to kerry or not to kerry?

[Sick Boy]

Hi guys,

There has been a bit of talk about relocating for Kerry for next new year over the past while. I for one wouldnt be against it. I think it is an issue that is worth looking into and i thought id get the ball rolling on the issue of where to go if not Rossbeigh. What do you all think about this?

[kmck]

Location, location, location. Okay when we moved to castlegregory, the lads put in the research and we found a nice pub that enjoyed the extra bussiness. However many of the houses where spread out over a greater distance and by the second year many of the clubs where having great difficulty in finding a spot.
Donegal is an option and I think there are one or two places similar to rossbeigh.
I feel we should stay in rossbeigh as to be blunt they have forgiven us more times than we can remember. People always raise the issue of price of houses as a reason to move but when we are all down in large numbers there is a demand for houses as such the prices are normal for a peak time.

[eoinor]

Stay.

[TomB]

hey Guys,

I though the atmosphere in the pub could have been better however for me it was the lack of rain. A good run down the flesk would have shaken out a cold pub had having to buy cans!

I thought because the pub never kicked us out ment that the house party scene never really kicked off . . . .

However, i agree with Kieran. But maybe people lean more towards staying in the Glenbeigh direction and go drinking there? the last few Kerry's had no Glenbeigh drinking even though there are 3 pubs there.

I think moving the event to somewhere like Donegal would stops alot of other clubs from going as it would be a much longer journey on crap-er roads?

Tom

[Sick Boy]

this is something that i have chatted about with other clubs too and many of them seemed interested. im not saying that we have to move, or even that it is up to me to make such a decision but i figure that if people do want to go now is the time to change. 

house prices are not the only reason but they are a big one, trippling of the rent rates for one week is a rediculous thing to do no matter how much the demmnd for houses increases. there is also the fact that one of the major house owners down there is, to say the least, difficult to deal with.

for those of you who wernt too happy with the pub this year i think it will be back to normal next year, i got this from talking to the Cahils.

[Sara]

River-wise I think it would be a shame to leave Co. Kerry, So for the To Kerry or Not to Kerry question I would definitely say Kerry!!
The Pro's of Rossbeigh would need to be met by another Kerry location;
Houses close together (at least 10 houses)
A beach with surf possibility within walking distance for non driver types
A big pub

But thats all stating the obvious, I'd be happy to go back to the same place again although finding a house where heating and electricity costs are included would be pure amazing!

Sara

[Monkey Loving Bob]

I'd be happy to move, to be honest there was an awful lot of people giving out about accomodation costs - that'll happen, however as Cian has said, the actual increases involved are excessive. Moving needn't remove us from Kerry so the actual trip itself could remain similar and as accessible. Inch, Kenmare. etc are all small places with a wealth of tourist accomodation available. Who said change is a bad thing.

Kieran, your point about the way our little misdemeanours being forgiven over the years is well taken - however our business might be a bit more appreciated for a year's absence. A realistic perspective would be that we are gouged when we go to Rossbeigh, how much more can students with no income afford, I know I wouldn't spend that much money on accomodation for a week in winter. Period.

Kerry is made by the people you go away with, it can happen anywhere as long as your friends are there. If the other colleges agree I think it would be good to move it, possibly with an eye to bringing it back. Who knows?

my2c

[Diarmaid]

right, obviously I don't have a whole lot of say in picking a venue from a paddling perspective, but I think it's safe to say we should aim for the west coast, for the novelty, for surf, and for mountains and hence rivers.

I like the present setup where there is really only one trip per county, so Clare and Sligo are out. Achill in August is declining but Mayo is still kind of 'done'. Likewise, everybody is in Galway frequently. While Galway or Mayo could work, for the sake of something different we should look at Kerry, West Cork, or Donegal (although obviously it wouldn't be the end of the world to do the same county twice in a year).

Attendance at Kerry this year consisted of people from Dublin (from where it's much of a muchness where on the west coast you go), Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway, etc (i.e. the southwest). While we could easily get to Donegal, I can't imagine Cork or Waterford being too keen on this idea.

