Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

in the south-west of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the

Dingle Peninsula The Dingle Peninsula (; anglicised as Corkaguiny or Corcaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of m ...

, and is the largest town in County Kerry. The town's population was 26,079 as of the 2022 census, making it the 15th largest urban settlement in Ireland. Tralee is known for the Rose of Tralee International Festival, which has been held annually in August since 1959.

History

Situated at the confluence of some small rivers and adjacent to marshy ground at the head of

Tralee Bay Tralee Bay () is located in on the west coast of County Kerry, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated between Kerry Head on the north side and the Maharees on the west and extends eastwards as far as the bridge at Blennerville. Several ...

, Tralee is located at the base of an ancient roadway that heads south over the

Slieve Mish Mountains Slieve Mish Mountains (), is a predominantly sandstone mountain range at the eastern end of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. Stretching , from the first major peak of Barnanageehy outside of Tralee in the east, to Cnoc na Stuaice ...

. On this old track is located a large boulder sometimes called Scotia's Grave, reputedly the burial place of an ancient queen. Anglo-Normans founded the town in the 13th century, which became a stronghold of the

Earls of Desmond Earl of Desmond ( meaning Earl of South Munster) is a title of nobility created by the English monarch in the peerage of Ireland. The title has been created four times. It was first awarded in 1329 to Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, Maur ...

, who built

Tralee Castle Tralee Castle was a medieval strategic castle in Tralee, Kerry, owned by the Denny family from 1586. It is now a ruin. The castle was built by the Desmond family, likely in the mid-thirteenth century at a similar time to the constriction o ...

. John Fitz-Thomas FitzGerald founded the monastery of the

Dominican order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

and was buried there in 1260.Genealogical and Family History of Northern New York The medieval town was burnt in 1580 in retribution for the

Desmond Rebellions The Desmond Rebellions occurred in 1569–1573 and 1579–1583 in the Irish province of Munster. They were rebellions by the Earl of Desmond, the head of the FitzGerald dynasty in Munster, and his followers, the Geraldines and their allies, ...

against

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. Elizabeth I in 1587 granted Tralee to Edward Denny and it was recognised in 1613 by

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

. Sir Edward was the first of the Dennys to settle in Tralee; the Dennys did not occupy the castle of the Earls of Desmond until 1627 but lived instead at Carrignafeela Castle. Sir Edward's son was Arthur Denny, in whose lifetime the town's charter was granted by King James, containing the right to elect two members of parliament. The third English settler, another Sir Edward, married Ruth Roper, whose father Thomas Roper was the lease holder of the Herbert estate centred on Castleisland. This Sir Edward was a

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

and fought for the King in the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

and subsequent

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, took place from 1641 to 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, all then ...

. He died in 1646, before the triumph of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

over affairs in England and Ireland. He granted "the circuit of the Abbey" to the corporation set up under the charter, in return for the fees of the town clerk. His son Arthur Denny married Ellen Barry, granddaughter of

Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (13 October 1566 – 15 September 1643), also known as 'the Great Earl of Cork', was an English politician who served as Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland. Lord Cork was an important figure in the continu ...

. The latter held many land titles in West Kerry and also claimed property in Tralee. Sir Edward Denny, 4th Baronet was a notable landlord in his day; during the time of the Great Famine, he maintained rents to suit his tenants, when other landowners increased them. He was a notable Plymouth Brother. The modern layout of Tralee was created in the 19th century. Denny Street, a wide Georgian street, was completed in 1826 on the site of the old castle. A monument commemorating the 1798 rebellion and the rebellions of

1803 Events January–March * January 1 – The first edition of Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière's ''Almanach des gourmands'', the first guide to restaurant cooking, is published in Paris. * January 4 – William Symingt ...

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

and

1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...

– a statue of a Pikeman – stands in Denny Street. First unveiled in 1905, the original Pikeman stood until the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

. In 1921 the

Black and Tans The Black and Tans () were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920, and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflic ...

dragged it from its pedestal and destroyed it. In June 1939 a replacement Pikeman was installed, created by renowned Dublin sculptor Albert Power and unveiled by

Maud Gonne Maud Gonne MacBride (, born Edith Maud Gonne); 21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953) was an Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette and actress. She was of Anglo-Irish descent and was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of people evict ...

