Music on the rocks – An Irishman’s Diary on the Ballykeeffe Amphitheatre in Kilkenny

My introduction in the late 1980s was somewhat less than enchanting. Recently acquainted with the scarily compelling sport of rock-climbing, I was eager to find a cliff for practice. An abandoned limestone quarry near the Tipperary border at Ballykeeffe, Co Kilkenny, was rumoured to offer possibilities. The place had been discovered by members of Tyndall Mountaineering Club of Kilkenny City when seeking local crags on which to sharpen their mountaineering skills.

I don’t know exactly what I, and a small group of like-minded enthusiasts, were expecting as the departure point for our new pastime, but Ballykeeffe Quarry certainly wasn’t it. A more unlikely place for outdoor activities could scarcely be imagined. Abandoned by Kilkenny County Council as a source of road-making materials, the place had morphed into a dump for old cars, furniture and other rubbish, while becoming a repository for beet being supplied to Thurles sugar factory.

Determination

Immediately it was obvious that scaling the unforgiving rock of the quarry required more than just square-jawed determination; it also demanded a sanguine attitude, since it was first necessary to scramble over a car wrecks, household waste and decomposing beet to reach this new theatre of adventure.

Our inept moves on the rocks did, however, attract an audience; rats would occasionally pop their heads from the rubbish to gaze at us with baffled curiosity.

In a county where the camán is king, rock-climbing was a new and difficult to understand kettle of fish. Initially, the Tyndal pioneers ploughed a lone furrow, but over time the word spread. The quarry began attracting climbers from other parts of Ireland, with locals such as Brian Dunne and Kevin Higgins happily providing advice and encouragement to newcomers.

Then, a problem arose. Traditionally rock-climbers in Ireland have protected themselves by inserting removable jamming devices, known as wires, into cracks in the rock. But the carboniferous limestone at Ballykeeffe had few such cracks, with the result that a falling climber would “deck”, ie hit the ground. So, a pragmatic decision was made to place permanent bolts in the rock to which a safety rope could be attached.

This decision did not, however, sit well with traditionalists in the Irish climbing community. At one point there were heated suggestions that the new safety devices would be removed from Ballykeeffe with the assistance of boltcutters.

This didn’t happen and the situation was resolved in 1999 when the Mountaineering Council of Ireland adopted a policy of accepting bolted protection in quarries where traditional climbing had not previously taken place. Almost by accident, Ballykeeffe became a sports-climbing venue and the only area with full bolted protection in Ireland.

With the venue now increasingly busy, members of the local community, who heretofore had largely been uninvolved with Ballykeeffe, woke up to its potential.

The end of the last century saw plans unveiled by KBK, the local enterprise group, to turn Ballykeeffe into an entertainment venue by taking advantage of the spectacular setting, as had been done with the famous cliff-side Minach Theatre in Cornwall.

The rubbish, beet and cars were removed as a Millennium project, with the once decrepit quarry transformed, mostly by volunteer effort, into a unique auditorium that represents one of Ireland’s most innovative community initiatives.

Rebranded as Ballykeeffe Amphitheatre, the venue became a multifunctional resource offering walks in the attached nature reserve, while traditional and sports climbing continued to coexist easily beside a summer programme of theatrical presentations and concerts. Soon performers such as Andy Irvine, Anúna, Kila, Cora Venus Lunny and Nóirín Ní­Riain were praising the great acoustics and unique atmosphere of Ballykeeffe.

Another major step forward took place in 2011, when the makeshift stage was replaced with an innovatively designed, outdoor stage costing €100,000 – the first of its kind in Ireland. Since then, the venue has welcomed the Saw Doctors, Bagatelle, Jack L, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and two sold-out performances by country music star Nathan Carter.

Now very much established, Ballykeeffe has few difficulties attracting quality Irish and overseas acts. This year the Stunning packed the venue, while the amphitheatre also saw performances by Declan O’Rourke, Derek Ryan, Eddi Reader and Limerick band Hermitage Green, along with several theatrical performances. But despite this success the local committee isn’t sitting on its laurels. With proposals to upgrade the amphitheatre to a 1,000-seat auditorium, they have expressed confidence that Ballykeeffe is now set to become a unique venue in the tradition of Italy’s famous outdoor theatres.

ballykeeffeamphitheatre.com