The Ballybunion thread

RiderOnTheStorm

gone quiet in here lately, eh?

Not much news from me.

Sunday was a cracking day in Ballyb, weather wise. Lots of folk around and on the beach. If we got 2 weeks of this every year, folk would not have to go abroad !

topper75

Never saw the point in Ballyb. I didn't rate it alongside the other resorts on the west coast.

That all changed last Saturday (4th Sept 2010). Glorious sunshine when rain was forecast. Great for swimming. Clean invigorating water. Got parking easy enough. Cliffs protect from breeze and make a stunning backdrop. On its day, it matches California or Portugal. Shame that day only comes once in a blue moon.

Hasschu

I got a kick out of the newspaper article that blames the Weather Forecast Office for the poor business at Ballybunion this year. Reminds me of experiences I had off the coast of Portugal where a force 5 gale was under way and the marine forecast was for "gentle breezes". Thats what happens when the Tourist Bureau controls the weather forecasting. The joke was that gentle Jesus was working in the Portuguese weather office and we had to rely on the US Weather Service for reliable forecasts. I hope nobody gets the wrong ideas here and gets on the phone to their TD to rectify the weather forecasts.

TargetWidow

Great summer weather in Ballyb this year.(except for the few stormy days lately), my first year in ages getting a good tan!

Bloody weaver fish tho! So there IS a downside to global warming! We all wear our crocs in swimming at low tide because of them. I first heard of them when the hubby got stung badly by one a few years ago when he stood on one, and a little bit of the spine came off and stayed in his foot. Poor man his foot came up like a pot and he couldn't walk on it or anything. I thought he had only been stung by a jellyfish and was (shamefacedly now) telling him to cop on and offering to pee on it if it was that bad! One of the lifeguards told him what it was and had to explain them to us. Having grown up there I thought I knew it all. But as happens all the time in Ballyb, the fine weather brings all sorts of new residents to the town. Hopefully these ones are only temporary!

snow scorpion

Good Lord! This thread has become quieter than a ghost town. (Not a good thing for a village that depends on tourism! ) Maybe everyone is out with Target Widow enjoying the good weather.

Anyway, I found a great Ballybunion video at YouTube. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to surf at Ballyb, you're about to find out.

Thanks to marko34ify for posting it (and hopefully not objecting to me posting it here.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjVZ6oMe29A

Surfsmurf

Great movie, hi to mark brendan and co; nice work.:cool::cool::cool:

ballybunionlad

Well the Listowel races are over for another year..... It could be a long winter.

On another note I see that they are once again refurbishing the community centre. The stage has been removed from the main hall and they're putting down a new floor.....The the poor old bingo ladies have been relocated upstairs for the time being.

The reason I'm told for the renovations is to bring the basketball court up to official standards.

stephen112

Anyone have a contact number for the Tintean theatre or know how I could get in touch with them?
There's a number on the website (068 28003) but it's never working

Cheers

snow scorpion

You've got to be kidding!

It looks like Google Maps Street View has been up and down almost every road in Ireland.

I've been spending most of the day "wandering" around Ballybunion, Listowel, Tralee, Shannon Airport, Dublin and Longford!



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

snow scorpion

150,000 views!



We average about 130 per day, so we should hit 200,000 somewhere around



22 October 2011.

RiderOnTheStorm

snow scorpion wrote: »

It looks like Google Maps Street View has been up and down almost every road in Ireland.

Yup .... sure looks good. I saw my house, my parents house, my old house in Dublin, etc.

Great to 'wander' around these places.

Must be fab for the expats to stroll around the old places .... and see what they look like now. Actually, I reckon the street view of Ballyb is less than a year old, so thats fairly recent. Nice clear day too!

Ballyb Rescue

RiderOnTheStorm

nearly forget how to post pics .... here goes !



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


This is the castle, seen from the front, on a sunny/foggy morn in Oct. Taken with my new camera . Still getting used to all the buttons / options!

RiderOnTheStorm

This is same day, but 10 mins later ..... most of the fog is gone! I like the light and the moon in this one!

RiderOnTheStorm

...and 15 mins later, taken from end of main st / beginning of sandhill rd

Frank165

Great to see such an interest in the town, roll on the quarter million views. Pretty wild at the moment here, lashing rain & wind & every so often glorious sunshine. Anyway, there's a new website up, www.ballybunionthingstodo.com about some of the attractions the town has to offer & a facebook page with the same name to go along with it, there a good few links to some videos of the town on the facebook page.

snow scorpion

On April 23rd 2011 (Easter Saturday) Ballybunion will host its second half marathon and 10k road race!



http://www.runballybunion.com/

RiderOnTheStorm

snow scorpion wrote: »

On April 23rd 2011 (Easter Saturday) Ballybunion will host its second half marathon and 10k road race!

