| Trabolgan: A holiday of Choice in East
Cork By Claudia Redmond
Claudia Redmond takes a trip back to her childhood with her children
at the Trabolgan holiday village in East Cork.
“Aga do do do. Push pineapple shake the tree ....” We all leave our inhibitions
outside and join in with crazy actions which inevitably result in bashing
into fellow revellers dancing in the wrong direction.
The children squeal with delight and the adults look like they are enjoying
a return to their youth. Next up: “superman … comb your hair, and ski …
say hello!” You get the idea. Welcome to Trabolgan Holiday Village.
Mention the words holiday camp and some people run a mile. The very thought
of being forced to join in and have fun is just too much to bear for some.
But not for me! I am the result of a Holiday Camp romance.
Back in the swinging sixties, when my dad Paul Kearney was a Redcoat
from Belfast and my mum Ursula Scarfe-Cody from Cork did various jobs, they
met at Butlins in Mosney and the rest as they say was history.
Sadly Mosney is no longer — but happily Trabolgan in East Cork fills
the void completely.
I took my mum Ursula and my three kids Sean, 12, Shannen, 10 and Elena
aged six for a weekend visit. We arrived on Friday afternoon — the sun was
shining and we were excited about our forthcoming trip. A lovely friendly
lady greeted us in reception and thrust a map and booklet of events and
all the facilities at us. When I was a kid the highlight of my trips to
holiday camps was receiving this sacred booklet to outline all the activities
that I intended to join in from early morning until late at night. The booklet
is still held with the same high esteem by my kids who instantly started
fighting over who was to read the booklet first.
The first thing that struck me was the beautiful scenery and tranquil
feeling. Even though kids were rushing around it didn’t feel too crowded
like many holiday camps. Our accommodation was also a far cry from the chalets
I stayed in as a child. We had a house with three bedrooms, complete with
conservatory, and all the mod cons, like a dishwasher and a washing machine
to make it really feel like a home from home.
Trabolgan has a rich history that stretches right back to the 12th century
when the French Benedictines founded a monastery as a repository for valuable
manuscripts. The Crown later confiscated the land, and the Fitzgerald family
gave up residence in the year 1174 A.D. Before this it is possible that
Trabolgan was a holiday centre for the ancient Irish as the remains of a
ring fort are to be found on the western side of the estate (beside the
14th tee).
Around 1640-1650 AD the Roche family purchased the Fitzgerald estate
(approx 1500 acres) from Edmund Fitzgerald of Ballymaloe, and lived for
many centuries at Trabolgan. Indeed, the well-known Roches Point at the
mouth of Cork Harbour is named after this family. In 1850, Edmund Burke
Roche — he was the great grand father of Princess Diana — was created 1st
Baron Fermoy in the Peerage of Ireland in 1850. Local legend has it that
Lord Fermoy lost Trabolgan on a bet with a guest who had a good greyhound.
He thought he had a better one, and arranged a race with Trabolgan as the
prize. Fermoy’s dog is reputed to have spotted a crow which he chased instead
of the hare and so lost his owner the race along with Trabolgan. Whether
the story is true is unknown, but in 1912 the Clarke Family (Clarkes Tobacco
Co. of Bristol — Players Cigarettes, etc) acquired Trabolgan House and 1500
acres.
The remaining estate including the house was used as a base by a unit
of the Irish Army during the Second World War. In 1948, a Mr. Bright and
Mr White, together with a number of local investors decided to purchase
the remaining estate from the Land Commission and to operate the estate
as a holiday camp for Pontins.
Ten years later, Gaedhealachas Teo bought Trabolgan house and estate
and establish a boarding school for boys — Scoil na nOg. This school was
opened in June 1959 and until 1973, 160 pupils each year, received their
education through Irish. In 1975, the Trabolgan estate passed to the Dutch
Coal and Metal Industry Pension Fund and a small holiday development consisting
of 30 houses, bar and clubhouse was opened in 1980 (catering mainly for
the continental market). The decision to extend the village to include a
main centre and a wide range of facilities was taken in 1983 and building
was completed in 1985. The present Trabolgan was officially opened in June
1985. In 1990, after changing a hands a few times Trabolgan was bought by
Scottish & Newcastle plc and has since undergone redevelopment programmes
in 1991, 1998 and 1999.
