‘Fountain’ behind Rose of Tralee lyrics springs true

THE “pure crystal fountain” that inspired the lyrics of the famous song The Rose of Tralee is more than a figment of romantic imagination.

It actually existed, according to Maurice O’Keeffe, a well-known local historian in Tralee who has been researching the subject for several years.

Today, the site is just a nondescript and overgrown patch of soggy ground, cordoned off for safety reasons. But water still comes from the spring at Skehanagh crossroads on the Tralee to Castlemaine road.