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A
memorable visit...
We were delighted when Julia Roberts visited the Village a few years
ago and upon leaving sent John Mulvihill the following postcard.
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The
postcard reads:
Hi
John,
Thanks for the heat of your fire. See you soon.
Julia
Roberts
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An article in local newspaper, 'The Kerryman' also reported on the
event.
The
Kerryman - Friday, May 1, 1992
When film star Julia Roberts looks back on her visit to Kerry a
year ago, she has no hesitation in singling out the most romantic
interlude she enjoyed with her companion, Jason Patric.
She has no doubt that it was the one and a half hours they spent
chatting by an open turf fire in the Ballycleave Bog Village. She
was so impressed with both the village and the welcome at the Red
Fox Inn that she sent a postcard in which she thanked the Mulvihills
for the heat of their fires.
During
their visit, the couple savoured not only the old-world atmosphere
of the village but a few wholesome glasses of Guinness.
To
mark the first anniversary of the opening of the village and to
share some of that romance from the past, a reduced entry fee of
£1 for adults and children will apply this Saturday and Sunday.
Since
the village opened 12 months ago, the Mulvihills have seen visitors
react with surprising emotion and enthusiasm. Sadie Mulvihill met
one American visitor who wept openly because it reminded her so
much of the Mayo home she emigrated from.
The five cottages and the forge look as if the owners had just stepped
outside for a walk. The authentic feel of the place - described
by many visitors as a sense of the real Ireland - is added to by
the hens, donkeys and ponies who wander around freely.
Character is stamped on the village too through the names of the
cottages. Three of them are called after local men - Phil McGillycuddy,
Dooks, Danny Riordan, Ballycleave, and Paddy Browne, Caragh Lake.
The forge is called after the late Jack Bell O'Sullivan, Cahersiveen
who was a blacksmith. The whole village is dedicated to the memory
of John's late father, Jerry, who had a turf yard in Limerick.
The meticulous attention to detail and design owes much to the work
of the builders, Tim and Sylvie O'Shea and engineer, Gerard O'Sullivan
who comes from Castlemaine.
The Mulvihills have added to the facilities again through the construction
of a thatched toilet block designed to look like a turf store.
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