Trabolgan has fantastic entertainment. For the kids there is for instance
a Tribute to Disney show, while Barney performs live on stage twice a week.
And there is plenty for the mums, dads, grans and grandads too! Throughout
the year Trabolgan run special themed weekend breaks.
From September 30 until October 3 you can enjoy an Irish Showbands Showdown
— featuring some well-known Irish showband favourites including The Indians.
Talented Bluecoats are also on hand to belt out tunes from ‘We Will rock
You’ and other well-known musicals.
There are daily activities to keep everyone amused — we tried our hand
and feet at line dancing! — much to the amusement of my son Sean who decided
to sit that one out — he found it highly amusing to watch his mum and nana
yelling their best “Yeee Haaa” on the stage to the strains of “Cotton Eyed
Joe” … 5, 6, 7, 8 … — we managed not to fall off which was of course the
high point. When a version of the Slosh a dance I did in holiday camps as
a kid came up I was very smug, the steps came flooding back and I happily
whizzed around on the stage imagining I was eight again and the lovely memories
of my grandparents and balancing on his feet!
The highlight of the holiday for the children was without a doubt the
Blue Coats’ fantastic enthusiasm and fun!
Jazzy Bruce is the entertainments manager and I asked him if he enjoyed
his job? “I absolutely love it. I’m completely passionate about what I do.
In fact, I’ve never worked at anything else. Prior to joining Trabolgan,
I worked in Butlin’s and Pontin’s in Britain. The holiday centre industry
in Ireland is completely different to Britain. It is more of a challenge
and I love a challenge. Since I arrived at Trabolgan, I have worked with
my great team to develop the entertainment schedule and it’s going down
a treat with our guests. We give every guest a Smiley Form, which is essentially
a customer satisfaction form, to fill out when they leave the venue and
every week we get fantastic comments about how great the entertainment schedule
is at Trabolgan. This makes me very proud of the work we have done and what
we have achieved.”
The highlight for the children was without a doubt the Bluecoats’ fantastic
enthusiasm and fun! They are a very lively bunch with a permanent smile
on from morning until night — the kids absolutely loved them and especially
one extremely bouncy lively — human version of Tigger — who according to
Nana looked like a young Mick Jagger — Kirk Campion who is the tender age
of 18 and hails from Co. Laois.
I asked Kirk (when I could catch up with him) why people should visit
Trabolgan: “It’s a place where you can relax, enjoy the entertainment and
generally have a great time. It’s a really friendly place where nothing
is too much trouble for the staff. The entertainment on offer here is also
superb. There is something for everyone and I can guarantee you that won’t
have a second to be bored if you visit Trabolgan Holiday Village”
Of course it is not compulsory to leap about all day like Kirk! You can
just chill with a book by the tennis courts whilst watching the kids practice
for the next Wimbledon, or by the pool side, or take a walk amongst the
beautiful scenery — Trabolgan is set on a picturesque 140 acre estate —
and dads can enjoy the 18-hole pitch and putt with breathtaking views of
the sea!
I was however surprised that we were the only Irish family visiting from
Britain. It is the ideal spot if you want to visit family in Ireland while
combining it with an action packed break at the same time. Jazzy Bruce says:
“I would definitely encourage people to travel from Britain to Trabolgan
Holiday Village. As well as having an excellent entertainment schedule,
the venue is also located in a stunning part of Ireland and the standard
of accommodation, facilities and service is top notch.”
I can’t argue with that.
Information available on
www.trabolgan.com.
Information on Cork 2005 — European Capital of Culture available on
www.cork2005.ie.
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