In that case, the venue should be in West Cork or Kerry.

I agree that house prices are rising in Rossbeigh, although pints dropped this year by a fair bit (but maybe that was just the temporary change of management). Still, €100 for 7 nights (which is what I paid for an ice box) is cheaper than any hostel, so we can't complain that much.

The one very good thing Rossbeigh has going for it is the Ross Inn. It's a big pub in the middle of nowhere, which means we can fill it, we can be the only ones there, and we don't go anywhere else. If we were to be in a town, even a small town with just 2 or 3 pubs, we'd get split up from each other and we wouldn't have the run of the place so much as we do. It'd be more like Colours is, for example.

The key features of a good new year location would be:
west coast
accessible to dublin&munster people
near a surf beach
with rivers nearby
with many houses in close proximity to each other
and a big pub that's not in a town

I've spoken to many people about moving Kerry over the past two or three weeks and while everybody has an opinion about Rossbeigh, nobody has suggested an alternative.

I think Spring Break this year should consist of a scouting road trip for possible new venues. We can pick some likely candidates with the help of an OS map, and then tour up the coast checking them out (yeah, I know it's kinda against the rules to plan spring break, but meh). Would anybody be up for that? Some paddlers to check out the local rivers, some social members to check out the local pubs, and one big messy fact-finding mission in march or april. 

[Sick Boy]

€700 for a week dosent seem like too much, untill you see the price list for the following week where the same houses go for €250 or so, no matter what way you put it that is a rediculous increase. people have. if you say donegal rules cork and waterford out you could also say that it possibly rules our nordie neighbours in.

people have suggested alternatives, personally i think inch could be a savage place. it has the same swell as rossbeigh, just the other side of the bay. it would add possibly 20-30 min of drive time on to getting to some of the rivers but that isnt too much and it seems like the kind of place where we could have the entire area to ourselves.

is there anyone form any other clubs reading here who have any ideas on this?

[Ley-Ley]

I liked the pub!!

Kilkee could be a good place. There's plenty of holiday homes, I think the surf does be good but the beach is a bit in-closed. I have no clue about rivers though. Does Clare have good rivers? There's also a few pubs in the town. The only problem is the people that go there sometimes.

Great diving too.

West Cork there's Castletownbere, or more isolated is Bere Island but that has no rivers. Allihie's is down the road from Castletown, haven't gone there yet but should be during the summer.

Oh, I think Donegal is a bit far but I suppose it's only once a year.

[Monkey Loving Bob]

Clare's fairly limited for river's Leighton, unless you wanna try spate run coming off the burren - SCARY!

[Ley-Ley]

As long as I don't capsize Connor!!

What about Dingle? Although messing will be noticed more so there than Rossbehy.

[Diarmaid]

Oh, I think Donegal is a bit far but I suppose it's only once a year.

Donegal is considerably easier to get to than west Kerry.

The only problem is the people that go there sometimes.

that is an issue, but probably not so bad at new year as it is in the summer bank holidays. still, a bit of isolation goes a long way.


Cian: good point about the Ulster colleges; I'd love to see LYIT and QUB at new year, they're both great craic. Maybe we should all compromise and go somewhere in Galway/Mayo?

[kmck]

Price in august is the same as at new years, demand is just as high, slating people for just following supply and demand is a bit harsh. Normally there would be a very high demand for houses, this year there wasn't but next year it could be back to the same levels, come the end of october it becomes very hard to find somewhere, speaking from experience here. I doubht demand is as high even in august, so it is a peak season. It maybe totally dependant on us turning up but I doubht the prices will drop hugely if you leave for a year and certainly won't stay down in the long term. If you move you will get a lower price on the house to start then it will rise as the local community cashes in.

[Ley-Ley]

Yea, with the roads Donegal wouldn't be too bad now. Doolin could be good, just down the road from Lahinch so there should be good surf.