. Tralee Courthouse was designed by William Vitruvius Morrison and built in 1834. It has a monument of two cannons commemorating those Kerrymen who died in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

(1854–56) and the Indian Rebellion (1857). Ballymullen Barracks was the depot of the

Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company, East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment ...

. The Tralee Ship Canal was built to accommodate larger ships sailing into Tralee, as the existing quay in Blennerville was becoming blocked due to

silting Siltation is water pollution caused by particulate Terrestrial ecoregion, terrestrial Clastic rock, clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the i ...

. The

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

authorised an Act of Parliament in June 1829 for the canal, with work beginning in 1832. Issues with funding meant that the canal was not completed until 1846 when it was opened. The canal was 2 miles long with a new

canal basin A canal basin is (particularly in the United Kingdom) an expanse of waterway alongside or at the end of a canal, and wider than the canal, constructed to allow boats to moor or unload cargo without impeding the progress of other traffic, and to al ...

built in Tralee, and lock gates and a wooden

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

constructed in Blennerville. However, not long after the canal opened, it too began to suffer from silting. By the 1880s, Fenit Harbour was built as a deepwater harbour; it did not suffer from silting. A railway line was constructed between the harbour and Tralee to carry cargo and freight from ships moored there. The canal fell into disuse and neglect, and was finally closed by the mid-20th century. Following the restoration of Blennerville Windmill in the early 1990s, local authorities planned restoration of the canal for use as a tourist attraction. In 1999 the

Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) (; legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Government of Ireland, Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of owned and ren ...

(OPW) started a restoration project of the canal at a cost of IR£650,000. The basin area of the canal was subsequently redeveloped with apartments blocks built as part of a proposed marina. The

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, Working animal, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mod ...

along the canal was upgraded and is now used by people as an enjoyable amenity as part of the

Dingle Way The Dingle Way () is a long-distance trail around the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. It is a long circular route that begins and ends in Tralee and is typically completed in eight days. It is designated as a National Waymarked Tr ...

. The Dominican church of the Holy Cross was designed by the Irish Gothic Revival architect George Ashlin in 1866 and built by 1871.

War of Independence and Civil War

Tralee saw much violence during the

and

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

in 1919–1923. In November 1920, the

besieged Tralee in revenge for the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

(IRA) abduction and killing of two

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

(RIC) men. The Tans closed all the businesses in the town and did not let any food in for a week. They burned several houses and all businesses connected with IRA activists. In the course of the week, they shot dead three local people. The events caused a major international outcry as the press reported that near-famine conditions were prevailing in Tralee by the end of the week. In August 1922 during the Irish Civil War,

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

troops landed at nearby

Fenit Fenit () is a small village in County Kerry, Ireland, located on north side of Tralee Bay about west of Tralee town, just south of the Shannon Estuary. It is also a civil parish. The bay is enclosed from the Atlantic by the Maharee spit whi ...

and took Tralee from its Anti-Treaty garrison. Nine pro-Treaty and three anti-Treaty soldiers were killed in fighting in the town before the anti-Treaty forces withdrew. The Republicans continued a guerrilla campaign in the surrounding area. In March 1923 Free State troops took nine anti-treaty IRA prisoners from the prison in Tralee and blew them up with a

land mine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...

at nearby Ballyseedy. Only Stephen Fuller, a future Irish politician, survived the explosion.

The Ashe Memorial Hall was built in 1928 at the end of Denny Street; it is dedicated to the memory of

Thomas Ashe Thomas Patrick Ashe (; 12 January 1885 – 25 September 1917) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was a member of the Gaelic League, the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and a founding member of th ...

