Wild Atlantic Drive Ireland

PLANS are being drawn up for an “end-of-the-world” drive along Ireland’s Atlantic coastline to rival the most scenic road trips around the globe.

Tourism chiefs are working on a link-up of existing routes from Donegal’s dizzying Slieve League sea cliffs to the wilds of west Cork to draw in thrill-seeking motorists from overseas.

The trail will be pitched to continental Europeans and US visitors in particular as the “authentic Irish experience” on a self-drive journey to match famous drives such as California’s Pacific Coast Highway or Australia’s Great Ocean Road.

Alex Connolly, head of communications at Failte Ireland, said the “Wild Atlantic Drive” could be promoted as a two-week holiday which can also be completed in smaller stages for those with less time.

“We’ll be pitching this at people who want to come over and have an authentic experience and enjoy not only Irish landscapes, but also the company of Irish people,” he said.

“It will be for people who are looking for that rugged, authentic Irish experience, the Ireland that at one stage – before the discovery of America – was considered the end of the world, but still has that remoteness and beauty about it.”

Great news that Inishowen is to be included in Fáilte Ireland's 'Wild Atlantic Drive' tourism initiative! http://t.co/BkDHgk8m

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The Red Door

The proposal is one of the flagship projects for the state tourism agency in the year ahead.

There is no defined route yet drawn up but it is already envisaged it will join up the most dramatic by-ways and highways from Donegal through remotest Mayo and Achill Island, into Connemara and over the Burren and on to west Cork.

The themed trail will also act as a “shopping aisle”, with points and markers along the designated way to tempt holidaymakers off the main route to “pleasant diversions” including historical, cultural and tourism attractions.

“People who come from overseas to Ireland don’t necessarily see the counties, and they’re looking for the authentic Ireland,” said Mr Connolly.

“We have as much to offer as other countries when it comes to that kind of thing.

“We now have to work with local communities and local authorities along that whole western seaboard area to try and bring this alive – there is a lot of work to do.”

The initiative is seen as a key way to remarket and rebrand Ireland to overseas tourists without spending too much money during a time of national austerity.

Another major focus in the coming year is Project Britain – a plan to dramatically increase visitors from across the Irish Sea by promoting Ireland as a holiday “at home”.

Research by the tourism agency suggests Britons do not think of a visit to their nearest neighbours as an overseas trip.

Mr Connolly said it was planned to take advantage of this psyche by advertising Ireland as a ‘staycation’ at a time when the economic decline there is pushing up the numbers taking breaks at home.

“Our research is telling us that a lot of British people, when they consider their own home market, they think of places like Scotland, Wales and Cornwall, but they also kind of consider here as home,” he said.

“We think there’s a trick there we should play.

“There may be scope for us to start pitching to possible British visitors who are looking for a home break to come to Ireland.”

With a 4pc increase in visitors from Britain last year after years of steep decline, tourism bosses are expecting at least the same increase this year, which they plan to build upon with Project Britain.

They are mainly targeting the more affluent parts of the UK – London and the south east.

“Given that Britain represents 45pc of our overseas visitors, we really have to crack it,” said Mr Connolly.

There will also be a focus on Germans, who are starting to come back to Ireland in greater numbers as their economy recovers and they see more value for money in Ireland now than in recent years.

See also: Traditional Cottages in Ireland

Ray Thatched Cottage Donegal

There is an expectation that business from the domestic and foreign markets will increase in 2012. However, the agency has warned that there is no room for complacency and says increasing value for money must be the top priority.

2011 saw an increase of almost 6% in the number of overseas visitors here.

Fáilte Ireland’s annual report says this trend should continue, once the industry continues to pay close attention to costs. Ireland is seen as a better value destination than in previous years, particularly by French and German visitors.

View: Holiday Homes in Inishowen

Over 70% of businesses have reduced prices while increasing their marketing efforts and Fáilte Ireland says the sluggishness that crept in during the boom has been replaced by an innovative and flexible approach. Boosting visits from the British market remains a key priority.

