History of Hotel

The Grand Hotel is of immense historical significance. The Hotel stands on the site of The Great Castle of Tralee, once the principal stronghold of the powerful Geraldine's of Munster, Descendants of Maurice Fitzgerald, who came to Ireland with the Normans, the Geraldines established themselves in Kerry in the early years of the 13th century. John Fitzthomas Fitzgerald founded the town of Tralee, building The Great Castle and friary for the Dominican Friars.

The Geraldine Earls of Desmond held sway over Munster until 1583 when Gerard the 15th Earl was killed near Tralee after four years of historic warfare against the Government of Elizabeth I. The Great Castle subsequently passed to the English adventurer, Sir Edward Denny, whose descendants occupied it until the beginning of the 19th century.

The old fortress was afterwards demolished and replaced by the spacious and dignified new thoroughfare of Denny Street. The Castle Demesne - The Green at the end of Denny Street was allowed to remain and now is Tralee's fine Town Park.

The three houses destined to become The Grand Hotel no's 30, 31 and 32 Denny Street were private residences for many years, originally owned by Mr Peter F.Foley and rented by a Mr John Mills for the purpose of a private house, offices, stables and yard. Later they beceme the location of a Landbank and "town" Post Office, the latter said to have the most reliable clock in Ireland, it never gained or lost a second.

The Restaurant of the Hotel on the West side of Denny Street was once the office of Mr Samuel Hussey (1824-1913) one of the most notorious and most colourful land agents of he 20th century Ireland. During the tenant agitation in the 1880's he was the Chief local adversary of the Land League until the dynamiting of his house at Edenburn greatly diminished his enthusiasm for the Fray. He was a celebrated raconteur and wit whose rollicking "Reminiscences of the Irish-Land Agent" still makes entertaining reading. It is from Mr Hussey the restaurant takes its name "Samuels". The Grand Hotel came into existence in 20th Century, and has been ever since a highly regarded and popular rendezvous in the heart of Tralee.

Denny Street

Denny Street, running south from the Mall in the centre of Tralee, opens a fine vista of the Ashe Memorial Hall, framed by the trees of the town park, with the Slieve Mish rising in the background. Following the demolition of the Great Castle in 1826-27, Denny Street arose on its site. " Nearly all the building slots in Denny Street are engaged", noted Chute's Western Herald in February 1828. The developers, who obviously worked to an agreed plan, included Peter Trant Foley - who built a dozen of the houses - John Mulchinock, John Donovan and the landlord Sir Edward Denny. Work on the Scheme continued until 1832 when the Kerry Evening Post reported that Peter Trant Foley was employing over 200 men in building operations in Denny Street and land reclamation in Clahne. The great classically inspired thoroughfare appears to have been completed in the autumn of the same year.

The statue of the Pikeman in the centre of the street was sculpted by Albert Power and erected to commemorate the 1798 Rising. It was unveiled by Maud Gonne McBride in front of a huge crowd on Sunday 18th June 1939. The occasion was enlivened by the presence of the famous Tralee musician, Michael Dunne, who played a selection of patriotic airs in the violin to great effect. The Ashe Memorial Hall, the focal point of the street was built between 1924 and 1928 as the administration headquarters for the Kerry County Council and Tralee U.D.C. It is an attractive and well-proportioned edifice, which was designed by Thomas J. Cullen and constructed of red sandstone from Claherlaheen quarry. It incorporated a theatre, which was used as a cinema for many years. The hall is called after Thomas Ashe, one of the patriots of the 1916 Rising who was born at Kinard on the Dingle Peninsula in 1885. The building was re-modelled internally in the 1980s and now houses Kerry County Museum and Tourist Information Office.

Denny Street Corner

John Lumsden, an honest Scots draper, opened a shop at the corner of Denny Street and Lower Castle Street on 29th April 1838. He spent the rest of his life in Tralee, serving for over forty years on the Town Commission and subscribing generously to every good and charitable cause. He moved in later years to a house beside the sea in Spa, where he took an interest in the provision of a lifeboat for Tralee Bay.

He was a member of the committe that organized the launching of the vessel on 26th June 1879. This was donated by Surgeon Richard George Butcher of Dublin in memory of his late father, Admiral Samuel Butcher of Killarney and his brother Samuel Butcher, Bishop of Meath. John Lumsden died in the Spa in 1887, leaving his business to his son James, who sold it eight years later to Musgrave Brothers, Grocers of Cork. Vacated by Musgraves (who relocated across the street) in 1899, the shop was demolished and replaced by a branch of Munster and Leinster Bank. The building is now part of the A.I.B. network and has been reconstructed in recent years.