The Ballybunion thread

A90Six

A piece by Dan Keane extracted from The Ballydonoghue Parish Magazine, added to, restructured and lovingly retyped for your perusal.

Place names of Ballybunion.!

A90Six

SandhillRoad wrote:

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=FD27340360

Do you have your sound on?

Enjoy!

See you on the Strand sometime.

Thanks for the card! Is it Thanksgiving? We don't give thanks here, we just take it all for granted!

SandhillRoad

Interesting notation handwriten in book re Valentia.



A90SIX:having problem opening your attachment.

Thanksgiving here Nov 24th.

Spending it with a Kilfernora, Fenit ( Redbridge Farm) family. Lotsa turkey etc;:D

SandhillRoad

.
FYI

SandhillRoad

Sandhillroad quote:

A90SIX:having problem opening your attachment.

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OK A90SIX, Got it. Thanks.
SandhillRoad

snow scorpion

Kerry. TRALEE in 1756

alfa will be interested in that --- if he ever wanders back this way again. :v:

SandhillRoad

I hope he returns to see the forum and say hello.
Hope he is OK.

SandhillRoad

Hope you have your sound on. If not, it is still OK.




The BALLYBUNION Forum is the place for :
Golf, Sea Air and many Memories.
Come back again!

A90Six

SR: Thanks for all the excerpts. My uncle was right about the pyrites, I was right about the rust, and the old story of the rocks spontaneous combustion was true!

When Smith speaks of the square pyramid rock with the eagle's nest atop, he says it is just north of Lick and is known locally as the Devil's Castle, is he in fact speaking of the Virgin Rock just north of the gaol with what is locally known as the Devil's Chair behind it? [edit]The Convent was built in the late 19th century. This would mean that The Nun's Strand would have had another title (if any at all) before this. I doubt the nuns would have enjoyed having the Devil's Castle as their nearest neighbour, and therefore, a quick rename to The Virgin Rock would have gone down a treat with all and sundry. This is not fact, just my musing.[/edit]

What is known locally as the Gaol (Jail) is another ruin on the cliffs overlooking the Nuns' Strand. Most of what remains comprises of one small room about 6ft X 8ft with stone shelves, nooks and crannies. It was said to me as a child that this was where those of Bunion Castle would keep their prisoners. I can't see it myself. Why would you have your cells a thirty minute walk away along the cliffs?

I think this would have been another lookout point along the cliffs adding to all the other "castles" and "forts". It would seem that none are out of site of a bonfire of each other and would have been a defense of the coast line. I can't imagine there would have been different ruling lords in Ballybunion Castle, the gaol, Lick Castle, Doon Castle, and Pookeenee, but who knows!

PS My spell checker suggested I change Ballybunion to Bellybutton, but that would make this the umbilical cord, or bellybutton thread!

snow scorpion

I love the first card, sandhill.

I haven't opened the second one yet. I'm listening to Radio Kerry right now. (I love the Kerry brogue on the commercials: "Shanta will be here before ye know it." And "...for all yeer shkeeing needs." I don't know about you, but when I think about skiing, the first place that comes to my mind is not county Kerry.

Alfasudcrazy

WOW - I am impressed at the growth of this thread since my last visit.
Snow Scorpion you should be given the freedom of the city (well town) next time you visit Ballybunion.:D
Jeepers - don't know where the time went really since I was here last but as usual I have been engrossed in my cars and could only think cars anytime I logged on - sorry about that:o
Its nice to know so many people all over the world are getting satisfaction from this thread and bringing back memories of times past to them. Anyway bear with me for a while as I am reading my way through all the posts and will hopefully share some more of my memories/ experiences / pics of Ballybunion fairly soon.:D

snow scorpion

The prodigal son returns!

Welcome back!

snow scorpion

SandhillRoad wrote:

Hope you have your sound on. If not, it is still OK.




The BALLYBUNION Forum is the place for :
Golf, Sea Air and many Memories.
Come back again!

Sandhill, that's too freaking cool!

snow scorpion

Aero wrote:

A view of Boyle's car park from the roof of the Castle Hotel...(I managed to get up there when the Head Porter thought I was working in the kitchen!) By the way....notice the "Frank's Snaps" photo booth just inside the gate of the car park on the left. Also, the small car park control hut along the right hand wall of the car park. Spent many a happy hour there chatting with my cousin who was the car park attendant. (We were really just watching the girls go by...!)

I need some help getting my bearings looking at this pic. I remember Frank Snaps being where Main Street becomes Sandhill Road.


Now we have alfa back in the fold, Aero has gone wandering off. I have to go see the time difference between Hong Kong and NY.

A90Six

snow scorpion wrote:

I need some help getting my bearings looking at this pic. I remember Frank Snaps being where Main Street becomes Sandhill Road.


Now we have alfa back in the fold, Aero has gone wandering off. I have to go see the time difference between Hong Kong and NY.

SandhillRoad

SNOWSCORPION:
Glad to see ALFASUDSY is back .
Hope these photos will help you get your bearings.
I also did an eCard for the Listowel forum. All are great with the sound on

WHILE I WAS PUTTING AROUND IN PHOTO SHOP A90SIX got here first.

Aero

A90Six wrote:

Spot on A90Six and Sandhillroad. Thanks for the Photoshop bearings! All correct.

snow scorpion

Aero's back!

Good!

Keeping track of you people is like trying to herd cats.:D


Regarding the pic: now I get it!