, an

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

officer in the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

of 1916. The building is built of local sandstone. It housed the headquarters of

Kerry County Council Kerry County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Kerry, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roa ...

and Tralee Urban District Council; both now have moved to other premises. Since 1992 it has housed the

Kerry County Museum Kerry County Museum () is a museum located in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. The museum is based in the Ashe Memorial Hall, formerly also known as the Urban Council Chambers in the centre of Tralee. The aim of the museum is to collect, record, pr ...

, which includes a reconstruction of Tralee as of 1450, prior to colonisation.

Climate

The climate of Tralee is, like the rest of Ireland, classified as a maritime temperate climate (''Cfb'') according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system.

Met Éireann Met Éireann (; meaning "Meteorology, Met of Ireland") is the state meteorology, meteorological service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. History The history of modern meteorolog ...

maintains a climatological weather station at

Valentia Island Valentia Island () is one of Republic of Ireland, Ireland's most westerly points. It lies in Dingle Bay off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial Bridge at Portmagee ...

, 50 km south-west of the town. It is mild and changeable with abundant rainfall and a lack of temperature extremes. The hottest months of the year are July, August, and September with temperatures of around 17 – 18 degrees Celsius. Tralee gets rainfall all year round and the wettest months are October, November, December, and January.

Local government

Tralee had a

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

with twelve members until the 2014 local elections were held on 23 May 2014. These elections were held following the changes effected by the

Local Government Reform Act 2014 The Local Government Reform Act 2014 (No. 1) is an Act of Parliament, act of the Oireachtas which provided for a major restructuring of local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in Ireland with effect from the 2014 Irish loca ...

. County Kerry is divided into six

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...

s (LEA) for elections to

. The members elected for the Tralee LEA sit as the Tralee Municipal District.

Places of interest

Blennerville Windmill near Tralee - geograph

Tralee is a tourism destination, and there are a number of visitor attractions in the area: *

: incorporating the theme park 'Kerry: The Kingdom' and an exhibit that depicts life in medieval Geraldine Tralee. * Siamsa Tíre: Ireland's National Folk Theatre, offering traditional music and plays in Irish. * Blennerville Windmill: located about 2 km outside the town, Ireland's largest functioning windmill. * Tralee Aquadome: A large indoor water leisure facility with a mini-golf course. * Ballyseedy Wood: Is located 2 km outside Tralee off the N21. It consists of of woodland dating back from the 16th century where

have developed public entrances at the north and south of the wood with car parks and 4 km of gravelled looped pathways. Ash, Oak and Beech trees are part of the wood as are a number of ruins and follies, dating back to the 17th century, with the River Lee (from which Tralee takes its name; not to be confused with the River Lee in County Cork) forming the woodlands northern boundary. * Tralee Town Park: Tralee has a town park located in the town centre (opposite the Kerry County Museum) with a rose garden comprising over 5,000 roses of different varieties. The park is the location for the annual Féile na mBláth / Tralee Garden Festival – a free midsummer weekend festival of gardening demonstrations, flower arranging, garden tours, musical and choral events. Tralee Ship Canal - geograph

Wetlands and Nature Reserve: Tralee Bay Nature Reserve covers approximately and stretches from Tralee town westwards to

Harbour and

Cloghane An Clochán (anglicized as Cloghane; from '' clochán'', a local type of dry-stone hut) is a Gaeltacht village and townland on the Dingle Peninsula of County Kerry, Ireland, at the foot of Mount Brandon. It is also part of a civil parish of ...

, encompassing Tralee Bay, Brandon Bay and the Magharees Peninsula. It includes extensive mudflats at the eastern end, the beaches of Derrymore Island, the sand dunes and lagoons of the Magharees Peninsula. Both the River Lee and Brandon (Owenmore) estuaries feature wide expanses of sheltered intertidal flats, often fringed with saltmarsh vegetation. The Wetlands Centre which opened in 2012 is designed as a microcosm of the wild nature reserve where visitors are introduced to the fresh and saltwater habitats. Visitors can travel on a safari boat ride through the recreated reed and freshwater channels in the centre. * Tralee Ship Canal: Opened in 1846, this 2-mile-long canal connects Tralee to Tralee Bay where it passes by Blennerville Windmill. The Dingle Way runs along the towpath of the canal. *

: (Irish: Slí Chorca Dhuibhne) A long National Waymarked Trail that begins and ends in Tralee and is typically completed in eight days. *

Ratass Church Ratass Church is a medieval church with ogham stone inscriptions in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It is a National Monument. Location The church and adjacent graveyard are located on Quill Street, in the eastern suburbs of Tralee. History It ...

