Once upon a time . . . a long time ago . . . in Ballydehob . . . there was a President, a film star, Annie, Jula, Danno, a man with a gun . . .

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/album/4vXUOKXNZ9YQ8TlpkH6XnI?si=UlyJ2M1vT6C-hyuqd9JkLA

Apple Music link: https://music.apple.com/ie/album/dont-tell-nell/1760902895?i=1760902910

Back in the 90s, whenever we could get a few hours break from the business of family-raising, we would head out, with whoever was visiting us that particular week, to Ballydehob, to the glorious Annie’s restaurant for some well-earned calories. The usual deal was that we would settle into Levis’ with a round of drinks and Annie would come over with menus, descriptions, culinary advice and comparison notes about our children, who were all similar ages and some in the same school. After a little time, she would be back to call us over to our table, and we would troop over the road, suitably relaxed, for a wonderful meal and a memorable night out.

A Very Strange Sight

On one occasion, we arrived over and as we settled into our drinks in Levis’, looking out the window that faced Annie’s Restaurant, we saw a man sitting outside, under the awning cradling a pretty serious gun on his lap . . . don’t panic . . . it turns out that our President at the time, Mary Robinson was having a night off and this was her security detail, guarding the door.

The Film Star

Okay, I heard it was Kevin Costner but maybe someone can set me right . . . apparently, he was looking at locations with Neil Jordan who was in the early stages of production for the film ‘Michael Collins’. I was told that the two boys rocked up to Levis’ to find Jula doing the kegs in the cellar and were told to go and make the tea! . . . which I think, is what they did. For that moment on, I think Jula was clever enough to let people grow the story and she was happy to ham it up if required . . . and for the record, Michael Collins was later played by Liam Neeson in the movie . . .

Don’t Tell Nell

So I had the idea to write a song about this little bit of local folklore and here it is . . . obviously, I made up a lot of stuff, I have no idea who Levis is, or was, but I like him the way he is now!