Atlantic returns sands to Achill beach

Áine Ryan

AS the Mayo coastline is drenched in sunshine this week, an Achill beach, denuded of its golden sands for over three decades, may well be the destination of choice. Dooagh beach, whose adjacent village is the most westerly on the island, has sandy strands again as thousands of tons of sand, shells and pebbles, have been deposited by the ocean in recent weeks.     
Speaking to The Irish Times (Monday) about its ‘huge significance’ for both locals and tourists, SeΡn Molloy of Achill Tourism recalled ‘how the beach had originally sustained four hotels and a number of guesthouses before it vanished’. Indeed, before the little slipway was built in 1927, currachs would launch from this remote beach, while its sand was mixed with seaweed to enrich soil and fertilise crops, like on many other beaches along the west coast.
Mr Molloy explained that the beach at Dooagh was washed away also in the 1890s.
Memorably, the severe storms of recent years had a dramatic impact on beaches right along the Atlantic seaboard incurring hundreds of thousands of euros in damage, some of which has still to be addressed
While signs still point to the beach, the same storms washed away access points to Dooagh, and residents now hope these will be restored by Mayo County Council.
“Achill already has five blue-flag beaches, so we are hoping that in time it will be awarded a sixth,” Mr Molloy added.