It was just like old times in Santa Ponsa on Saturday night as hundreds of holidaymakers took in the late night viewing of Celtic thrashing Chelsea 4-1.
A 1am kick off was a bit inconvenient for the Manchester City match a few nights earlier but 10pm on Saturday is prime time with The Dubliner, Brennan’s, Celts Well and a few others packed with sun tanned Celts seeing how the hoops get on against another EPL franchise backed by rent-a-crowd ‘supporters’ in Notre Dame.
Over the last decade or so Santa Ponsa has become the absolute go-to holiday resort for Celtic fans. Male or female, young or old, the Mallorcan resort has a special appeal and magic of being far off, warm, sunny and continental yet 70% of the voices you will hear are Scottish or Irish to give it a very home from home feel. Especially on game day.
All of a sudden groups of supporters in a variety of kits can be found heading off the their favourite haunts to get an early seat and soak up the atmosphere. Away from match days it is almost impossible to escape the Celtic feeling, not that you’d want to!
The season runs from the start of April to mid/late October and that is when Mairtin O’Huigin and Darrin Cahill put in three hours nightly in The Dubliner.
Mairtin is the Callum McGregor figure, turning in a 9 or 10 performance every time without flinching or taking a breather unless it is a day trip to the Dinner Dance of the Ballymena Shamrock in his diary. After switching his choice of drink to aqua The Dying Rebel has been dropped from his extensive song book.
Every Celtic and Irish song can be heard, plus a few others while behind the bar the prolific twins Sonia and Sofia are constantly on the go, making sure everything runs smoothly with the drinks flowing. They have a sort of Cameron Carter-Vickers impact of knowing what is happening two steps in advance and being there to anticipate. When CCV is in the team you know things will run smoothly, similarly with the Rioja Brennan Senioritas, for extra support they have the brilliantly trained Ciaran as back up.
With that core on the stage and behind the bar things run like clockwork, it is little wonder that Don’t Worry Be Happy always gets one of the best responces of the night.
Following Martin and Darrin for most of the season is Chris from Erin Go Bragh who can hit out with any song under the sun with Rhinestone Cowboy a particular favourite. Fran Alonso certainly enjoyed the singalongs last June as he celebrated his birthday.
The Dubliner is at the top end of Carter de Ramon de Montcalm or right at the small roundabout where Daniel’s Corner is located.
Two minutes from Daniel’s Corner is Brennan’s Sports Bar where the remarkable Michelle makes Daizen Maeda seem work shy. Every night it is a labour of love for Michelle as she pours drinks, clears the tables and chats to customers while putting on bands for two week runs that have been scouted on her winter trips to Glasgow and Derry.
There is a great range to the bands on in Brennan’s, again they appeal to all ages with July and August mainly aimed at the young team while the more mature visitors will be just as at home in the other months.
Ryan Brady is semi-regular but with outdoor and indoor stages the tunes go on until 3am or later with JJ McBrearty, known locally as Jesus, usually on the twilight shift. You won’t meet anyone that enjoys her job as much as Michelle.
A 15 minute walk to the left of Daniel’s Corner lies the Square, home of Celts Well and Harry’s Big Telly where Karl Byrne struts his stuff with a cheeky word or three for the regulars that he has been entertaining for 15 years.
Back in his youth Karl quickly got over the disappointment of narowly missing out on an audition for Boyzone. Ronan Keating made the cut with Clydebank and Santa Ponsa the real winners as a unique talent hit the road.
His guitar is merely a prop, Karl could tell stories and jokes all night long, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of every town in Scotland and Ireland with no subject taboo as he picks on a few targets every night.
Incredibly no-one laughs louder than the victim when Karl turns his humour on them, two complaints in 15 years suggests that he has his delivery is just about perfect.
In Celtic squad terms he probably thinks that he is the Matt O’Riley type. Supplying the goals (songs) and assists (banter) but perhaps falling just short on youthful good looks.
With Frank McAvennie dropping in on the Celts Well for two evenings on September 3 and 4 the laughs should be louder than usual with Hen Parties rapidly booking up their tickets.
For the Scottish Cup Final in May fans were claiming their tables from 12 noon- five hours before kick off. Fortunately Harry Flynn got especially well stocked up with no chance of dehydration, after Adam Idah completed the double KB was on stage as the after-party kicked off.
The Celtic aspect is only about one third of the Santa Ponsca story, tucked away in the south west of the island 30 minutes from Palma Airport the resort attracts visitors from all over with Germans, Scandinavians and Spaniards enjoying the beaches, climate and the variety of bars and restaurants on offer.
Although it is only a 10 euro taxi fare to ‘Maga’ there is nothing in common between the two resorts other than white sandy beaches. In Santa Ponsa you can dine out with the selection not restricted to a ‘diet’ of pizzas, burgers, chips and kebabs appealing to the overweight gammons.
Central to the appeal of Santa Ponsa is the white sanded beach which never seems to get overcrowded.
The bay of Santa Ponsa provides very sheltered waters, the waves are never fierce and from June onwards the chill is removed.
Running parallel to the beach is Gran via Puig de Galatzo which has a Burger King and McDonalds for those needing a taste of home comforts.
At the bottom of Gran via Puig de Galatzo is the big roundabout, take a left and it opens up a very Spanish main road with a massive selection of restaurants with something for those that enjoy their steaks and tapas alongside Sangria.
You can eat out well every night, with or without your Celtic top on and get an authentic taste of the Spanish lifestyle that makes Mallorca the most in-demand resort in Europe.
On the other side of the big roundabout you have what is known as the quiet side of the bay, an area with more German themed hotels and restaurants. Before you reach that area you have to stop and get a picture on Carrer de Lisboa which is likely to have a few Celtic stickers.
Following the coastline round takes you to the exclusive Country Club area with properties belonging to Brendan Rodgers, Jurgen Klopp and Rafa Nadal. The celeb culture is growing fast with Robert Lewandowski the latest resident spotted out and about and down on the beach.
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2 Comments
by Sophie Johnstone
Can you tell me if it is an accessible resort,as my partner is in a wheelchair.sounds like our kind of place.
Editor: Yes, very flat. There is a long slow hill towards the Square but 3 or 4 euros in a taxi covers that. You can get in and around all the main Irish bars without any problem, from Daniels Corner to The Dubliner the distance is about 200 yards.
by Christy Bailey
Fantastic town with great people and of course the best bar with the best staff the dubliner.