I'm in ....... might try the half marathon this time!

Note: its cheaper to register for the race (either one) before Dec 31st !

snow scorpion

A CASE against a man who was threatening members of the public in Ballybunion while standing in the middle of the road with his fists raised while roaring and screaming was adjourned until December 9 at Listowel District Court on Wednesday.

Maybe all the quiet was driving him mad.

RiderOnTheStorm

... I know what you mean. It has been quiet here.

Quick summary :
Half of ireland was covered in thick snow, but not us in the south west. It was very cold here. Regularly in the minus celcius, but it was dry for the most part, so roads were good. Then it got worse, and roads had black ice and the bit of snow & frost that was around was compacted and it all made driving & walking very difficult. But now its grand. All ice gone. But there is a forecast for rain on Thurs followed by a freeze, so that will make the roads bad again. I havnt heard of any burst pipes so far this year.

There was a good meteor shower last night & night before, and Rider & family saw some long bright ones in the sky. Visability last night was good.

The Christmas lights are up on main street, and the tree outside the garda station is dressed & lit. Bill C also had a Santy hat & coat on for the occasion. He (Bill, not Santa) still hasnt had his ball replaced.

A couple of lanes and backroads (around Sandhill road) have been re-tarmac'd, so thats really good.

Building has finally started on the new National school. It will be beside the church and has been years & years in the planning. It was to start building last year (or year before?) but a few of the builders that submitted quotes were either no longer in business or could not do it for the price quoted, or just no longer had the man power, due to the recession & the speed at which the Dept of Edu works. Anyway, another builder was found, and work is ongoing! Yeah!! As far as I know it will be a mixed national school. So, no more boys-school and girls-school !

....i will post more when i think of it .... or when something actually happens!

So, if I dont post before Dec 25th, may I wish all the Bordsies, and the Kerry ones in particular , a very merry Christmas and a safe & profitable New Year.

RiderOnTheStorm

Snow on the beach & castle

RiderOnTheStorm

work underway on the new national school (beside the the church)

RiderOnTheStorm

big Bill, in snow

snow scorpion

I love coming to boards.ie and seeing "The Ballybunion Thread" in boldface!

Nice pics, Rider. I hear it's pretty bad over there right now. -13 last night? I thought to myself, "That sounds pretty bad," and then I did the conversion: -13 Irish degrees is 9 American degrees! :eek: That's freakin' cold! You guys have my sympathies.

No snow at all in New York yet -- thank Christ. We did get a couple days of flurries last week, but no accumulations. Over here, we're not as charmed by snow as you guys are. The first snowfall of the year is a happy sight here, but after that snow is usually seen as a nuisance more than anything else.

snow scorpion

To all the posters and readers of The Ballybunion Thread...

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

RiderOnTheStorm

Happy Crimbo (late I know...sorry) and hoping all the Boardies have a great, safe, and rewarding 2011

snow scorpion wrote: »

I love coming to boards.ie and seeing "The Ballybunion Thread" in boldface!

Nice pics, Rider. I hear it's pretty bad over there right now. -13 last night? I thought to myself, "That sounds pretty bad," and then I did the conversion: -13 Irish degrees is 9 American degrees! :eek: That's freakin' cold! You guys have my sympathies.

No snow at all in New York yet -- thank Christ. We did get a couple days of flurries last week, but no accumulations. Over here, we're not as charmed by snow as you guys are. The first snowfall of the year is a happy sight here, but after that snow is usually seen as a nuisance more than anything else.

yup, it sure was cold here. Worse than last year. The south west got away from the worst of it for a long time. It was well below freezing for a week or more but we had no frost or snow as it was so dry. But then, before Christmas (maybe 2 weeks before?) we got lots of ice / snow and even a bit of rain / thaw one day and then it froze that night .... roads were very dangerous. Paths were bad too. But there were plenty of gritting trucks out and spreading grit / salt (thanks Kerry Co Co) but going was always slow. We found ourselves talking about the pros and cons of putting snowchains on our cars! Who would have thought us pale paddys would drive with snow chains!! And the snow chains for shoes and boots could not be got for love nor money (I got mine last year, and the car chains too ... )

Lots of places had frozen pipes and burst . Water was switched off overnight all over town a few times, to help repairs or refill resevoir I guess. So that wasnt too bad, we can put up with a lot if we can have a cuppa in the morn (and enough water for a shower and toilet flush!)

The Christmas Day swim for Ballyb Sea Rescue was postponed until New Year Day. The Met Office said water temp was -7 and air temp was lower. Beach was frozen and roads leading to beach was impassable. Lots of brave folk went in for a swim on the day, but the big day on 1/1/11 was very well attended. It was still very cold (I swear I saw icicles on one wave as it went over my head) but beach and roads were fine.

more posts later as I think of them .......

