The Ballybunion thread

RiderOnTheStorm

ok, Snow, you have created a monster! I am taking requests...... what do you want to see? I will take photos at the weekend and post on Monday. I know you want a few of Ahafona..... anything else?

snow scorpion

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

ok, that was a bit small..... lets see if there is something inbetween....

this is main street again (same day, I just turned around and walked a few yards!) looking east twoards the Garda station (and much further, Ahafona). that blue building is the Garda station, and the yellow/cream building is Scanlons shop (Church road runs left between Scanlons and Garda station)

Its a grand clear January day, eh? Not quite tumbleweed empty, but nicely quiet!

You're getting the hang of it now, Rider. (I wouldn't worry about the pictures being too big. We're not fussy about keeping the thread's margins neat around here. ) Last time I was in Ballybunion, Scanlon's was Beasley's. We used to get batch bread in there.

snow scorpion

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

ok, another one !! (I am on a roll now that Snow showed me how to post pics!)

this is view from (near) the castle looking back to the town. I am not sure what the name of the road is (I am only a new resident in BallyB.... 2 years this Easter!) but the Golf hotel would be to the left and the Golf club would be waaaaaay to the right.

My son took this shot. I think its great (but I am biased) It looks like there is only 1 pub in town, and all other places are closed. It looks so inviting, as it looks warm and active and the rest of street is dark and cold. I wonder if there is any music playing inside???

PS this pub is McMunns....

Sounds like that's Sandhill Road - a part of the town I didn't wander into very often. When Sandhill pops by here again, he can confirm it for us.

But you're right it does look inviting. Bravo to your son for noticing it.

snow scorpion

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

ok, Snow, you have created a monster! I am taking requests...... what do you want to see? I will take photos at the weekend and post on Monday. I know you want a few of Ahafona..... anything else?

Requests?!?! :eek:

Muddinagod! (as my mother used to say. I assume that's some sort of local expression - a variation of Mother of God, I've always presumed.)

Well, since you're headed towards Ahafona anyway....I often stopped in at Deenihan's for a Choc-Ice when I came into town. I wouldn't mind seeing what the outside of the shop looks like now. (Is it stll there at all?)

The grotto.

Oh! The view looking east when you're walking out of town along the Listowel Road and what's that road to the left of the Listowel Road? Sandhill had a name for it - we just called it "The Upper Road." (And we called the Listowel Road "The Lower Road.) I love pictures of Irish roads - I don't know why.

I wouldn't mind a quick peek inside the casino/arcade just east of the Golf Hotel where I lost a lot of my dad's money years ago.

I'll have to think about that a bit. What else? Hmmm. Your generous offer has caught me off-guard. Let me go for a run and think about this for a bit.

Thanks for the pics, Rider. I'll put them on the Windows Picture Viewer (or whatever it's called) and study them closely when I get back from my run.

RiderOnTheStorm

hey Snow, no problem! Anyone who loves Ballyb is ok in my opinion!

Ahafona is the junction by the grotto, yeah? Where the Tralee and Listowel roads join and lead into town? I will take pics of that area and the roads around there...... but I have no idea where Deenihans is/was. It may be still there (but under new name) or it may be gone..... where was it?

Going for a run? do you run often? how far? I am a recent convert to running (well, jogging I should call it) It took about a year before I got to like it, but now I am disapointed when I cant go out! I have my first triathlon on Sunday .... its a sprint triathlon, so it is half the distances of an Olympic one... I will let you know how I get on, on Mon or Tues.

RiderOnTheStorm

and 1 pic, just as a fix to keep all Ballyb-view-lover junkies going......

this is where the Cashen river joins the sea. The (new) golf course would be directly behind me here. there is some sort of concrete wall or path running diag across the foreground (maybe remains of old jetty or pier) and there is a rock-pool at the end of it. even when the tide is out, there is a lot of water in it ..... its big enough to swim in! Our dog loves it!!

snow scorpion

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

hey Snow, no problem! Anyone who loves Ballyb is ok in my opinion!

