The Ballybunion thread

Cushtie · 03-01-2023 07:08PM

I always liked it in winter for strange reason, although the craic was mighty in the summer alright

tome gnome · 20-03-2023 09:53PM

Warning for cliff walkers after man falls 40 feet in Ballybunion

A man in his 40s was airlifted to hospital on Saturday afternoon after falling 40 feet from the cliffs in Ballybunion.

Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue, Listowel gardaí and the Ballybunion Unit of the Irish Coast Guard were involved in the rescue of the man.

Members of Ballybunion Rescue, including a paramedic, nurse, and EMT, arrived on the scene within two minutes of their pagers being activated.

The man was stabilised before the Rescue 115 helicopter brought him to University Hospital Limerick.

Ballybunion Rescue PRO Omar Fitzell says people should keep onto the main cliff paths and not to attempt to climb the cliffs for any reason.

https://www.radiokerry.ie/news/warning-for-cliff-walkers-after-man-falls-40-feet-in-ballybunion-322828

Sounds like he was trying to get down to Nun's Strand.

20-03-2023 11:11PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120381387#Comment_120381387

Is there a safe way down there?

ejmaztec · 23-03-2023 01:05PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120381636#Comment_120381636

I think there's only a rough steep path leading down to the beach, with no hint of concrete, tarmac, or railings. There's none of that health & safety there. 😳

I heard that the fella who fell was having trouble with his dog, and ended up tripping over said dog before falling down towards the strand.

whisky_galore · 02-05-2023 02:35PM

There's nothing there bar something like a sheep track and a rope for the last leg to lower yourself down or hoist yourself up. Not for the unfit or faint of heart or messing around with a dog.

From the tone of the article it doesn't sound like Nun's beach. It's steep but hardly a cliff and it's a well worn track.

lukin · 03-09-2023 07:06PM

I was back in Bally today and notice the big car park at the end of the town was locked up and completely empty. Is there a reason for this? Surprising at the height of the tourist season.

tome gnome · 23-09-2023 04:22AM

Just a quick flight around the Nun's Strand.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ToZ8mTWcUfs

23-09-2023 01:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121145668#Comment_121145668

Nice shots. Is the pathway still closed off

tome gnome · 02-10-2023 03:02AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121146736#Comment_121146736

I wish I was there to find out.

RiderOnTheStorm · 10-11-2023 08:42AM

Hi all,

sorry for long absence. life gets in the way sometimes.

I have moved abroad (to UK) so I wont be able to give real-time updates to BallyB , but I still know people there and can contact them if needed. I also still remember stuff, so I might be able to answer general questions .....

AND i still like to hear stuff about my most favourite place in the world, so please keep posting !

nice photos Gra! X

The_Kitty · 10-03-2024 01:33PM

Anywhere do bubble tea in ballybunion?

Muttley79 · 11-03-2024 06:32PM

I'm looking to get down to Ballybunion this summer.just wondering if mcmunns bar is still open.i built the bar many years ago and would like to revisit

dominatinMC · 11-03-2024 11:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121880428#Comment_121880428

Yep, still open.

lazyman · 01-04-2024 10:21AM

Hi all

Thinking about heading to ballyb this week. Does the water fully cover the beach when the tide is in? Want to for a beach walk with the kids

Thanks

RiderOnTheStorm · 03-04-2024 01:50PM

the tides are getting higher & higher this week, until they peak on 9th or 10th next week. when the tide is in this far, making your way along the Gents Beach / Long Strand can be impossible.

High tide this weekend is Sat 4.30pm and Sun 5pm (approx), and at its highest 6.30 pm on Tues & 7pm on Wed . Im guessing you dont care about the middle of the night tides :-)

But … good news …. the tide is only at its max for a short time, and if the beach is impassable when you intend to go, then wait 30-60 mins and you are good to go! Of course, if there is a lot of wind, then that keeps the tide higher for longer.

If going out the Long Strand when the tide is coming in, be carefull. By the time you turn to come back it could be all the way in. If this happens, then take a short cut through the golf course. Just watch the balls!!

advisemerite · 07-05-2024 09:14AM

Hi, visiting Ballybunion since the 80s as a child up to as recently as last month as an adult. Thinking recently about old pubs there. Mikey Joe's which is still going does anybody know what became of the old fella that had it in the 90s, sure his name was Mikey Joe but could be wrong. Also Stevies, which was ran by Stephen Brosnan, I think he's still with us or was up till very recently.

The Fairway Bar, which was ran by John Carmody who was a builder. It's now gone too was last operated as the olde attic. A great pub in the 90s too which had a band called the spinning wheels playing there led by Brian Carr who is still around Tralee. There was cormac on keyboard and other members.

Carrolls pub gone too was ran by a big fella with a grey hair. Jumbos fast food now gone but still operating as Perrozzi with great staff.

