The beach is the reason to come. Ballyheigue has three kilometres of Blue Flag sand at the near end of a dune-backed strand that runs the best part of ten kilometres, all the way from Banna Strand in the south to Kerry Head in the north. It’s a proper family beach – broad, gently shelving, safe for swimming and lifeguarded through the summer – rather than a dramatic Atlantic clifftop. Bring layers anyway; the wind off Tralee Bay has its own opinions.
The whole thing sits inside the Akeragh, Banna and Barrow Special Area of Conservation, so behind the sand there’s a serious run of protected dunes. The water is good for surfing, windsurfing, kite-surfing and paddleboarding, with consistent swell and a forgiving sandy bottom for beginners. One honest warning: on a hot summer Sunday the parking turns chaotic – come before midday or be ready to circle.
The castle and the Danish silver
Above the village stands the gaunt shell of Ballyheigue Castle, a Tudor-Gothic-Revival house built in 1809 by the Crosbie family on the site of an older one, used for a spell as a jail and burned out in 1921. You can’t tour it – it’s a ruin in the middle of the golf course – but it’s worth knowing the story behind it. In 1730 a Danish East India ship, the Golden Lion, was wrecked in a storm off Kerry Head, and its cargo of silver was brought ashore here for safekeeping. It was then robbed – by men acting, it’s long been said, for the Crosbies themselves – and where the silver went is still argued over locally three centuries later.
The wider parish is thick with older history too: ringforts, souterrains, a holy well, bullaun stones and fulacht fiadh (ancient cooking pits) dot the surrounding townlands. And on the modern side, the writer and painter Christy Brown, author of My Left Foot, lived in Ballyheigue from 1975 until 1980.
On the water and the cliffs
- Fishing: Shore anglers take bass and flatfish like plaice and flounder off the strand; the rocks out on Kerry Head give up pollock, mackerel, coalfish, wrasse, conger eel, dogfish and bull huss, best from May to September. The outlet of Lough Akeragh is the spot for surf-fishing.
- Black Rock: At the north end of the beach, this little tidal island cuts off from the shore at high water and is a favourite fishing perch.
- Golf: Ballyheigue Castle Golf Club, a nine-hole parkland course opened in 1996, loops around the castle ruins with views over the bay. Green fees run about €25 for nine holes and €35 for eighteen at the time of writing.
Walking and cycling
The headland is the draw for walkers. The Kerry Head loop can be walked, cycled or driven, with long views across to the Dingle Peninsula and the open Atlantic. Ballyheigue is also the finishing point of the North Kerry Way, a roughly 48 km waymarked coastal trail from Tralee that you can join at any number of points, passing ringforts and the old earthen bank known as An Claí Rua, the Red Ditch.
Practical information
- Getting there: Ballyheigue is about 18 km (11 miles) north-west of Tralee, a 20-minute drive via the N69 and R551.
- Parking: A large free car park sits by the beach; it fills fast on warm days.
- Facilities: Public toilets, a children’s playground and a slipway for small boats and kayaks are all by the car park, with pubs, shops, a post office and places to eat in the village.
- Lifeguards: Seasonal patrols run from late May to early September; hours are posted on the beach notice board.
- Dogs: Welcome on the beach, but on a lead, and clean up after them.
- Events: The ‘Half on the Head’ half marathon, which bills itself as the most scenic in Ireland, runs in June, and the village festival is in July – check exact dates locally, as they move year to year.
If you’ve a clear evening, time the walk for the turning tide and head north toward Black Rock, with Banna Strand stretching away behind you – it’s the best of the beach with the fewest people on it.