Historian closes in on Rose fountain

IT’S famed in song and story, but how many people know the exact site of the pure crystal fountain referred to in The Rose of Tralee?

Tralee man Maurice O’Keeffe, who takes an avid interest in historical matters, is absolutely certain about its location, which he has pinpointed close to Skehanagh crossroads, on the western fringes of the town.

“The owners of the land have always maintained that this is the spot. The spring is still there and, if you lift the sod around it, you’ll come on the limestone blocks that surround the spring,” he said yesterday.