Tralee

<p>By Georgina Downes</p>
<h2><strong>Georgian Tralee - It’s a Thing</strong></h2>
<p>If you suspect you were born 200 years too late, (who doesn’t love a bit of Pride and Prejudice, all riding-britches and heaving bosoms?) and your true spiritual home is the elegant splendour of a Georgian town-house, then grab your bonnet, adjust your cravat and head over to Day Place for a glimpse of how things might have been had your parents been Regency darlings.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Around the time Miss Elizabeth Bennet was swooning at the sight of Mr Darcy, this beautiful Georgian terrace was under construction. In fact, if Mr Darcy had taken his new bride to Tralee on honeymoon, Day Place is exactly where they would have gone because Day Place was technically Ireland’s first holiday-home development.&nbsp;</p>
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<h6 style="text-align:center;">Day Place</h6>
<p>The terrace was named after Sir Robert Day who commissioned the houses in 1790. Tralee was a popular spa resort back then and Sir Robert envisioned wealthy tourists decamping here for the season to enjoy the clean air and fresh water.  And on they came, en masse, in horse-drawn carriages packed full of children, servants, luggage trunks, linen baskets, pets, and provisions.</p>
<h2>Unusual Occupations&nbsp;</h2>
<p>A peek at the 1901 Census for Tralee (a fascinating rabbit hole if you have the time) shows that just over 100 years after construction, Day Place was no longer rented by tourists, but occupied predominately by doctors, solicitors, and accountants who used the houses as family homes. Not everyone had a steady job though; two ‘unemployed gold miners’ were listed in number 5, sons of the head of the household, Mr Coyle, an upstanding Secretary to the Infirmary at the time– plenty of indignant silence when the brothers announced that particular career choice, no doubt.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Day Place has undergone recent exterior renovations, bringing the once deteriorated iron railings and limestone plinths back to their sparkling former glory.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote style="text-align:center;"><strong><em>"Check out the mesmerizing, stained glass Rose Window at the front; the Dominicans are especially devoted to the Mysteries of the Rosary."  </em></strong></blockquote>
<p>When you’re finished admiring the Georgian architecture in Day Place, nip into the magnificent <strong>Dominican Church</strong>, designed by renowned British architects Ashlin and Pugin. The church is Neo Gothic, not Georgian, but absolutely worth a mention here. Check out the mesmerizing, stained glass Rose Window at the front; the Dominicans are especially devoted to the Mysteries of the Rosary. Building began in 1866 with money raised from a painstaking, penny-a-week collection in the diocese of Tralee. Four years later, the church stood complete, a solid testament to perseverance. Well, not quite complete. The planned spire was never erected as funds fell short, but they did manage to raise the grand sum of £6000 in the end.&nbsp;</p>
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<h6 style="text-align:center;">Inside the beautifu Dominican Church</h6>
<p>Many of the original fixtures and fittings remain intact and at the back, you’ll find the relics of Saint John Paul II (former Pope: “People of Ireland, I love you”) and in particular, Saint Maria Faustina, a young Polish woman, known for her visions of Jesus, who dedicated her entire life to the concept of ‘divine mercy’. Soak up some of the compassionate energy and leave feeling a little bit more zen.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Now on to Denny Street. It’s possible that Denny Street is the most westerly ‘planned street’ in Europe. Built in the 1800s by Sir Edward Denny, (descendant of Lord Denny who was given the township of Tralee by Queen Elizabeth I after the defeat of the Earls of Desmond), Denny Street was built as a commercial and residential development. Denny’s father-in-law was Sir Robert Day, of Day Place; initiating grand building projects clearly ran in the family. The first house built was No 2, where the Zipyard is now, completed in 1815.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Keep Looking Up To Spot Original Georgian Features</h2>
<p>The trick in Denny Street is to remember to look up. That’s where you’ll spot beautiful original features like timber sash windows, some with decorative render mouldings, cast iron rain goods (drainpipes), limestone cornices and tidy rows of red-brick chimneys topped off neatly with fine clay pots. Some buildings are  enclosed by hand-crafted wrought iron railings and have smooth, time-worn limestone steps leading to basements underneath. Each property had its own coach house to the rear, accessed through arches on either side of the street: one beside the Kerryman Newspaper; the other forming part of the Imperial Hotel. The gardens were huge, definitely room for a pony. Sadly, no toilets or hot showers, but hey, with a chambermaid to empty pots and fill tubs, it probably wasn’t a major hardship.&nbsp;</p>
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<h6 style="text-align:center;">Denny Street</h6>
<p>All in all, the street has kept its charm and historical importance because of the generous, spacious and robust buildings, with their gorgeous doorways, vaulted ceilings and elegant facades, and, of course, because of the enduring quality of the skill and craftsmanship that went into creating them.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Some interesting facts from the 1901 Census:&nbsp;</h2>
<p>•	Quite a few of the Denny Street wives were (much) older than their husbands.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>•	Miss Ethel Parson, who lived in No 16, was listed as a Bank Manager, at the tender age of 28.</p>
<p>•	There was a mish-mash of occupants in No. 23 including a Cycle Clerk (nothing to do with bikes), a German Professor of Music and a Timber, Meal and Floor Clerk.</p>
<p>•	All the Boarding Houses had women listed as the ‘Head of the Household’.</p>
<p>&nbsp;Now you’ve checked out the glorious Georgian architecture, you might feel like a more immersive experience, so book a night in the Tralee Georgian Townhouse to really get your Jane Austin vibe on. Mr Darcy, I am undone!&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Want more? Go to kerryheritage.ie for easy-to-read architectural drawings of Denny Street, the perfect pictorial guide as you wander down this beautiful street. And remember; keep looking up.&nbsp;</p>


Georgian Tralee - It's a Thing

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