Ahafona is the junction by the grotto, yeah? Where the Tralee and Listowel roads join and lead into town? I will take pics of that area and the roads around there...... but I have no idea where Deenihans is/was. It may be still there (but under new name) or it may be gone..... where was it?

Going for a run? do you run often? how far? I am a recent convert to running (well, jogging I should call it) It took about a year before I got to like it, but now I am disapointed when I cant go out! I have my first triathlon on Sunday .... its a sprint triathlon, so it is half the distances of an Olympic one... I will let you know how I get on, on Mon or Tues.

Right! This is Ahafona:




And Deenihan's is a small grocery shop on the north side of Main Street in the East End of Ballyb. about a quarter mile or so from Ahafona.

snow scorpion

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

hey Snow, no problem! Anyone who loves Ballyb is ok in my opinion!

Going for a run? do you run often? how far? I am a recent convert to running (well, jogging I should call it) It took about a year before I got to like it, but now I am disapointed when I cant go out! I have my first triathlon on Sunday .... its a sprint triathlon, so it is half the distances of an Olympic one... I will let you know how I get on, on Mon or Tues.

I just started again in February after a long long loooong layoff (several years.)

I'm using a heart rate monitor for the first time and the thing is phenomenal.

This one here

I run until my heart rate goes up to 150 and then I walk until it comes down to 120. I do that for an hour - three days a week.

Keeping my heart rate in the "training zone" builds endurance at a ridiculously fast rate. After only 14 training runs in a little over a month, last Sunday I ran 3+ miles.

This coming Sunday I'm going to try 4 miles.

RiderOnTheStorm

Snow, I see what you want now. No problem, I will get pics of all of those places this weekend. There is still a shop there, where you indicate Deenihans is/was. The boys frequent it after school and they do a roaring trade in penny sweets (I still call them penny sweets, even though they are all 5c and 10c !!)

there is a garrage at the junction of Upper and Lower road. Was that there in your day? it looks like it was there forever.........

RiderOnTheStorm

well done on the return to running! That heart-rate monitor must be great! One of my collegues used one for his training (same thing, keep rate within certain range) but he didnt find it brilliant...... i guess everyone is different!

Keep it up!!!

snow scorpion

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

Snow, I see what you want now. No problem, I will get pics of all of those places this weekend. There is still a shop there, where you indicate Deenihans is/was. The boys frequent it after school and they do a roaring trade in penny sweets (I still call them penny sweets, even though they are all 5c and 10c !!)

there is a garrage at the junction of Upper and Lower road. Was that there in your day? it looks like it was there forever.........

In my day the only two things at Ahafona were the grotto and a few caravans parked in that field between the upper and lower roads. I look at all the stuff that's there now and I barely recognize the place. (You have to remember that the last time I was there was more than a decade before the birth of the Celtic Tiger.)

I was surprised to see that gargage there once I downloaded Google Earth.

And all those caravans on the north side of Main Street are new to me, too. The last time I walked past there, it was an open field. I remember Brosnahan's Bakery just west of that field.

snow scorpion

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

well done on the return to running! That heart-rate monitor must be great! One of my collegues used one for his training (same thing, keep rate within certain range) but he didnt find it brilliant...... i guess everyone is different!

Keep it up!!!

How'd you do with the triathlon? Where was it? Surely not in Ballybunion.

I did my 4 miles Sunday but I was working hard at the end. I must make some adjustments in my training.

RiderOnTheStorm

Some pics of Ahafona cross....

the road to Listowel:

RiderOnTheStorm

the Upper road:

RiderOnTheStorm

the garrage at Ahafona cross:

RiderOnTheStorm

The 3 roads at Ahafona cross:

RiderOnTheStorm

The Grotto:

RiderOnTheStorm

the road from Ahafona to Ballybunion:

RiderOnTheStorm

that shop........

