Ballybunion Webcam – Watch the Atlantic Below the Castle

The Ballybunion Webcam looks northwest from Sandhill Road in Ballybunion, County Kerry, over the ruin of Ballybunion Castle to the Atlantic and the sands of the Ladies Beach. McMunn’s of Ballybunion, a bar, restaurant and guesthouse on the same road, runs the camera. The castle stands in the middle of the frame on its grassy headland, with open sea and breaking surf to its left and a sheer, flat-topped cliff closing off the beach on the right. A stone wall, a fenced green with picnic tables and signposts for the beach fill the foreground. On clear days a low line of land shows on the horizon behind the castle: that is the Loop Head peninsula in County Clare, on the far side of the mouth of the Shannon Estuary. Tide, swell and Atlantic weather change the scene by the hour.

About Ballybunion

Ballybunion is a seaside town in North Kerry with a population of 1,618 at the 2022 census. Its Irish name, Baile an Bhuinneanaigh, means the townland of An Buinneanach, and the Bunyan family were linked to the castle until the late 16th century. The town lies 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Listowel and grew as a resort on the strength of its sand. Two beaches meet at the castle headland. The Ladies Beach lies to the north of it and the Men’s Beach to the south, names left over from the days when men and women bathed apart. A third, the Long Strand, is a 3.2 kilometer (2 mile) stretch of sand.

Ballybunion Castle was built in the early 16th century by the Geraldine FitzMaurice family, on the site of an earlier promontory fort. William Og Bunyan lost his lands after the Desmond Rebellion, and Lord Kerry destroyed the castle in 1582. What survives is the roofless stone ruin at the center of the frame, a protected national monument since the 1920s. The cliffs on the right of the picture rise straight from the sand, and a walk of about 20 minutes along their top passes sea stacks and a blowhole before reaching the Nun’s Beach, a cove below an old convent that can no longer be reached from land.

Loop Head lies about 18 kilometers (11 miles) west-northwest of the castle across open water, which is why the far shore can vanish completely in rain or sea mist and stand out sharply after a front has passed.

Weather and Climate in Ballybunion

Ballybunion faces the open Atlantic, so its temperatures stay in a narrow band. Averages from the Open-Meteo weather archive for 2015 to 2024 put January highs around 9 C (48 F) and lows around 5 C (41 F). July and August are the warmest months, with highs near 18 C (64 F) and nights around 13 C (55 F). Spring warms slowly, from about 10 C (50 F) in March to 15 C (59 F) in May, and October still averages highs of about 14 C (57 F).

Rain falls in every month, roughly 1,460 millimeters (57 inches) in an average year in the same data, with November and December the wettest months and April and May the driest. Autumn and winter gales can send heavy swell onto the beaches, and the water to the left of the castle often turns white on a windy day. Daylight swings widely at this latitude. Around the June solstice the sun is up for close to 17 hours and sets just after 10 pm local time, so summer evenings stay bright on the camera. In late December the day shrinks to about 7 hours 40 minutes, with sunset around 4:30 pm.

Things to Do Near Ballybunion

Golf brings many visitors to the town. Ballybunion Golf Club was founded in 1893 and plays two links courses above the Atlantic, the Old Course and the Cashen Course, and the club was once ranked number seven in Golf Digest’s list of the 100 best courses outside the United States. In the town, a statue marks Bill Clinton’s visit in 1998, and Neil Armstrong came in 2001.

On the Ladies Beach there are seaweed baths, where you soak in sea water with serrated wrack, along with a small cafe and an ice cream shop. The cliff walk runs along the clifftops above the beach. Discover Kerry lists the town’s beaches as Blue Flag beaches, used for swimming, surfing and other water sports. Inland, Listowel keeps the story of the Lartigue Monorail, a single-rail line designed by the Frenchman Charles Lartigue that ran between Listowel and Ballybunion from 1888 until 1924, carrying passengers and freight balanced on either side of the rail. The Lartigue Monorail Museum in Listowel tells that story today.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Ballybunion located?

Ballybunion is on the coast of North Kerry in southwest Ireland, on the southern side of the mouth of the Shannon Estuary. Listowel is 15 kilometers (9 miles) inland. The camera sits on Sandhill Road, a short walk east of the castle headland.

What can you see on the Ballybunion Webcam?

The ruin of Ballybunion Castle on its green headland, the Atlantic beyond it, the Ladies Beach and the tall cliffs to its north, and in clear weather the Loop Head peninsula in County Clare on the horizon. The foreground is Sandhill Road, a stone wall and a green with picnic tables.

What is the weather like in Ballybunion?

Mild and changeable. Winter highs average about 9 C (48 F) and summer highs about 18 C (64 F), and around 1,460 millimeters (57 inches) of rain falls in a typical year, with November and December the wettest months.

Which beach is on the Ballybunion Webcam?

The sand to the right of the castle is the Ladies Beach, on the north side of the castle headland. The Men’s Beach lies on the other side of the headland, to the south.

Who built Ballybunion Castle?

The Geraldine FitzMaurice family built it in the early 16th century on the site of an older promontory fort. Lord Kerry destroyed it in 1582, and the ruin has been a protected national monument since the 1920s.

What is Ballybunion famous for?

Its links golf, above all the Old Course of Ballybunion Golf Club, founded in 1893. The town is also known for its castle ruin between two beaches, its seaweed baths, the cliff walk to the Nun’s Beach and the Lartigue Monorail that once linked it to Listowel.

What time does it get dark in Ballybunion?

Around the June solstice the sun sets just after 10 pm local time, after close to 17 hours of daylight. In late December it sets around 4:30 pm, and the day lasts about 7 hours 40 minutes.

Source: McMunn’s of Ballybunion