: a tenth-century medieval church, with a sixth-century

ogham Ogham (also ogam and ogom, , Modern Irish: ; , later ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language ( scholastic ...

stone. Located in the eastern suburbs of Tralee.

Rose of Tralee

The Rose of Tralee festival is an international competition that is celebrated among Irish communities all over the world. The festival, held annually in August since 1959, takes its inspiration from a nineteenth-century ballad of the same name about a woman called Mary, who because of her beauty was called The Rose of Tralee. The contest, broadcast over two nights by

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

, is one of the highest-viewed shows on Irish television with over a million people watching. To commemorate the Rose of Tralee tradition, the Rose Garden in the Tralee Town Park is home to a life-size bronze statue depicting the original Rose of Tralee Mary O'Connor and the author of the Rose of Tralee ballad William Pembroke Mulchinock sculpted by an Irish sculptor

Jeanne Rynhart Jeanne Patricia Rynhart (17 March 1946 – 9 June 2020) was an Irish sculptor and creator of the Molly Malone#Statue, Molly Malone statue. Background Rynhart was born Jeanne Scuffil in Dublin on 17 March 1946. Her parents were Kathleen Connoll ...

(unveiled in 2009), as well as the Rose Wall of Honour – a series of glass panels that will contain the name of every Rose who has participated in the Festival since 1959 (unveiled in 2013 on the 55th anniversary of the Rose of Tralee International Festival). Both statues were commissioned by Tralee Town Council.

Archaeological sites

Archaeological sites around Tralee and throughout the County of Kerry, including a number of ring-forts, are listed for preservation in the Kerry County Development Plan 2009–15. These include Casement's Fort, an ancient ring fort where

Roger Casement Roger David Casement (; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during World War I. He worked for the Britis ...

had been hiding before his arrest. There is also an Iron Age fort at Caherconree, overlooking Tralee Bay. An example of a

Sheela na gig A sheela na gig is a figurative carving of a naked woman displaying an exaggerated Human vulva, vulva. These carvings, from the Middle Ages, are Grotesque (architecture), architectural grotesques found throughout most of Europe on Architecture ...

is now located in the Christian Round Tower at Rattoo, Ballyduff, a few kilometres north of Tralee. There is also a monument to Saint Brendan the Navigator at Fenit, with reproductions of ancient Irish structures.

Media

The town has two local weekly newspapers, ''

The Kerryman ''The Kerryman'' is a weekly local newspaper published in County Kerry in Ireland by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper was founded in 1904 by Maurice Griffin and cousins Thomas and Daniel Nolan. Independe ...

'' and '' Kerry's Eye'' while the ''Tralee Outlook'' and ''Tralee Advertiser'' are also published weekly. The town has a commercial radio station, Radio Kerry, which commenced operations in 1990. Spin South West also had a studio on Castle Street, which opened in 2016 but is now vacant.

Transport

Road

Tralee is served by National Primary and Secondary roads as well as local routes. A 13.5 km bypass of Tralee consisting of dual and single carriageway sections was opened on 16 August 2013. The bypass connects four of the five national routes — the N21, N22, N69 and N70 — which terminate in Tralee. Tralee Bypass

National primary routes: * IRL N21

east/north-east to

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

south-east to

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

and Cork National secondary routes: * IRL N69

north to

Listowel Listowel ( ; , ) is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,794 according to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the third large ...

, Tarbert,

Foynes Foynes (; ) is a town and major port in County Limerick in the midwest of Ireland, located at the edge of hilly land on the southern bank of the Shannon Estuary. The population of the town was 512 as of the 2022 census. Foynes's role as sea ...

and Limerick * IRL N70

south-west to

Killorglin Killorglin () is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, the town's population was 2,163. Killorglin is on the Ring of Kerry tourist route, and annual events include the August Puck Fair festival, which starts with the crownin ...

