Maritime-themed Christmas tree to light up Achill harbour

A MARITIME-themed Christmas tree crafted entirely from fishing gear and equipment will be lit by Santa Claus this Sunday at the car park of the Achill Head Hotel.

The Maritime Christmas Tree Project is organised by members of the Purteen Harbour Committee, who – as well as sending Christmas cheer to the local community – also aim to incorporate an educational component for local school children.

As part of the educational experience, the committee plans to insert up to ten varieties of fish and shellfish into the tree and national school children will be challenged to seek and identify these species. To make it more engaging, participating children will be entered into a competition. The winner will receive a personalised prize along with prizes for their family and school while ten additional runners-up will also be rewarded.

Gerry Hassett of the Purteen Harbour committee told The Mayo News that he expects Santa to visit Achill this Sunday, December 10, when he intends to turn on hundreds of solar-powered lights on the tree at 5pm.

Something different

Gerry also explained genesis of the maritime theme. “We have been talking about doing a Christmas tree for Purteen for a number of years and decided that we will do it this year. However, when we started to think about it we decided that we would make it educational for the children and they would learn about marine life around Achill. All the species on the tree were caught around Achill and include crabs and lobsters and oysters and crawfish and all sorts. It will make the kids aware of what is out in the waters around Achill and make it educational and interesting for them. The competition is free and open to all national school children.

“The project is different and unusual, but it will be something for the family to visit and look at and hopefully they will win a few prizes in time for Christmas,” he explained.

There will also be a donation station at the tree, where adults can support Achill RNLI and the addressing of local maritime safety needs at the harbour and the surrounding area.

To express gratitude to everyone who makes a donation, every evening from Monday, December 11 to December 22, they will pick the name of a person who donated to the fund and present them with a spot prize.

“We will have a donation station and a drum where you will make your donation as well as leaving your name and details,” Gerry explained. “Every evening for 12 days we will pull out a name and that person will get a spot prize donated by businesses in the area, which will include hampers and vouchers and other top prizes. Every one of us who works at sea knows how important the lifeboat is, but we also need life-saving equipment around Purteen to ensure the lifeboat is not needed,” he said.

Gerry thanked all those who have supported the project and have donated spot prizes and hopes the Christmas tree will be a big hit with the local community.