RiderOnTheStorm

Ballybunion Sea & Cliff Rescue has had a limited run of 2011 Calendars done, and they have all sold out. Response was great to them, so we are now taking orders for the 2012 Calendar.

The cal has pics of our crew / boats / etc and all profits from the sale go to BSCR. There are 12 pages (one per month, cool eh?!) with a pic on each one, and the new / full moon is indicated. I will scan in a month later if I can. The BSCR covers all its expenses with donations from the public and receives no government / state support.

If you want a 2012 cal, then please send a mail to BallybunionRescue@gmail.com. The format / content / price for 2012 has not been set yet, so just send a mail and we will put you on our list and get back to you.

bullmccabe2010

Just stumbled across this thread, but it's good to see so many pics and videos from the place I spent many a happy day in my childhood!

snow scorpion

bullmccabe2010 wrote: »

Just stumbled across this thread, but it's good to see so many pics and videos from the place I spent many a happy day in my childhood!

You're welcome here anytime. I hope you make this thread a regular stop in your wanderings around the internet.

BooBoomummy

Just a quick response. I go to Kerry for holidays most years but had to miss for 5 years. I went again 2010 and was surprised how much new things to do there were in BB. Including a surf school and theatre. I do agree it's changed alot from that charming little town it used to be. I had a break from visiting BB fromearly 80's to 2002 and I had difficulties getting my bearings as so much building had gone up. It's hopping in the summer and quiet in the winter. To be fair though the town had to grow to remain financially viable.

BooBoomummy

Can anyone give me any historical information about Doon church. My great grandparents were married there and it would be great to have more info about it.
Many thanks in anticipation

AnnieC58

Hi Guys, I'm new to the board and found you by Googling "Farranfore to Ballybunion".

Looks like my 19 yr old daughter may be spending some time In BB this summer but has to come over at the end of this month,
for a week, to audition.

I've tried to find a timetable for buses that run from Farranfore (the airport) to BB and am getting nowhere. Can anyone help at all? Will she have to get a bus to Tralee and then a bus to BB from there?

Been looking at the pics and have to say if she gets the gig she'll be in one of the most beautiful places I've seen in a long time. We're familiar with Killarney and up North.

Best wishes Annie C

kesey

Hi Annie, it looks like a trip to Tralee and onward to Ballybunion might be on the cards for your daughter - tell her it's the scenic route to Ballyb.

It's been a few aeons since I've taken a bus, so the info below is ex-google. I hope your daughter has a wonderful time in Ballyb.



http://www.kerryairport.com/PDFS/Kerry%20Airport.pdf

http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=238


http://194.106.151.94/jplan/bin/query.exe/en?seqnr=1&ident=nk.07988187.1297266994&OK#focus


from: Tralee (Bus Station) Date: We, 09.02.11 Time: 16:30 (Departure)
to: Ballybunion
Change query New request Return journey Continue journey
Detailed view - Where a change of service is involved, please allow sufficient time for connections to cater for traffic delays, etc.
Stop Date Arr. Dep. Route Comments
Tralee (Bus Station) 10.02.11 14:00 272 Bus Direction: Tarbert
Does not operate from 27th June to 28th August 2010.
Ballybunion 15:05
Duration: 1:05; runs Tu, Th
Show intermediate stops Print Top of page

Overview - Connections sorted by « sooner | later »
Details Stop Date Time Duration Changes Route
Tralee (Bus Station)
Ballybunion
10.02.11
dep
arr 14:00
15:05 1:05 0

Frank165

Hi All,
Just to let you know a local fella has set up a new online newspaper on the town http://www.ballybunionnews.com
Should have all the news & stories from around the area.
Danny Houlihan, a local author also brought out a book " Ballybunion, An illustrated history", its on sale locally and on Amazon.

AnnieC58

Thanks Kesey, that's great information, basically I didn't know what I was actually looking for lol.

Looks like a taxi may be in order from BallyB to the airport when she's heading home on the Sunday.... she'd never be up and ready for an 8.50 bus from Tralee and flight's not till 13.35 so long wait. There's 2 of them so they can share costs.

She's really excited about this first trip in 2 weeks, if she gets the placement she'll prob be there June thru Sept

snow scorpion

Frank165 wrote: »

Hi All,
Just to let you know a local fella has set up a new online newspaper on the town http://www.ballybunionnews.com
Should have all the news & stories from around the area.
Danny Houlihan, a local author also brought out a book " Ballybunion, An illustrated history", its on sale locally and on Amazon.

Sweet! Thanks for the tips, Frank.

RiderOnTheStorm

Issue 1 of the Ballybunion News (above) is out now. It is a digital weekly news magazine free to subscribers (ie just register your email addy and they will notify you when its avail).

Looks good. Lots of ads, but a few good articles and local interest pieces in there too.