, Ring of Kerry on

Iveragh Peninsula The Iveragh Peninsula () is located in County Kerry in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula. Carrauntoohil, its hig ...

and Kenmare * IRL N86

west to

Dingle Dingle ( or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula (known in Irish as ''Corca Dhuibhne''), it sits on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...

Regional roads: * R551 Regional Route Shield Ireland

north/north-west to Tarbert via

Ardfert Ardfert () is a village and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Kerry, Ireland. Historically a religious centre, the economy of the locality is driven by agriculture and its position as a dormitory town, being only from Tralee. T ...

, Ballyheigue, Ballybunion and

Ballylongford Ballylongford (historically ''Bealalongford'', from ) is a village near Listowel in northern County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 415. Geography The village is situated near the estuary of the Ballyline River, ...

north to

Abbeydorney Abbeydorney () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. Located north of the county town of Tralee, the village had a population of 418 as of the 2016 census of Ireland. Abbeydorney falls within the civil parish of O'Dorney, and is sometimes co ...

(it links up with R551 to Ballybunion) * R558 Regional Route Shield Ireland

west to

Harbour

Bus

The bus station in Tralee is a regional hub for

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

, providing services to Limerick,

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, Cork, Killarney and Dingle. The current bus station opened on 26 February 2007. Several local routes radiate from Tralee and a number of these have had their frequency increased in recent years. Local routes include: 13 (

via

), 40 ( Cork via

), 272 ( Tarbert via Ballybunion), 274 Ballyheigue via Banna), 275 (

), 279 (

) and 285 (

Kerry Airport Kerry Airport (; ), often called Farranfore Airport, is an international airport in Farranfore, County Kerry, Ireland. It is north off the Ring of Kerry and southeast of the county town, Tralee. Passenger services are operated by Ryanair an ...

via

Castleisland Castleisland () is a town and commercial centre in County Kerry in south west Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is known for the width of its main street. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Castleisland had a population of 2,5 ...

Rail

A train service to

Killarney railway station Killarney railway station is a railway station, station on the Mallow to Tralee line serving the town of Killarney in County Kerry. It is situated next to the bus station and Killarney Outlet Centre. Adjacent to the station on the approach ro ...

, and via Mallow to Cork and

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

is provided by the national railway operator

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann, () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national Rail transport in Ireland, railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal I ...

. From the Dublin-Cork line, there are connecting trains at Limerick Junction for

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

and

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. Further links are available at Limerick to

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

Oranmore Oranmore ( or ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, east of Galway city on an inlet of Galway Bay. At the 2022 census, Oranmore had a population of 5,819. The town is in a civil parish of the same name. Etymology Oranmore is the anglicisat ...

, and

. The current Tralee railway station, Casement station named after

, was opened on 18 July 1859. There were also two other adjacent stations, now closed and demolished, in the North Circular Road area. One was the terminus of the "North Kerry" line which ran to

via

and

Newcastle West Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicised Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city. It is also the county t ...

, and the other was the terminus of the narrow gauge

Tralee and Dingle Light Railway __NOTOC__ The Tralee and Dingle Light Railway and Tramway was a , narrow gauge railway running between Tralee and Dingle, with a branch from Castlegregory Junction to Castlegregory, in County Kerry on the west coast of Ireland. It operated bet ...

. The

was once one of Europe's most western railways. It opened on 31 March 1891, connecting Tralee and Dingle by rail along the Dingle Peninsula, and was closed in June 1953. In 1993 a 3 km section was reopened as a preserved line between the Aquadome in Tralee and Blennerville Windmill. Currently this railway is no longer in operation. A standard gauge railway used to operate to

Harbour from Tralee, diverging from the North Kerry line to the northwest of the town, before closing in June 1978. Currently a section of this railway has been restored as a walk/cycle way in the Tralee urban area and it is hoped in the future that this will be extended to Fenit, similar along the lines of the Great Southern Trail which has been created on the closed North Kerry line route in western County Limerick.

