale. At this time the population seems to have been between 500 and 600. In 1580 Tralee was burnt by the Earl of Desmond as part of his ´scorched earth´ policy. His castle stood at the corner of the Castle Street and Denny Street. The incoming planters laid out new streets that were the basis for present-day Tralee.

The Ashe Memorial Hall in Denny Street now houses Kerry Museum, the Geraldine Experience, and a Tourist Information Office. This fine building is named after Thomas Ashe, a prominent member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and a well known piper who was born in 1885 at Lispole, near Dingle, and died in prison in 1917. The Courthouse, in Ashe Street, is perhaps Tralee´s finest building. It was designed by a young architect, William Morrison, in 1830. In the 1970s a copper roof was added and central heating was installed. The combination proved a disaster: dry rot set in - and the building eventually had to be abandoned. Of particular interest is the use of lead between the stone blocks in the ornate columns.

The 75-acre Town Park provides a fine setting for the Ashe Memorial Hall. Besides the manicured lawns, there are recreational amenities for adults and a children´s playground. The Rose Garden looks splendid when in bloom each August during the Rose of Tralee Festival, a celebration of female beauty and charm that attracts entrants from all over the world.

Festival of beauty and fun

Each August the streets of Tralee pulse with festivity; music from ballad and folk singers; brass bands; free fun and games in streets and parks; parades and civic ceremonies. This is Ireland´s largest ´bash´, the astonishing Rose of Tralee Festival, when the town plays host to the world. The centrepiece is the Rose Competition itself, in which young women of Irish birth or ancestry take part in a unique selection contest for the coveted title of ´Rose of Tralee´.

The above quote comes from the song ´The Rose of Tralee´ , which is said to be based on the story of Mary O´ Connor and her young love, a soldier who was returning from fighting abroad in the British Army. On his return he had planned to marry Mary, instead he arrives home to see her funeral procession going to the graveyard. She was a tragic victim of an early death.