The town of Tralee grew up around the major Geraldine Castle of John Fitz Thomas Fitzgerald from the 13th century onwards. During this century the Earls of Desmond used the town as a base from which to build up the greatest Anglo Norman lordship in Munster. In 1587 the newly created 600 acre “seignory of Tralee” was granted by Queen Elizabeth to a well connected English adventurer, Edward Denny with whose family the fortunes of the town were to be closely linked for the ensuing 300 years.  He built a house for himself and brought over a number of English settlers among them the Blennerhassett, Chute and Morris families. As a businessman eager to make his seignory a profitable venture Denny quickly came to terms with the old inhabitants enrolling the landoccupiers as tenants and employing the craftsman and labourers on his farming and building concerns. From the time the town obtained its borough status in 1613, it returned two members of Parliament in the Denny interest until 1800.
 
There was a limited form of local government, until it became an urban district in 1878. In the early 19th century the road network began to be built, linking the major towns in Munster, which enabled the great Italian carrier Bianconi, to open up passenger routes to Tralee and other towns in Kerry. The pace of development quickened with the arrival of the railway network in 1859.

Tralee today is a very busy and prosperous town, with a population in excess of 32,000.  It has a rich farming hinterland, which, combined with modern industrial development has helped to retain the character of a bustling market town in a modern and progressive urban setting. Tralee people are noted for their outgoing nature, warmth and hospitality.

Tralee is also the administrative centre of Kerry, and the South West Regional capital, in terms of employment, education, health care, retailing, social services, transport, recreation and many other fields. Tralee is also the South West Regional headquarters for An Post, Eircom, the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Social Community and Family affairs, the County Council, Teagasc and the ESB.