COUNTY VIEW: The slow death of Inishbiggle

THE tragic death of Christy Henry of Inishbiggle marks the end of another link with the island’s long struggle for survival against what, in the end, were overwhelming odds.
That struggle was best encapsulated by the 30-year campaign to secure a cable car service for the island. It was a campaign in which Christy was a leading advocate, and it was a campaign which – if circumstances had been more favourable – would have made the difference between survival and terminal decline.
Thirty years ago, there was universal acceptance that Inishbiggle’s isolation was choking the island to death. Regarded as the most inaccessible of all the 16 inhabited islands off the Irish coast, its neglect by state agencies had become a mark of shame.
Although it was only a short sea journey across to Bullsmouth in Achill, treacherous currents made it a perilous venture. In addition, the gradient on the island’s shoreline precluded the use of larger boats; only small, open boats or currachs were able to access the slipways. Only in the most benign sea conditions could the 80 islanders be assured of contact with the mainland in times of emergency or distress.
It was then that the island’s Community Council set themselves the objective of securing a cable car access to Bullsmouth, a project similar to that operating successfully on Dursey Island in Cork. The high hopes which marked the campaign’s launch seemed to be justified when the project was given the unbridled support of public representatives, state and local authorities. It seemed only a matter of complying with the normal procedures until Inishbiggle would be finally linked to the mainland by a reliable, safe , stable means of access.
A planning application was duly submitted to Mayo County Council, and the community waited confidently for the response. The urgency of the new service was underlined when two brothers, John and Andy Lenihan, narrowly escaped drowning when their craft was driven seven miles out to sea as they made a return journey to their home in October 1996.
But then, to the great dismay of the islanders, came the planners’ decision to refuse permission for the cable car. The structure, it was claimed, would detract from the visual amenity of the area and would impinge negatively on the tourism potential of the wider Achill area.
But even then, all was not lost. High-level negotiations were set in train, and an amended, more tourism-friendly proposal was put in place. This time, Mayo County Council gave the proposal its blessing, and in 2000 a grant of €1.8 million was approved for the project.
It seemed the end was in sight – but it was not to be. A further series of obstacles now presented themselves.
A Compulsory Purchase Order to acquire land at Bullsmouth as the terminal point of the service was challenged on appeal to Bord Pleanála. When the challenge failed, a further time-consuming appeal was made to the High Court.
By then, because of the delays, it was decreed that the entire project would be subject to a new review. Time went on, and eventually the review concluded that the project was no longer viable. And all the while, the island population continued to decline.
On a December day in 2005, the then Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív, travelled to Inishbiggle to deliver the dismal news. The cable car project was being abandoned, and there would be no government funding made available. His offer of improved landing facilities and an upgrading of slipways was cold comfort for the islanders who, with remarkable grace, extended the traditional hand of courtesy to the minister, even in the face of such grave disappointment.
It was the day the island died.