Beach ranger to be employed at popular Achill beach

A beach ranger is to be employed at Keem Bay in Achill Island as part of a range of measures to manage tourist numbers at the popular beach.

Mayo County Council is to employ a seasonal beach ranger on the beach during the busy tourist season, where it regularly draws thousands of visitors.

Keem Bay has been beset by issues relating to parking, wild camping and fires in recent years following increased visitor numbers.

Traffic counters for traffic and walkers, extra signage and a new traffic management system are also to be installed, members of Mayo County Council’s Tourism SPC was told.

A total of 34 actions have been identified as part of the new strategy.

Anna Connor, Mayo County Council’s Head of Tourism, said one of the aims of the strategy was to ensure that any future development at Keem Bay would ‘balance economic, social and environmental impacts’.

Achill-based councillor Paul McNamara welcomed the beach management plan as ‘a big step forward’.

Cllr McNamara asked that the plan be put in place ahead of the June Bank Holiday weekend, which last year attracted large amounts of wild camping.

“Last year, on the June Bank Holiday weekend, the amount of wild camping that took place on Keem Bay; I counted 168 tents wild camping in Keem Bay,” Cllr McNamara said.

“I actually went down to it at half-eleven at night and there was 177 vehicles parked up in it. So it is very important that it is put in place for the bank holiday weekend and then for the tourist season up until August 8.”

Upgrades to an existing toilet block at the beach are due to go to tender in the coming weeks.

Keem Bay has won numerous awards, including being named among Lonely Planet’s top 100 beaches in the world.

It was also named ‘Best Beach’ in the Irish Independent’s 2023 Reader’s Travel Awards.