Bunking down in Ballybunion

---

Ballybunion was once a very popular seaside resort with Irish families until the late 1960's. Thousands were attracted to its sandy beaches, its busy main street filled with pubs for the adults and fun parlours for the kids. However when cheap package holidays to Mediterranean resorts became trendy, the Irish holiday became less attractive. Better weather, more interesting food and a sophisticated society/culture was a huge pull for Northern Europeans.

Ballybunion has one of the most famous links golf courses in the world and now relies heavily on the arrival of foreign golfers to keep the town going economically.

They also rely depend on the weather to attract the crowds as there is nothing more depressing than a grey, damp seaside town. Unless the sun shines on Ballybunion the town struggles from one summer to the next.

I arrived on Wednesday on a cool but clear evening at Tralee’s quirky little airport thanks to your friend and mine, Ryanair. I managed to transfer nine kilograms of luggage from my suitcase into my backpack and therefore avoiding any excess baggage cost. I think their rules are totally ridiculous. I was carrying exactly the same weight of luggage yet because I squeezed a lot of it into my bursting at the seams backpack there was no extra penalty? I’m not though going to turn this blog into another critique of Ryanair!

After settling down at my cousin Mary’s place (and having enjoyed some local food beforehand) It was straight to bed for a great nights sleep.

The next morning I awoke to see the sun shining - Ballybunion’s first consecutive days of sunshine since June! I decided to go for a walk down the strand to take a few photos, pop into my cousin Paudie’s shop for a bit of a chat and then into the main street for a cappuccino.

Well I managed to complete the first couple of tasks but to find a cappuccino in Ballybunion at this time of the year proved to be a greater challenge than expected.

I popped into Hanrahan’s (a well established and popular café/restaurant) and was pleased to see the silver espresso machine on the counter.

“One cappuccino” I asked to get a reply “sorry the machine is broken!” so I settled for tea and as soon as I took my first sip a new machine arrived at the café but in what can only be described as a typical Irish conversation, the machine delivery guy said he couldn’t take the old machine away (or detach it ) because he only delivers, he doesn’t pick up. ‘Jim is your man, I work with him, he picks up the machines, I only deliver”

So Hanrahan's cafe had two machines, with neither of them working until Jim from the same company picked up the other machine. There was also a third unnamed bloke who would then install the new machine. Definitely an opportunity for some re-modellling of business process I would suggest!

Anyway the day was spent catching up with my cousins and friends of my mum (for those who don’t know, she grew up in Ballybunion) and enjoying the sunshine. I have yet to have a pint of the local stuff but will do so soon.

Late in the evening I went for a walk and captured a few photos of the glorious sunset. Tomorrow (Friday ) we are going to Dingle - not really sure what to expect but I understand it’s a lovely spot particularly when the sun is shining!

Author's Note:

Shortis Bar

---

One of fourteen pubs in Ballybunion, Shortis Bar is one of the most popular with the locals.

Again the spell checker is not working so you'll have to put up with any errors!
Correction: Thanks to Paul Jack who corrected me on the details of the decline of the Irish seaside holiday which happened much earlier than the introduction of discount airlines.

---