RiderOnTheStorm

3 colourful pubs on the main street!

RiderOnTheStorm

Harty Costellos...... note the dragon lamp holders!

RiderOnTheStorm

the halequin / optical illusion cottage on Church Road:

snow scorpion

Rider,

I'm speechless! I've been thinking all day of how to say Thank You in such a way to let you know how much I love those pictures - and I can't think of any way!

When I started this thread (almost a year ago :eek: ) it was in search of pictures just like those. I won't embarass myself by telling you how long I'm going to be looking at (well, maybe studying is a better word.:o ) your photos.

I probably wouldn't have recognized Ahafona at all it has changed that much. And I've walked along there dozens of times.

The first thing I noticed was the broken white lines in the roads - all of those are new to me.

That stone wall dividing the upper and lower roads - new to me. The last time I walked past there that wall was a dyke of weeds and brambles. I don't remember the trees, but just beyond them was a caravan park.

And I don't remember any of those homes being there.

And the grotto picture is wild. I can't quite get my bearings looking at it. The way I remember there was no greenery around the statue, there were rocks. And the whole thing didn't look that fancy at all. And the home and driveway weren't there at all.

Jesus! I'm still noticing new stuff! There was no sidewalk along the upper road when I was there.

I have to show all these to my brother - he probably won't recognize the place either.

snow scorpion

You got it right, Rider. That's Deenihan's all right! I didn't know they changed the name to O'Donnell's. One of the Deenihan girls married a guy named O'Donnell.

The three bars ... they're on the south side or the north side of Main Street?

(I'm going to go have to go through the entire thread and put together a map of the village.)

The optical illusion cottage ... that's not your place, Rider, is it?


P.S. Many, many, many thanks again for the pictures.

RiderOnTheStorm

hi Snow. I am so glad you enjoyed the pics! I will take more over the next few days and post them here. I will go up the Listowel and Upper road a bit and take a few shots..... the different angle may give be of benefit to you. Dont forget to mention any requests!!!

That shop is a little gold mine, as it is very close to the boys school. Did you go to that school when you were here? I will take a pic anyway..... Also, I will take pic of the new Tintean Theatre. It is behind this shop, but the entrance is from Church road (just beyond Scanlons shop).

That optical illusiuon house is not mine, but it is quite famous around here. People are always taking pics of it. I believe it has been thus decorated for years and years! Was it same when you lived here?

RiderOnTheStorm

Snow, I will take pics of the amusements soon too. Some of them are open now at weekend, but from Easter they will be in full swing!

RiderOnTheStorm

here is a pic of main street ballybunion..... I have taken the pic from same approx position as the 1940s shot (see post 408, on page 21) that was previously posted. my shot was taken yesterday evening so apologies for the long shadows...... ps, can you guess which one is mine? lol

If you want to play spot the difference, then download this pic and the one on page 21 and see how the town has changed.... and not changed too!

RiderOnTheStorm

...and seeing as the evening was so grand when we (my 2 boys, dog, and me) took our constitutiuonal, here is a shot of McMunns and Sandhill road (the place, not the guy!) in lovely evening colours!

RiderOnTheStorm

check out this site, its new-ish. Some great photos from around the town (mostly the beach, though) as part of a photo competition recently.

There used to be another Ballybunion site, but it was bought by a porn site when the contract expired, so this new site held photo-comp to generate news/interest in the new site.

enjoy.....

http://www.destinationballybunion.com

SandhillRoad

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

check out this site, its new-ish. Some great photos from around the town (mostly the beach, though) as part of a photo competition recently.

There used to be another Ballybunion site, but it was bought by a porn site when the contract expired, so this new site held photo-comp to generate news/interest in the new site.

enjoy.....

http://www.destinationballybunion.com

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I think I see REIC's photo there ( photo #2 ), looks like his shadow !