You will love it Snow! ;-)

Spread

Alfasudcrazy wrote: »

Here is a pic of Ballybunion Main St in the late 1950's

Hey Alfasudcrazy! The building with the flag ....... that was the Central Ballroom. My parents used to take the first house with the veranda in the road opposite in the 50s and 60s. Cissy Mac' owned it, as well as the souvenir shop on the corner. Opposite side was Shortiss' pub. There was another hall called The Ballerina ...... owned by Beasley (I think), and Old Man William's ran The Casino (just bumpers, juke box and slot machines). I also attended the Irish College on two occasions but Michael Flatley doesn't have to look over his shoulder . Then Ballyb was a great spot. The last time I stayed there was 1969. On recent visits the restaurants were poor but the craic was still good

snow scorpion

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

Issue 1 of the Ballybunion News (above) is out now. It is a digital weekly news magazine free to subscribers (ie just register your email addy and they will notify you when its avail).

Looks good. Lots of ads, but a few good articles and local interest pieces in there too.

You will love it Snow! ;-)

I do love it!

The online edition of the Kerryman is virtually useless for Ballybunion news since almost every article that mentions Ballyb is "a premium content article" and you have to pay to read it.

Lots of ads but that's a good thing; it means some revenue so there will be more editions coming.

drmccoy

Hi I think I know you, you are one of the sheehys
from mains street Listowel and Im your neighbour
from main street.Any information you want I will
fill you in if I know the latest.

drmccoy

Your either Marty or Michael

ejmaztec

drmccoy wrote: »

Your either Marty or Michael

Are you the real McCoy?

snow scorpion

Do the parentheses around N69 mean "There's a connection to the N69 up this way"?

And if there were no parentheses that would mean "You are on the N69"?

RiderOnTheStorm

snow scorpion wrote: »

Do the parentheses around N69 mean "There's a connection to the N69 up this way"?

And if there were no parentheses that would mean "You are on the N69"?

Yes, to both.

How goes it Snow? long time no speak. Its been quiet here for a while. Maybe the good weather here in Ballyb will make a few more posts .... lots of sunny beaches and hot sidewalks ;-)

snow scorpion

How's Rider? Everything's fairly quiet here in the Bronx, too.

I had it in my head to come over for the half-marathon and while training for it last November, I managed to injure my knee. (Same knee, different injury that kept me out of the half-marathon last year.) It was healing slowly and impatience got the better of me and tried running on it early February and re-injured it. (I tell you, if I had a human brain I'd be truly dangerous.)

So no half-marathon for me again this year. That was bad enough, but when I got an email from the race organizers saying this year, the 10K finishers will also be getting medals...well, the moderators would ban me if I told you exactly what I was thinking and saying for the following week.

So now I'm toying with the idea of headed over there around October or so. I was looking at the air fares at Aer Lingus last night. It's a puzzle how they come up with those numbers. One flight, leaving JFK on a Thursday, cost $379. The very next day - 24 hours later - the cost of a ticket? $1588!

Every 2-3 weeks or so I check YouTube for new Ballybunion videos (as if I don't miss the place enough as it is.) Anyway, there's a new one just posted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkU--pfwCYQ

RiderOnTheStorm

hey Snow, are you on Facebook? There are a few good Ballyb fan sites there ... all the pubs, the theatre, leisure centre, sea rescue, etc

might be another place for you to get your fix of champagne air ;-)

ps that video is excellent ... i am going to post a link to it from my facebook page!

snow scorpion

Me on Facebook?! :eek:

Most of the time I have the attention span of a ferret drinking quadruple-espressos. If I had a Facebook account it would be collecting dust less than a week after I opened it!

But since Ballyb is there I'll take a look around.

In the meanwhile, here's a little bit of Ballybunion trivia: Ever wonder where exactly is the opposite side of the world from Ballybunion?

Minister B

Hi all,

I'm heading down to Ballybunion with some friends this weekend for the half-marathon & I was wondering what the interest is in this years race? All the local people out supporting & volunteering last year made it a great race.

Hopefully the weather holds up!

Price of a Pint

Hi BB folks,
The link to the camera at the ladies beach is not working anymore.
is there a alternate address?

Ballyb Rescue

Price of a Pint wrote: »

Hi BB folks,
The link to the camera at the ladies beach is not working anymore.
is there a alternate address?

Hi there,

The live video feed is from our (Ballybunion Sea & Cliff Rescue Service) web camera on the front of our rescue centre.

We have removed public access as it was never intended to be for public viewing and the log in details should never have been made public.

The plan for the web camera is for it to be linked to our website once we have money to build such a site fully. At present the camera is only for crew, helmsmen and launching authority for viewing sea conditions daily.

Kind Regards

Omar Fitzell
Public Relations Officer
BSCR
ballybunionrescue@gmail.com