Island life

The people’s agenda Achill
Island life

Anton McNulty

SITUATED on the periphery of not just the county but the country, Achill Island has always relied on its natural beauty and unique scenery to provide a living for its inhabitants. Besides small farming and fishing, tourism has been the core economic provider for the island’s inhabitants.
Throughout the last century, thousands of visitors would descend on the island during the summer months and explore what Achill has to offer. The influx of visitors and the need for a place to stay was capitalised upon by many and B&Bs and guesthouses sprung up around the island offering an extra income for the islanders.
During the ‘50s and ‘60s, tourism on the island boomed and Achill was one of the main holiday destinations in the country with tourists coming from all over Ireland and from the continent. However, with the Celtic Tiger beginning to prowl during the mid-90s, popular Irish destinations, including Achill, began to suffer as large numbers headed for cheap, foreign sun holidays instead.
In a bid to revitalise the previously popular seaside communities, the Seaside Resort Scheme was introduced which gave tax exemptions to developers to build holiday homes. While the new homes have provided more accommodation options, they have had a negative impact on the traditional B&Bs, with many people claiming that they do not contribute positively to the economy of Achill Island.
With its five blue flag beaches, breathtaking scenery, open hills and lakes, Achill has all the raw materials to build on, but many feel it needs indoor leisure facilities to compete with the other tourist destinations.
“We would want to see some sort of indoor facility on the island for the visitors and kids,” said Michael McLoughlin, who is the proprietor of Óstán Oileán Acla. “It is badly lacking on the island, you need a place where people can go on the bad day for an hour or two. The piers and walkways will have to be developed because they will be used for years and will be a huge boost to the area and won’t cost a fortune to develop.
“We don’t get as many cyclists to the island as we used to and the number of continentals coming to the island has also fallen. You get a lot of day trippers coming from Westport but they do not spend a fortune. They arrive, travel around, stop here and there, take a few pictures and go again. We need a big development to advertise the place and attract more people in who will stay for longer periods.”
The lack of services on the island is the major talking point in the run-in to the election. There are only two post offices remaining and there are question marks over the future of the two travelling banks which visit the island (Allied Irish and Ulster). This follows the decision of Bank of Ireland to stop operating its travelling bank. As well as that there is only one ATM machine available and it is often out of service because of the demand on busy bank holiday weekends.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. The island has made some inroads in terms of development and the ‘one-stop shop’ in Achill Sound is testament to that. It houses the Contact 4 call centre, which employs up to 40 people, as well as the medical centre and library and beside it the new coastguard and fire station will be open shortly. There is also the proposed new swing bridge and sewerage system at Achill Sound and the €10 million development of the old monastery in Bunnacurry which will also rejuvenate that area of the island. All are hugely welcome developments but the ‘to do’ list remains lengthy. The next government will be asked to step up to the plate and shorten that list considerably.
Meanwhile Dáil aspirants continue to promise the sun, moon and stars.

The People Speak

1 Stephen Corrigan
“What we need is tourism infrastructure. We have all the beaches and are surrounded by the sea but we do not have a decent pier for a boat to launch. Tourists want easy-access tourism products, they do not want to look for things. We need sustainable tourism products like walking, cycling, fishing, water sports where we have the natural facilities.”

2 Pamela Doherty
“We need services here for young people to allow them to do activities outside school and to give them an alternative besides going to the pub. There is very little for young people and you are left in a bit of limbo if you are not into sports. There is no drop-in centre or any option to go and interact with their friends.”

3 Martin McGreal
“It is essential that the sewerage scheme goes ahead as soon as possible in Achill Sound. I am part of the tidy town’s committee here and we can do nothing until this is done. We are way behind in terms of investment here. People still can’t build a house because you have to wait until you are connected to the public sewer.”

4 Kieran Sweeney
“The infrastructure, particularly the roads, need to be improved because they are in a bad state. The piers need to be upgraded especially for tourism and some long term jobs need to be brought to the area to keep the young people because we are losing them all the time. We also need a swimming pool and leisure centre for the area for both tourists and the local people.”