Tralee, Banna and Ballyheigue oh my!
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Went to Tralee, Banna and Ballyheigue today. But, first we stopped in Kinvara, just out of Galway to visit Greens’ Pub. They weren’t open, but the lady there came out to talk to us. She wouldn’t let us in because it wasn’t clean. She did give us a postcard of the front of the building that said “M. Green.” The original owner was Michael Green and his granddaughter, Mary, now owns it. Of course we took many photos there.
Then we made our way to Tralee. This is the large town near Banna and Ballyheigue, where my (MJ’s) step-great-grandfather, Capt. Robert Monteith, landed with Sir Roger Casement and another man to bring arms from Germany for the 1916 Rising which separated Ireland from Britain.
In Tralee, we stopped at the Library and Tourist Centre to seek information. A gentleman at the Tourist Centre overheard my inquiry and said that he heard Capt. Monteith speak at the Town Hall in Tralee many years ago when this man was a lad. All he remembers is that he was wishing that Monteith would stop talking so that they could leave with his Mum. He said after one hour, Monteith sat down, took a drink of water and stood again to speak some more. He led us in the direction of Banna, where the boat landed and told us how to get the to the Casement and Monteith monument.
We made it out to Banna and eventually found the area where the monument is. It was pretty neat to know that my Great-grandma, Mollie (McEvoy) Monteith was there to dedicate the monument. Likewise, my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousin have also been there. The monument itself is really not much too look at. It’s surrounded by a trailer park, farmland, and sand dunes. Over the dunes is the beach where they landed. From the research I’ve done, they were supposed to land in Ballyheigue, but due to inclement weather, the water and wind took them to Banna instead. I learned that there’s a song written about Casement’s (and Monteith’s) voyage. I even downloaded it off of iTunes! So, of course we made it to the monument, took a few photos, and walked over the sand dunes to the beach. It was so beautiful! WE picked up a few rocks, shells, and got an empty water bottle full of sand to bring home.
After Banna, we went to Ballyheigue. It seems like a little cottage town. Reminds me of Up North in MI where people have cottages on the lakes. We quickly found out that there was a fair going on for Pattern Day; I think it was a celebration for Mary’s birthday. It was kind of neat to see how the small town celebrated a fair. Lots of fake flowers, rosaries and knick knacks for sale. Of course some little cheap toys for the kids as well. We stopped at a few B&Bs to try to find a place to stay the night. We finally found one. The proprietor reminded us very much of Matt’s Mom, Charlene, but with an Irish accent rather than a Southern accent. She was very welcoming and talked to us for a long time. She just loved Matt’s hair, too. She said her daughter has curly red hair, but she dyes it blonde. We mentioned Matt’s sister, Melinda, and her curly red hair. I’m telling ya, Matt’s hair is getting us places over here!! Kathleen (the proprietor) directed us to where we should eat dinner. We walked down to the town to eat at the hotel. The village was a happening place! I don’t know if it was because of Pattern Day or it was just a typical Friday night. After dinner, we walked around a bit with an ice cream cone in hand. It was neat. We talked to a few folks and ducked into a couple of pubs. But, it was quite hot, crowded and loud for MJ’s liking. We called it a night and headed back to our “Villa Nova B&B” for the night.
HUH for today: Saw two nuns bottomed out in their car while their front two wheels teetered off the curb. By the time we turned around to help them, Sister scraped her way off the curb and went on about her way.
Went to Tralee, Banna and Ballyheigue today. But, first we stopped in Kinvara, just out of Galway to visit Greens’ Pub. They weren’t open, but the lady there came out to talk to us. She wouldn’t let us in because it wasn’t clean. She did give us a postcard of the front of the building that said “M. Green.” The original owner was Michael Green and his granddaughter, Mary, now owns it. Of course we took many photos there.
Then we made our way to Tralee. This is the large town near Banna and Ballyheigue, where my (MJ’s) step-great-grandfather, Capt. Robert Monteith, landed with Sir Roger Casement and another man to bring arms from Germany for the 1916 Rising which separated Ireland from Britain.
In Tralee, we stopped at the Library and Tourist Centre to seek information. A gentleman at the Tourist Centre overheard my inquiry and said that he heard Capt. Monteith speak at the Town Hall in Tralee many years ago when this man was a lad. All he remembers is that he was wishing that Monteith would stop talking so that they could leave with his Mum. He said after one hour, Monteith sat down, took a drink of water and stood again to speak some more. He led us in the direction of Banna, where the boat landed and told us how to get the to the Casement and Monteith monument.
We made it out to Banna and eventually found the area where the monument is. It was pretty neat to know that my Great-grandma, Mollie (McEvoy) Monteith was there to dedicate the monument. Likewise, my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousin have also been there. The monument itself is really not much too look at. It’s surrounded by a trailer park, farmland, and sand dunes. Over the dunes is the beach where they landed. From the research I’ve done, they were supposed to land in Ballyheigue, but due to inclement weather, the water and wind took them to Banna instead. I learned that there’s a song written about Casement’s (and Monteith’s) voyage. I even downloaded it off of iTunes! So, of course we made it to the monument, took a few photos, and walked over the sand dunes to the beach. It was so beautiful! WE picked up a few rocks, shells, and got an empty water bottle full of sand to bring home.
After Banna, we went to Ballyheigue. It seems like a little cottage town. Reminds me of Up North in MI where people have cottages on the lakes. We quickly found out that there was a fair going on for Pattern Day; I think it was a celebration for Mary’s birthday. It was kind of neat to see how the small town celebrated a fair. Lots of fake flowers, rosaries and knick knacks for sale. Of course some little cheap toys for the kids as well. We stopped at a few B&Bs to try to find a place to stay the night. We finally found one. The proprietor reminded us very much of Matt’s Mom, Charlene, but with an Irish accent rather than a Southern accent. She was very welcoming and talked to us for a long time. She just loved Matt’s hair, too. She said her daughter has curly red hair, but she dyes it blonde. We mentioned Matt’s sister, Melinda, and her curly red hair. I’m telling ya, Matt’s hair is getting us places over here!! Kathleen (the proprietor) directed us to where we should eat dinner. We walked down to the town to eat at the hotel. The village was a happening place! I don’t know if it was because of Pattern Day or it was just a typical Friday night. After dinner, we walked around a bit with an ice cream cone in hand. It was neat. We talked to a few folks and ducked into a couple of pubs. But, it was quite hot, crowded and loud for MJ’s liking. We called it a night and headed back to our “Villa Nova B&B” for the night.
HUH for today: Saw two nuns bottomed out in their car while their front two wheels teetered off the curb. By the time we turned around to help them, Sister scraped her way off the curb and went on about her way.
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