Went to Lourdes with a school group in 1983. We were supposed to be pushing wheelchairs for two weeks but they didn’t have any for us to push. One of the most boring two weeks I ever put down.
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We didn’t travel beyond Ireland till the 00s. Ballyheigue, Achill, Ardara and Kilkee were the spots
It was entertaining I pestered the parents through the early 80s to go to Butlins after watching that I’m glad I didn’t. Ballybunion and Kilkee all the way simpler times but we were happy out.
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We used to go to Youghal for the odd day trip. Lough Gur was usually as far as we got.
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Went to Butlins with the soccer team (Bolton) after we won the u-12 league. I can still remember the smell out of the cabins where we slept. Conor Cantwell got sick and the camp doctor diagnosed him as having appendicitis. He was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes and his parents had to come up from Waterford. Turned out it was food poisoning. There was a glass ceiling on the shop which was the bottom of the swimming pool. All the lads used to swim to the bottom and expose themselves to the customers. It was a great holiday all round.
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The father always wanted to bring us camping so he took us to Courtown one year. The mother was always dead set against it but she relented this year. I was twelve. He hired a tent from O Maras and off we went. Except he hadn’t booked a pitch. We got to Courtown and trailed around the campsites to no avail. We eventually managed to get into an unofficial site (ie a field with an outhouse). We pitch the tent and two go boys from Dublin pitch a two man tent beside us. The lads are head to toe in denim, long hair, moustaches, sideburns, smoking, the works. They head off to the pub. We hit the hay.
Around midnight we are awoken by a ruckus next door. The lads have come back from the pub with two ladies. The two man tent isn’t big enough to to accommodate them all. There are shouts of will you hurry the fuck up. I want me fucking go etc. I pretend to sleep through it all. Not a word is said in our tent.
The following morning the father silently packs up the tent and we drive off. We never go on another camping holiday.
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You need to write a book, or a blog at the very least
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There is a perception that RTE don’t do comedy well. About 12 years ago they got an obese, alcoholic coke fiend to present the first season of Operation Transformation. They are well able to do a bit of comedy when it suits them.
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I did. Archive footage is always great but the talking heads were lazy nonsense for the large part.
‘We always took sandwiches to the beach, and they really were SANDwiches. Thered be sand all over them. But sure youd eat them anyway…’
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That’s a great auld yarn
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Ah lovely 
Simpler times… Shur you can’t get them off the computer games now to go and expose themselves.
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He did a great job on it. He had a great way with the common man and woman.
Can you imagine the outrage from the forum simpletons if rte asked a few questions
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Felt like I was there myself
Our family ‘holidays’ consisted of one day a year at one of the following seaside locations:
Bunmahon
Annstown (list ends)
The brother and I would be shipped up to Loughmore/Templemore for two weeks to help with the turf harvesting. The highlights would be a hike up the Devils Bit, swimming in the Training college pool (12ft in the deepend) and the promise to drive the tractor in the bog. Never got to drive the tractor…
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Annstown was a favourite of the fathers. No pub or amusements. A classic Protestant village. There still is no pub there. There might have been a shop in Annstown but it was at the other end of the village and the father could give it a swerve.
Bunmahon was more honky tonk and had pubs, take aways and primeval amusements. The sea also had a wicked undertow there and I nearly drowned there once when I got pulled under. The father dragged me out.
Agree with all that. Never in his life would the auld boy bring us to Tramore, the cost of it!
Annstown was perfect for us when we were young as it was a small ‘beach’ that we could be all watched. But when we got older we copped how rocky it was so we went to Bunmahon after that. We knew all about the under currents too, we were well warned.
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