At Kirby’s Brogue Inn and Ale House, owned and operated by the Kirby Family since 1977, we are dedicated to excellence. THE TOWN OF TRALEE grew Up around a castle. which1 was built in 1243 by John Fitzthomas Fitzgerald. Situated in the town park, its entrance stood on the site that is now the Bank of Ireland and the appropriately named Castle Street. The Castle was surrounded by a moat and had five satellite castles, which were all occupied by family members and friends of the Geraldines. as they are known today. All traces of the main Castle have now sadly disappeared. but the ruins of two satellite castles can still be seen at Ballybeggan and Ballymullen.In 1355 the Geraldines were made Earls of Desmond by King Edward of England. They built an Abbey for Dominican Priests beside the main Castle in present day Abbey Street. The Castle became the main seat of the Earls of Desmond during their rule of Munster. But disaster struck during the Elizabethan Wars when the castles and Abbey were burnt to the ground along with most of the town. During the Cromwellian Wars, the Dennys and the Blennerhassets replaced the Earls of Desmond.Much of the present day town of Tralee dates from the late 18th Century and early 19th Century. The Blennerhasset Family contributed enormously to its development. At Blennerville. which was named after the well-known family, they built the Windmill and, during the existence of the Corn Laws, developed the port which went a long way to promoting the growth of corn during Ireland’s famous Famine in the mid 1800s. The Blennerhassets also provided a lot of much needed employment in the area in the building of a road from Blennerville to Tralee and the dredging of the canal to enable ships to sail into Tralee, making it the centre of commerce in Kerry.