HEAR ye, hear ye! Tralee has itself a town crier thanks to an initiative from Tralee Chamber Alliance.

General Manager of The Imperial Hotel, Derek Carroll, came up with the idea last year when he joined the chamber.

“We were thinking about doing something new and when I started here I promised to shout The Imperial’s name from the rooftops! Well this is the next best thing and we decided to take it on as a project for the Alliance,” said Derek.

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The Chamber commissioned the outfit, custom-made by Helena Stackpoole and he certainly looked the part on Tuesday when he made his debut.

“We were looking for an opportunity for a debut performance and with the opening of our new steakhouse here, Connie Fox’s, on Friday, I decided to announce it to the Rotary Club which meets here in the hotel regularly.”

First of all though, Derek went out into the street ringing the bell and announced the creation of a town crier to all on Denny Street. He then addressed the Rotary Club as you can see in the video below.

Derek won’t always be the one doing the ‘crying’. Another person will also don the outfit and they are looking for other volunteers who, from time to time, will go forth on to the streets during the tourist season and make proclamations.