Ballybunion or Ballybunnion () is a

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

al town and

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

in County Kerry,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, on the

Wild Atlantic Way The Wild Atlantic Way ( ga, Slí an Atlantaigh Fhiáin) is a tourism trail on the west coast, and on parts of the north and south coasts, of Ireland. The 2,500 km (1,553 mile) driving route passes through nine counties and three provinces, s ...

, from the town of

Listowel Listowel ( ; , IPA: �lʲɪsˠˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the CSO Census 2016. Desc ...

Tourism

Ballybunion has two main beaches, divided by the Castle Green. The Ladies Beach is to the right and the Men's Beach to the left – names arising from the fact that both sexes swam on separate beaches on the orders of the local parish priest, who patrolled daily ensuring the rule wasn't broken. Further to the left of the Men's Beach lies the Long Strand, a 3.2 km stretch of sand, overlooked by the sand dunes of Ballybunion Golf Club. In the summer, Ballybunion attracts tourists, and the beaches near Ballybunion are a common surfing site, with a dedicated surf school on the Men's Beach. Other traditions include seaweed baths, featuring sea water with

serrated wrack ''Fucus serratus'' is a seaweed of the north Atlantic Ocean, known as toothed wrack or serrated wrack. Description and reproduction ''Fucus serratus'' is a robust alga, olive-brown in colour and similar to ''Fucus vesiculosus'' and '' Fucus sp ...

. The town itself has a number of restaurants, pubs and cafes, and schools. There is also a statue commemorating the golfing visit of

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. This was the first statue of Bill Clinton on public display in the world.

Sport

Golf

Ballybunion Golf Club was founded in 1893 and is home to arguably one of the best links courses in the world. There are 2 courses, the Old Course and the Cashen Course, both situated beside the beach. The club hosted the Murphy's Irish Open in 2000 and Palmer Cup in 2004.

Gaelic football

Stack Park is situated off Sandhill Road, and has an unofficial walk-in entrance off Central Park (mobile home part off

Kit Ahern Catherine Ita Ahern (; 13 January 1915 – 27 December 2007) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North constituency from 1977 to 1981 and a Senator from 1964 to 1977. Ahern was the first woman t ...

Road). This floodlight pitch provides training & matches for many divisions of players (incl under 8s, 10s, junior, and senior) as well as ladies football. The Ballybunion team are called the Beale team, named for a small townland a couple of miles up the coast from Ballybunion. The Beale colours are green with a red stripe.

Health and leisure

Ballybunion Health & Leisure Centre opened in 2007 and is situated on Kit Ahern Road.Health & Leisure Centre

References