Ballybunion

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Ballybunion (Baile an Bhuinneánaigh in Irish) is a popular coastal village in County Kerry, Ireland 5 km (8 miles) from the town of Listowel. There is a castle ruins near the town although all that remains is a single wall, and there are two golf courses in the area. Ballybunion Golf Club ranked 11th in US Golf Magazine's World Top 100 golf courses in 2002. Ballybunion has a population of 1329.(CSO 2002).

Ballybunion boasts a lively tourist season in the summer with many families and young people to enjoy the sandy beach, warm atlantic waters and the numerous traditional pubs along the high street.

Various clifftop walks lead you around some of Kerry's spectacular scenery and you may even spot dolphins in the choppy waters, which boast some of the best surfing waves in Ireland.

Other traditions include the beachside Seaweed Baths, featuring sea water with kelp. In summertime cooked periwinkles are salted and served in small paper bags, along with a pin to extract these little sea snails.

In addition to the castle ruin on the left beach promontory mentioned above and seen in the photograph, there is an impressive round tower about a mile inland from the beach. The round towers were defensive structures built of stone, about a hundred feet high, with only rope stairs to reach a safety room at the very top. If Vikings came people could climb up with their valuables, pulling the rope ladder after them and wait for the frustrated Vikings down below to give up and leave.

The beach promontory on the right features some impressive tidal caves which can be explored at low tide.. just remember to leave well before high tide!