Air

, located 20 km from Tralee in Farranfore, provides air services to

, London Luton, London Stansted, Frankfurt-Hahn and seasonally,

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

and Faro.

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

now operates seasonal services to Berlin International Airport. Connecting trains run from

Farranfore railway station Farranfore railway station serves the village of Farranfore in County Kerry, Ireland. It is located a short distance away from Kerry Airport. History The station opened on 18 July 1859 as part of the Tralee & Killarney Railway which opened on ...

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

and Killarney Railway Station in Killarney.

Sea

The local port for Tralee is

, about 10 km west of the town on the north side of the estuary. Catering for ships of up to 17,000 tonnes, the port is a picturesque mixed-use harbour with fishing boats and a thriving marina (136 berths). The 2 mile long Tralee Ship Canal provides a navigable connection between Tralee itself and the sea.

Healthcare

University Hospital Kerry opened in 1984, and is the third-largest acute hospital in the

Health Service Executive The Health Service Executive (HSE) () is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005. The current director-general is Berna ...

South Region. It serves as the main hospital for County Kerry and also serves the people in parts of North Cork and West Limerick. The Bon Secours Hospital, founded in 1921, is a private hospital owned by the Roman Catholic

Bon Secours Sisters The Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours is an international Roman Catholic women's religious congregation for nursing (''gardes malades''), whose declared mission is to care for those who are sick and dying. It was founded by Josephine Pot ...

and offers healthcare to privately insured patients. It forms part of the Bon Secours Health System, the largest private healthcare network in Ireland.

Education

In common with all parts of Ireland, most schools at all levels in Tralee are managed and owned by the churches. These include the Roman Catholic schools of CBS (Scoil na mBráithre), Gaelscoil Mhic Easmainn, Holy Family, Presentation Primary School (Sacred Heart), St Ita's and St Joseph's, St John's, and St Mary's. St John's on Ashe Street is a Church of Ireland school. Tralee

Educate Together Educate Together () is an educational charity in Republic of Ireland, Ireland which is the patron body to "equality-based, co-educational, child centred, and democratically run" schools. It was founded in 1984 to act as the patron body for the ...

School is multidenominational, and is neither owned nor managed by any church. At secondary level, most schools are explicitly Roman Catholic in ethos. These include Mercy Secondary School, Mounthawk; Presentation Secondary School; St Ita's and St Joseph's; St Mary's CBS (The Green). Coláiste Gleann Lí Post Primary School (formally Tralee Community College) and Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí are non-denominational. At third level, the Munster Technological University (MTU) is the main third level institution in County Kerry. Originally opened as the Regional Technical College, Tralee in 1977 it became the

Institute of Technology, Tralee The Institute of Technology, Tralee (IT Tralee; ) was an institute of technology, located in Tralee, Ireland. It was established in 1977 as the Regional Technical College, Tralee. In January 2021, itself and the Cork Institute of Technology wer ...

(ITT or IT Tralee) in 1997 before merging into the MTU in 2020. It has an enrolment of about 3,500 students studying in areas such as business, computing, science, engineering and health. The university has two campuses: the North campus (opened in Dromtacker in 2001) and the South campus (opened in Clash in 1977) which are approximately apart. Kerry College of Further Education (KCFE) is a provider of further education programmes in Kerry. The college offers a range of Level 5 and Level 6 programmes on the NFQ.

Sport

Gaelic Athletic Association

Kerry Gaelic Football memorial - geograph

Austin Stack Park Austin Stack Park is a GAA stadium in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It is one of the stadiums used by Kerry GAA's Gaelic football team and the stadium of the hurling team. The ground was named after Austin Stack, an Irish revolutionary and ...

is the main

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(GAA) stadium in Tralee. The ground is named after Austin Stack, an Irish revolutionary and captain of the All-Ireland-winning Kerry Gaelic football team of 1904. It is located in the centre of Tralee. It hosts many

Kerry GAA The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), or Kerry GAA, is one of the 32 County board (Gaelic games), county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry, and for the Kerry county teams. ...

home games, mostly football league games and both league and championship hurling. The County Championship football and hurling finals are normally held here.

