Tralee (IE)

From Stamps of the World
1872 usage of a 3d Rose Plate 7 cancelled in TRALEE
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Tralee; Irish: Trá Lí; formerly Tráigh Lí (meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland.

The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County Kerry.Situated at the confluence of some small rivers and adjacent to marshy ground at the head of Tralee Bay, Tralee is located at the base of an ancient roadway that heads south over the Slieve Mish Mountains. On this old track is located a large boulder sometimes called Scotia's Grave, reputedly the burial place of an Egyptian Pharaoh's daughter.

Anglo-Normans founded the town in the 13th century, which became a stronghold of the Earls of Desmond, who built a castle. John Fitz-Thomas FitzGerald founded the monastery of the Dominican order and was buried there in 1260. The medieval town was burnt in 1580 in retribution for the Desmond Rebellions against Elizabeth I.

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 plus the rebellions of 1803, 1848 and 1867 – a statue of a Pikeman – stands in Denny Street.

First unveiled in 1905, the original Pikeman stood until the Irish War of Independence. In 1921 the Black and Tans 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.

Tralee saw much violence during the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War in 1919–1923.

What links to here?

Tralee was issued with the 433 diamond numeral by the GPO in 1844.

Ireland 1923 - Present


Great Britain 1840-1922

TRALEE 433 diamond numeral on GB 1d Reds Die II from Plate 4 TH-TL c.1855-6