Got me dem ole Brittas Bay blues, writes ISABEL MORTON

THERE was a time when, if you didn’t know any better and you heard someone casually mention that they were “nipping down to Brittas to the van” you mightn’t have understood to what they were referring.

Images might have sprung to mind of dodging cowpats and scrambling over fences to get to the beach, eating cold baked beans from the tin and spreading hand-rinsed clothes out to dry on gorse bushes.

But those in the know could immediately read between the lines. The term “nipping” was used to emphasise how short the journey was from the more salubrious areas of south Co Dublin.

The loose mention of the general area of “Brittas” in fact specifically referred to either Jack’s Hole or Ballinacarrig, Ireland’s most exclusive and sought-after holiday resorts, where rent and service charge fees are close to €10,000 a year. And the derisory term “van” was used to make sure everyone knew that, despite the fact that they might have paid up to a quarter of a million euro for their mobile home, it was all worth it, as it provided their children with a good “old fashioned” family beach holiday in Ireland, regardless of the weather.

After all, it was, as one owner told me, “an investment in the children’s future in the sense of providing them with great childhood memories”.

Conveniently, it was also an astute financial investment at one time, as the cost of buying into Jack’s Hole and Ballinacarrig holiday parks rocketed during the boom.

They may have been the most expensive mobile homes in Ireland, if not in the world, but Jack’s Hole and Ballinacarrig were the only two locations where the upwardly mobile set would have considered buying.

Ideally situated beside sandy beaches, less than an hour from Dublin, the facilities, security and entertainment provided by these “members’ only” holiday parks provide nice families with an opportunity to meet other, equally nice families, in a relaxed environment.

Glamorous young mothers were known to buy designer “casuals” for the Brittas season and many wore high heels and full make-up with bikinis on the beach. It was the place to see and be seen, make social and business contacts and ensure that your children were best friends with children from all the “right” families.

Comfortable patterns were quickly established, where wives would up sticks and move to Brittas Bay for the summer season, while husbands would work in the city during the week and invariably joined their families at the weekend. It suited everyone at the time. But times have changed.

Prices of these holiday homes have now halved in line with property valuations nationwide. But while there will always be a market, however small, for primary residences, it appears there may no longer be a market for Irish holiday homes for the foreseeable future.

Most mobile homes are sold via direct enquiries to the holiday parks but Stephen Clarke of Clarke’s Auctioneers, Ashford, Co Wicklow have six for sale.

Prices range from €40,000 for a mobile in Ballinacarrig which would need to be renovated or replaced (new vans cost about €60,000-€80,000) to one of the larger mobile homes in perfect condition and enjoying the benefit of frontline sea views in Jack’s Hole, which has a price tag of €140,000. The average asking price in the area is now €95,000.

While Clarke said there had been a lot of interest and he had arranged a number of viewings, he admitted he has not yet sold any mobile homes this year and expressed concern about the likelihood of selling any now, as the summer season is due to get going in a fortnight’s time.

In addition, the 176 owners of mobile homes in Ballinacarrig Holiday Park are in dispute with the owner of their holiday complex over the proposed 15 per cent increase in rent (for the individual mobile home sites) and service charges.

One Ballinacarrig owner who bought at the top of the market says, “we’ve just had to accept that although we’ve enjoyed the last few years having barbecues on the beach with the children, our mobile home in now worth little or nothing, as there are at least 20 for sale in Ballinacarrig at the moment, with no sign of any buyers”.

She said many of those who bought during the boom are now in negative equity and unable to sell at any price. Owners are also bound by the rules of the holiday parks and are not permitted to let their mobile homes, although some were able to get around that rule by “lending” to friends.

The party days may be over and the Brittas balloon may have burst but for those children who enjoyed the sand dunes (now dramatically eroded), the friendships and the freedom, their memories will always be of long sunny days.