Austin Stacks GAA Austin Stacks is a hurling and Gaelic football club based in Tralee in County Kerry, Ireland. Founded in 1917, the club has more All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals and GAA All-Stars than any other Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

club is based at the top of Rock Street and its former players include Mikey Sheehy, Ger Power, John O'Keeffe and Kieran Donaghy. Other GAA clubs in the area include John Mitchels GAA club (based in the Boherbee and Camp area),

Kerins O'Rahilly's GAA Kerins O'Rahilly's' Gaelic Athletic Association club from Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. They are based in the Strand Road area of the town. They are in Division 1 of the county league which they won in 2006, and compete in the Intermediate Cha ...

(Strand Road area of the town), Na Gaeil GAA club (Oakpark area), St. Patricks, Blennerville (about 1 km outside Tralee), Tralee Parnells (promoting

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

), MTU Kerry GAA (at the Munster Technological University). Tralee Mitchels and Tralee Celtic are former GAA clubs. Fitzgerald-Jones

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

Club is based at the Sports Complex in Tralee.

Soccer

Tralee is the home of League of Ireland football in the county. Kerry F.C. were formed in 2023 and play at Mounthawk Park. The club compete in the

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

and the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

. The Kerry District League is based in Mounthawk Park, Tralee. Tralee Dynamos is Tralee's most senior soccer club, playing in the Kerry District League. St. Brendan's Park F.C. also plays in the Kerry District League.

Racket sports

Tralee Tennis Club is based on Dan Spring Road. County Badminton Club meets in the Presentation Secondary School Gym.

Cricket

County Kerry Cricket Club play at the Oyster Oval based at the nearby village of Spa on the shores of

. The club is a member of the Munster Cricket Union.

Cycling

The Chain Gang Cycling Club is a Tralee-based cycling club founded in 2008. Other cycling clubs include Tralee Bicycle Club (founded 1992), Tralee Cycling Club (founded 1953), Kingdom Cycling Club, and Na Gaeil Cycling Cycling Club.

Basketball

Basketball clubs include St. Brendan's Basketball Club, Tralee Imperials Basketball Club, Tralee Tigers (defunct), and Tralee Warriors.

Golf and Pitch & Putt

Tralee Pitch and Putt Club is located at Collis Sandes House in Killeen. Tralee-Windhundrennen-02-Zuschauer-2017-gje

Triathlon

Tralee Triathlon Club was founded in 2009 and is one of the largest clubs in Ireland with around 300 adult members. They run the annual Tri Kingdom Come Sprint distance triathlon in Fenit during the August Weekend.

Watersports

Kingdom Swimming Club is based at the Sports Complex in Tralee. Tralee Bay Sailing Club and Tralee Bay Swimming Club are both based in

. Tralee Rowing Club was founded in 2004 and is located at the Basin.

Rugby

Tralee Rugby Football Club ground is in Ballyard.

Athletics

Tralee Harriers is a local athletics club.

Greyhound racing

Tralee Greyhound Racing has a stadium on Brewery Road.

Notable people

Notable Tralee people include: *

Saint Brendan Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) is one of the early Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, and Brendan the Bold ...

, monastic saint and navigator, born near Tralee * Danny Barnes, rugby player * Joe Barrett, footballer, born in Tralee * Denis Behan, soccer player * Daniel Bohan, footballer *

Leonard Boyle Leonard Eugene Boyle, OP (13 November 1923 - 25 October 1999) was an Irish and Canadian scholar in medieval studies and palaeography. He was the first Irish and North American Prefect of the Vatican Library in Rome from 1984 to 1997. Ear ...