I have no memory of the Castle Hotel - is it still there?

I do remember a gray wall and stairs - leading up to a public bathroom? - more or less where the phone pole behind the word "strand" is.

Here's an observation: that's a weird layout for a parking lot on the roof of the hotel. You drive through the gravel to park on the pavement? :rolleyes: Maybe paving the entire roof would be too heavy.

Alfasudcrazy

I arrived to Ballybunion on a lovely sunny day back in June 1992. I was previously in Abbeyfeale for a few years. I had no difficulty in finding the Garda station you will be glad to know but I did have some difficulty getting in as there was nobody there and the door was locked. :rolleyes:

I was standing outside the door with my red Mini car parked beside the station with a look of bewilderment on my face. It was kinda like in Star Trek where Spock & Captain Kirk etc beam down to a strange planet and have to take a while to find their bearings.:v:

I enquired from some passer by did she know where the gardai were – there were no mobile phones back then. It turned out that there was a EU referendum taking place that day and all the gardai were at the polling stations.
Eventually I gained admittance and got introduced to a flood of people who were all very nice and welcoming.
That evening the other Garda I would be working with decided to take me on a tour of our sub-district. It was a nice summer’s evening so I was looking forward to it. We went to the Golf club and all around and I thought to myself nice – I could get to like it here.:cool:
Then we drove to Ballyeigh beach and to my surprise he drove the Garda car onto the beach. I said something to the effect of is it safe to do that and he said no problem its as hard as iron here. :eek:

He drove up and down a bit as the tide was very far out and then he suddenly turned the car steering sharply and put a good bit of power on – the car suddenly came to a stop. I did not worry – after all he did say it was as hard as iron out here. It soon dawned on me however that the car had sunk in the sand and no matter what was tried it only buried itself deeper.

My colleague was understandably a little embarrassed at this turn of events and had to go off in search of a tractor to pull us out – leaving me there to mind the car.
As I sat there I admired the sea and the quietness of the place – all that I could hear was the distant noise of the small waves breaking the shore.

However I then looked back and suddenly thought – hey this car is pretty far out on the beach and I could visibly see the tide getting closer – and it was also getting dark. Hope he has not legged it back to the station I thought.:mad:
Anyway after about an hour and a half a tractor came and pulled us out – the car just happened to get stuck in the middle of the cow milking process. So an eventful first day in BB – I am wary of first day’s anywhere ever since.:D

SandhillRoad

AERO has been awol.



___________________________
SNOWSCORPION quoted:

Here's an observation: that's a weird layout for a parking lot on the roof of the hotel. You drive through the gravel to park on the pavement? Maybe paving the entire roof would be too heavy.

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Listen up ( as they say in NY) ,you are looking at an optical illusion.
It really is a flat roof of a building and the cars are parked in the parking lot below.
The hotel was torn down some years ago, not sure when. The wall was pretty high and as a youth you may have not seen over it.
Hang in there it will all come back to you.

snow scorpion

My colleague was understandably a little embarrassed at this turn of events and had to go off in search of a tractor to pull us out – leaving me there to mind the car.

I just watched Intermission over the weekend. Colm Meaney plays a cop in it. He jumps out of the car to chase down a drug dealer, and when he gets back with his bad guy ...





... Colin Farrel had stolen the police car!


Alfa, did any of the townsfolk see you guarding the stranded car? (Get it? "stranded" on the strand? Hahaha, I kill me.)

snow scorpion

Listen up ( as they say in NY) ,you are looking at an optical illusion.
It really is a flat roof of a building and the cars are parked in the parking lot below.

Oh, yeah. I see it now. Thanks, Sandhill.

I remember walking past the wall the cars are pointed at. If the hotel came down only a few years ago, Hmmm. What the hell made me think there was a public bathroom up there?

SandhillRoad

This is the bathroom on the right a few steps down from the hotel as you take the fork for the beach, instead of the fork for Sandhill Road

snow scorpion

I hope everybody's hungry:

http://www.foodireland.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Affil=overatureirishfood

Alfasudcrazy

So Snow scorpion. Sandhillroad, Aero and A90 - are any of ye planning a return trip to BB anytime soon. Seems like ye all really miss it and have not been back for yonks.

Alfasudcrazy

Hey Snow scorpion (what does that user name signify anyway - or is it something that just came in to your head when registering?) where are you getting all those wonderful gif images from - they are really amusing and I would like to be able to use a few of them myself now and again.:cool:

Aero

snow scorpion wrote:

Aero's back!

Good!

Keeping track of you people is like trying to herd cats.:D


Regarding the pic: now I get it!

I have no memory of the Castle Hotel - is it still there?

I do remember a gray wall and stairs - leading up to a public bathroom? - more or less where the phone pole behind the word "strand" is.

Here's an observation: that's a weird layout for a parking lot on the roof of the hotel. You drive through the gravel to park on the pavement? :rolleyes: Maybe paving the entire roof would be too heavy.

Hi all...the picture above shows two views of the Castle Hotel. The roof of the "new" section on the right side of the photo is the location from which I took the photo of Boyle's car park. The hotel was demolished some time ago. My sister sent me a picture of the work in progress. I will try and find it and post here.

Aero

Sad but true...The Castle Hotel comes down...:(

Aero

Now that the Castle Hotel is down, you can see the sea from uptown...

Aero

The "good old days"!