Clodagh Finn: After decades of decimation, rural rebuilding begins

WE didn’t see it as cafe culture then, of course, but if you’re of a certain age and from the greater Tralee area — a narrow focus, I admit, but the scene was repeated in restaurants and hotels in many other regional towns — the name The Allegro Grill will fill you with a warm shot of nostalgia, writes Clodagh Finn

The restaurant on the corner of the Mall and Denny St was a magnificent haunt for teenagers in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s who gathered in its booths to drink (surprisingly good) milky coffee, puff on shared cigarettes, talent-spot, and plot the great escape.

It wasn’t the same for everyone, but most of us were hell-bent on figuring out the fastest way to leave Tralee.