, priest and scholar * Bryan Cooper, jockey * Robert Day, judge * Billy Dennehy, soccer player * Darren Dennehy, soccer player * Ultan Dillane, rugby player for Connacht and Ireland * Kieran Donaghy, footballer * Michael Dwyer, journalist * Anna Fahy, Irish republican * Mike Finn, former Gaelic and Australian Rules footballer * Robert D. FitzGerald, surveyor, botanist * Rea Garvey, singer of Reamonn *

Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh is an Irish poet who writes in the Irish language. Born in Tralee, County Kerry, in 1984, she graduated from NUI Galway in 2005 with a BA in Irish and French. She spent time in Bordeaux, France, before returning to Irel ...

, poet * Shane Guthrie, footballer *

Christie Hennessy Christie Hennessy (born Edward Christopher Ross; 19 November 1945 – 11 December 2007) was an Irish folk singer-songwriter. Although Hennessy was unable to read or write due to severe dyslexia, he still wrote his own songs such as "Roll Back t ...

, singer/songwriter * John Horgan, politician and academic * Richard Johnson, President of Irish High Court * Tracey K, musician * Úna-Minh Kavanagh, journalist and author * Barry John Keane, footballer * Eddie Kelliher, Olympic sailor and businessman *

Richard Kelliher Richard Kelliher, VC (1 September 1910 – 28 January 1963) was an Irish-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Kelliher received his VC while s ...

, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* Victoria Kennefick, (Cork-native) poet * Joan Kennelly, photographer and founder of '' Kerry's Eye'' * Pádraig Kennelly, founder and editor of ''Kerry's Eye'' *

Joe Keohane Joseph Nicholas Keohane (18 August 1918 – 5 January 1988) was an Irish Gaelic football manager, selector and former player. His league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned thirteen seasons from 1936 ...

, footballer * William Kirby, footballer * J. J. Lee, historian and former senator * Gareth Mannix, sound engineer/producer * Savannah McCarthy, footballer for the Republic of Ireland women's national football team * David Moran, footballer * Maurice Moynihan, Governor of Central Bank * Timothy V. Murphy, actor * David O'Callaghan, footballer * Sean O'Callaghan, Provisional IRA member * Graham O'Connell, footballer * Denis O'Donnell, businessman * Patrick Denis O'Donnell, military/historian * Dan O'Keeffe, footballer * John O'Keeffe, footballer * Arthur O'Leary, composer and pianist * Seán O'Shea, Footballer * Aisling O'Sullivan, actor * John O'Sullivan, rugby player * Ger Power, footballer * Declan Quill, footballer * Micheál Quirke, footballer *

Boyle Roche Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet (October 1736, as cited in Some sources, including earlier versions of the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', give the date as 1743. However, since the later date would make Roche rather young to have served wit ...

, politician * Elise Sandes, humanitarian * Larry Sharpe, professional wrestler * Billy Sheehan, footballer * Mikey Sheehy, footballer *

Dan Spring Dan Spring (22 July 1910 – 6 September 1988) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North constituency from 1943 to 1981. He was a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government ...

, politician, footballer, and rugby player *

Dick Spring Richard Martin Spring (born 29 August 1950) is an Irish former Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1982 to 1987, 1992 to November 1994, and December 1994 to 1997, Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), L ...

, politician, footballer, and rugby player * Austin Stack, revolutionary and footballer * Barry John Walsh, footballer * Tommy Walsh, footballer

Twinning

Tralee is twinned with Westlake,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, both in the United States. Tralee also has a twinning arrangement with Beit Sahur in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. Beit Sahour Twins with Tralee, Ireland", IMEMC (International Middle East Media Center), 28 March 2019 https://imemc.org/article/beit-sahour-twins-with-tralee-ireland/ /ref>

Gallery

File:Dominick Street, Tralee.JPG, Dominick Street, Tralee File:Tralee courthouse.jpg, Tralee Courthouse File:TraleePriory.jpg, Dominican Church of Holy Cross File:Tralee from the International Space Station 2013-03-17.jpg, Tralee from the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control County towns in the Republic of Ireland Populated places established in the 13th century Towns and villages in County Kerry Former urban districts in the Republic of Ireland Former boroughs in the Republic of Ireland