An old man and woman who were brother and sister named Billy and Ceila who lived next to the old bakery and grew crops and kept a small pony. They were old so I assume passed, I'd love to know when. There house is occupied still today.

A man that was always around wearing Wellingtons and monkey hat named Thomas, I always wonder what became of him?.

Does anybody here remember these places and people?

ejmaztec · 01-11-2024 02:39PM

I wonder who's responsible for these two incidents? They're morons whoever they are.

KCC could have installed CCTV cameras but they would have probably been destroyed as well.

€2,000 rubbish bin destroyed by fire in Ballybunion | RadioKerry.ie

Blackrocks · 12-03-2025 11:08AM

that photo with two guys looking is ‘the souvenir shop’ owned by Tom Fitzgerald, opened in 1960, he was my Dad.

tome gnome · 08-06-2025 05:00PM

Somebody coming up from the Nun' Strand:

https://youtu.be/M5MeZsGRcDY?si=bzh0s_8C72qTRPzL&t=52

DayInTheBog · 08-06-2025 05:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123526325#Comment_123526325

I got dizzy watching that😱

lukin · 09-06-2025 09:21AM

Does anyone remember that B&B "Rock View" at the end of the town by the car park (opposite the beach). I used to stay there with my parents when I was a smallie. It was a woman that ran it. Closed down with a good few years now. I wonder where she is now.

Beachcomber1097 · 28-10-2025 12:59PM

Hi,

I came across this thread and site while looking for some information on BallyB. I have been coming here for a long time now, over 30 years and to be honest, its sad to see how its gotten.

When I was younger my family had a mobile first in the park behind the fire station, McHenreys i think its called. We then upgraded to a house for a while up closer to the Shop, Bunyans. Sold it around 18 years ago when my parents split up.

I have always had very fond memories of going there, I have brought my own young kids down over the years as we have a good house we rent for a couple of weeks a year, and i try to get down a few times in the off-season.

One of the many things I notice is the number of places closed over the summer and winter, its shocking I am honest. A good few of the pubs seem closed full-time, even in summer. A lot of the shops that were there have closed and main street looks like a ghost town. I actually have been looking to buy a house for a short while here but the prices of houses are nuts, im from Limerick and the prices are on par with houses there. I know its the downside of a seaside town as people with more money than I will buy but it leaves the town in the off-season ( and a lot of the high season) feeling desolate. A lot of the houses I was out-bid on in the last two years are now also up as airbnb sites, which is good for tourism to bring people in.

As for food and prices of food, again I understand the cost of business has gone up but the prices in some of the places is shocking for what you get, when you can get in. I was in McMunns over the weekend, food was great but hard to get a table and then some ignorant staff were working there. I know getting the staff is hard too, but overall it was disappointing.

I know a lot of seaside towns have the same issues, but its a pity to see BallyB go so down hill when its such a fantasic place. I went sea swimming all weekend there and met some of the locals who do the same.

RiderOnTheStorm · 28-10-2025 03:13PM

welcome Beachcomber …. you could be talking about the BB thread too ! lol ….. it shur has been quiet here for last few years. Cant blame you for wanting to live in BB but totally understand about prices etc. The exact same house in Listowel would be 50-100k cheaper! … slight exaggeration, maybe …. then again, it wouldnt be the exact same if it wasnt in BB.

I left BallyB almost 3 years ago after moving there 15 years before that and i still tell myself that it was the best town i lived in (but not without its flaws). We loved the summers when we moved there first. Lots of life & craic. All the locals told us that they loved the winter "when we get our town back" and after quite a few years I begun to see what they meant. We loved the winters. Town was quite, everyone you met was a local and had time to chat, beaches were a godsend for walks / swims / dog etc.

I hear there is plans to put up beach huts / shops / facilities on the gents beach near the lifeguard station?

Beachcomber1097 · 30-10-2025 09:16AM

Hi,

Yes a quite thread here too and I just joined.

Yes, I love going in the winter but have found over the last few years there is too much closed down to really make it viable, dont get me wront the exchange is still one of my favourite pubs to go to !

What really concerned me was having spent a month down now over this year, summer and 2 off season trips is the amount of houses which are new looking that always seem empty. Like its shocking, I know this is the same for a lot of coastel towns where holiday homes are bought, but it really does take away from the local feel when you see 90% of houses in darkness all the time, even in summer.

Its just a shame really that the town seems to be on a decline, I know a lof of faith was put into the Golf Hotel being re-opened and then when it was it was used as international protection, but there are a lot of other guest houses which dont seem to open at all, the pubs then a good few closed.

My Ideal would have been one of the houses on the beach, I had contacted a few estate agents down that way to keep me informed if one because available but never heard back, a few since sold. I am in the lucky posiiton to be able to move down for 6 months plus of the year and would love to.

The Ballybunion thread

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