Mayo Kite Festival future remains uncertain despite record numbers

THE future of the Mayo International Kite Festival remains uncertain despite close to 15,000 people attending the festival on Achill Island on Sunday.

Achill experienced one of its busiest weekends of the summer with thousands of people descending onto the island with people experiencing traffic delays at Achill Sound and in Keel throughout Sunday afternoon.

The Mayo International Kite Festival on the Keel Sandybanks was one of the main draws of the weekend alongside the annual St Colman's Garden Fete and Féile Du Éige also taking place.

An estimated 15,000 people attended the Mayo International Kite Festival on Sunday with the Keel skyline covered in kites of all shapes and sizes.

Francois Collusi of Pure Magic, who have organised the festival each year since 2017, told The Mayo News that this year's was the biggest ever but lamented that this may be the last due to the cost in hosting the free event.

“There were a good few people who said to me they never saw Achill like that with queues of cars crossing the bridge at Achill Sound and this was the biggest Mayo Kite Festival we organised. Over one afternoon from the morning to the end we estimated that 15,000 people attended. There were coaches bringing people from Dublin and Galway and all over for the festival ... it was just insane.

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“We have so much to maintain our normal day to day business and tourism in Achill is facing some challenging times. So when we leave our normal business to organise events it is very risky for us and I am not sure we can continue to do it on our own. This year we said we would do it and it was great to finish in such beauty like a final firework.

“People ask why don't we charge but the whole concept of this event was it was free for all and it is worth it when you listen and read the feedback of the people. We have tried everything ... if people do not get the value of what we are doing here then there is nothing else we can do. We cannot beg for tourism or for Mayo,” Francois said.

Attraction

JADE O'Connor, an Achill-based kite surfer and kite flyer, told The Mayo News that apart from the Achill Half Marathon, the Mayo International Kite Festival is the biggest attraction for visitors to the island and it would be a shame if the support was not provided to keep it.

“Yesterday was one of the biggest days of the summer in Achill and it was all families and a mixture of young and old coming together in a safe environment to marvel at the majesty of kite flying. It doesn't matter what age you are, everyone can enjoy and get a kick out of flying or watch people fly kites.

“Everyone knows that hosting a festival of this size costs money and Francois and his team have put a huge amount of work into it to make it a huge success. Thousands of people from all over Ireland came for it and it would be a huge shame if it was let go. This is unique to Achill and I would urge the tourism bodies and Mayo County Council to do what they can to ensure it remains a feature on the Achill tourism calendar," she said.

Kiteflyers from France, UK, New Zealand, Ukraine, South Africa and America travelled to take part in the festival and Francois explained that many of the kiteflyers make sure they include Achill in their itinerary for the year.

“I was very proud of the team who were able to put this event together on a shoestring and they worked their hearts off. The amount of promotion this brings to the island and Mayo and the west of Ireland is huge and that cannot be forgotten. We will be disappointed if this is the final festival but if it is it will be the biggest thing we have ever done and we are very proud,” concluded Mr Collusi.