Charlie Chaplin found ‘no room at the inn’ in Waterville

The great irony about Charlie Chaplin’s long association with Waterville was it might never have happened in the first place.

As the picturesque Kerry town continues to celebrate, until Sunday, its annual festival for the legendary Hollywood star, history records that ‘the Little Tramp’ actually found himself confronted with a ‘no room at the inn’ scenario on his first visit there back in the 1950s.

Having come to Waterville with his family to sample the fly fishing recommended by his friend Walt Disney, Chaplin arrived unannounced at the reception of the Butler Arms Hotel to find his status meant little at the height of the tourist season.