We’d all like to Bray beside the seaside..
Wicklow town has real buzz and famous faces
WHAT’S the buzz with Bray? The Wicklow seaside town is putting Ireland on the map.
Lindsay Lohan films there, Gordon Ramsay eats there and stars such as world champion boxer Katie Taylor and TV presenter Laura Whitmore are from there.
Hozier went to school in Bray, comedian Dara O Briain played for its football club and Professor Luke O’neill once jumped in the sea there – in his uniform – to celebrate his Leaving Cert results.
Our new Taoiseach Simon Harris was born and bred 3km down the road in Greystones, where he still lives now with his own young family.
For a wider area with a population of only around 50,000, Bray has produced a disproportionate amount of famous figures from the world of arts, culture, sport and science.
And this has made Bray – and surrounding areas like Greystones, Delgany and Kilmacanogue – be likened to an Irish Brighton, such is the buzz around it.
It’s close enough to the capital to commute, but far enough out on the coast to have its own, unique, chilled-out seaside vibe.
Last year, it made Time Out magazine’s prestigious top 14 most underrated travel destinations in the world.
The late Sinead O’connor lived on Bray seafront for 15 years, and her funeral brought international media to the spot, 20km from Dublin down the N11, or a 40-minute DART trip.
This month, it was announced that the Aircoach is set to run hourly services from Dublin Airport to Greystones, starting this summer.
TOURISM
The news was celebrated by locals, but it will also provide another tourism boost to the north Wicklow area.
Lohan’s latest movie Irish Wish may have been panned by the critics, but its views on location of Bray Head and Kilruddery House and Gardens are the best thing about it, and a showcase for its beauty.
The Happy Pear in Greystones got a mention by Lohan’s co-star Ed Speelers, who ate there after a trek up Djouce Mountain.
Homebird Saoirse Ronan shunned Hollywood and LA to set up home in Greystones – where rocker Bressie also lives.
The late Sinead O’connor spotted Bray’s charm way back and chose to raise her family on the Bray seafront.
The bohemian Harbour Bar, which hosts up-and-coming singers/songwriters, comedians and trad players – has always been a magnet for celebrities such as Bono, Neil Jordan, Brendan Gleeson, Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson.
Shane Macgowan used to visit as did Greystones-dweller Ronnie Drew.
Its proximity to the famous Ardmore Studios – where movies like My Left Foot, Braveheart and the series The Tudors were filmed – saw legends like hellraiser Peter O’toole, Laurence Olivier and Katherine Hepburn enjoy a drink there too.
Bray’s status as the classy choice of the cultured goes back in history – with former residents including James Joyce and Oscar Wilde, among them. Joyce lived in 1 Martello Terrace between 1887-1889 and his Bray family home is mentioned in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses.
Wilde spent childhood summers in his family’s former holiday home along the promenade on Esplanade Terrace.
The family of horror writer Sheridan Le Fanu – who inspired Bram Stoker – lived in Bray in the mid-1800s.
Lately, Bray is emerging as a gastro destination, with their local curry house Daata winning Best Indian in Ireland at the Justeat awards. And celeb chef Gordon Ramsay enjoyed its butter chicken dish last month.