From the Giant's Causeway to the scenic beauty of Ballycastle, the North Coast has all you could wish for in a holiday destination. However, ask anyone from Northern Ireland about Portrush and they will probably mention Barry's Amusements. Opened by the Trufelli family in 1925, Barry's was perhaps NI's most famous amusement park, attracting thousands of visitors each year.
The park was opened by Francesco Trufelli, a former trapeze artist and manager of the Royal Italian Circus, and Evelyn Chipperfield of the Chipperfield's Circus family. At one point, the family also owned Barry's Amusements in Belfast and Bangor. In the 1920s, the five Chipperfield sisters and one brother brought their unique blend of plays and musical show to Ireland bringing with them one of the earliest movie projectors and introducing many to their first experience of 'moving pictures'.
As they toured local towns they built a reputation for themselves and such was the esteem in which they held that, when the Royal Italian Circus came to tour Ireland in 1923, they asked Evelyn Chipperfield, the eldest of the sisters, if she would act as their agent. This was how Evelyn met Francesco Trufelli. He was the director of the circus and a former high trapeze artist.
The two fell in love. Evelyn was already in love with Ireland and it was not too difficult to persuade her sweetheart to stay. Together they continued to tour Ireland before, in 1926, being invited by the Railway Company to set up a permanent site i.