Influx of youngsters puts wren boy tradition in jeopardy

An influx of mainly young visitors to a leading tourist town on St Stephen’s Night is putting an old wrenboy tradition in jeopardy, it has been claimed.

Last year, hundreds of people arrived in buses in Dingle, Co Kerry, on the ‘wran’ night, which has been a cherished, local festive event for generations.

But, according to the Holiday Dingle facebook page, “the large swarths (sic) of people — who appeared to have little respect for the town or its people and who were reportedly inebriated upon arrival — make the streets a very unpleasant place”.

Some Dingle people now feel the event should be kept for locals only, as hordes of drunken people coming in for the night could ruin the occasion.

However, due the popularity of the ‘wran’ celebrations and colourful street parades, increasing numbers of people from outside the area are being drawn to Dingle.

Last year, many of the visitors headed for a nightclub, in Dingle’s Hillgrove Hotel, and the club’s manager, Kieran Ashe, has posted a statement outlining their plans to control the situation this year.

Mr Ashe said they were engaging with the bus companies, asking them to arrive in Dingle after 10pm, not to allow alcohol to be consumed on board, to travel via the new bypass road, to park in the Mart grounds and then be stewarded to the Hillgrove. He also said they were trying to arrange a system with the bus operators under which there would be an all-in ticket to cover the bus fare and admission to the nightclub.