It said that while the perception of value has been an issue for British visitors in recent years, better offers from the trade and a weakening of the euro have helped. The perceived value of eating out, drink and the cost of living also improved significantly in 2011, Fáilte Ireland said.

The agency is upbeat about the prospects of increasing visitor numbers from the US and continental Europe and says there are strong indications that Irish people will holiday at home in greater numbers than ever before this year.

Fáilte Ireland’s CEO, Shaun Quinn, said the tourism industry was now in good shape to fight for business in the year ahead.

But he warned that tourism is an export business and one whose fortunes are heavily influenced by consumer confidence.

”Any downturn in the global economy – or even significant fears about a downturn – has the potential to undermine the fragile recovery made so far in Irish tourism”, he said.

Founded in 1981 by Mary and Jamie Young, Killary Adventure Co. is celebrating 30 years at the forefront of the Irish Adventure Industry. From humble beginnings in a few converted cow sheds in Little Killary Harbour to the new purpose built site overlooking the Killary Fjord the business has weathered many storms, natural and economic!

Mary & Jamie Young visited the stunning Little Killary harbour and decided that this was the best spot to start up an adventure centre in Ireland. This was back when there were no transport links to the wilds of west Connemara, bookings were taken by letter and central heating was provided by an old stove! 30 years on and over one hundred thousand people from all around the globe have passed through our centre seeking adventures big and small!

View all Holiday Homes in Mayo

Over the last 30 years the company has grown into Killary Adventure Co, moved to a new location and every year has been innovative in the activities on offer, our impact on the environment and dynamic in how we do business in the every changing economic climate. The business started off as the first privately owned centre in the country and has continued this tradition – building the first High Ropes Course, having Irelands first fixed Bungee Jump, the highest climbing tower and the first wind generator of its kind in Ireland to provide power for the centre, to name a few.

When asked what the key was to surviving 3 recessions “Consolidation & innovation” answers Mary Young, “In a recession, as the income stream decreases, it is essential to ensure that there is a rapid response with the costs going down as well. Bitter experience makes for a great teacher!”

Over its 30 years in business many people have passed through the doors of Killary. Many families, friendships, memories and marriages were made and started here. “We started off just wanting to build a business in the outdoor field and live in the West of Ireland for a while. Then came the desire to make it a sustainable business into the future, so when Jamie & I will have had enough and want to sail away, it will allow our children and other families to live and work with a quality of life that is pretty unique.”

Seafest Lough Swilly at Rathmullan

Come the first weekend of July, the sheltered waters of Donegal’s Lough Swilly will spring to life with sails big and small, with the slap of oars and paddles. The shoreline and golden sands of its beaches will play natural backdrop to theatre and games, to families and friends celebrating in the unique surroundings of our coastal environment.

w:: www.seafestloughswilly.com
t: 00353 74 9158188 or 00353 74 9158874
e: seafestloughswilly@gmail.com

No celebration would be complete without plenty of our coastal food culture: fresh fish and shellfish from our local waters; lamb, beef and pork from our local fields – all of it turned into simply exceptional regional cuisine by our talented local chefs.

Come and join us — on the water, on shore, and at the table.

• Self Catering Accommodation in Rathmullan
• Self Catering Accommodation in Fahan
• Self Catering Accommodation in Buncrana
• Self Catering Accommodation in Ramelton

The following article appeared in The Irish News and was written by Laura Murphy

Belfast Maritime Museum

“BELFAST is remembered for the two Ts – the troubles and the Titanic,” says Charlie Warmington.

The latter, he adds, is something he often refers to as a “weapon of mass distraction”, because the hype around and transfixion on the famous ship detracts from the significance of the other boats and infrastructure built in Belfast, on the many industrial sites that could never have existed save for the presence of one vital natural resource – the River Lagan.

Not only was Harland and Wolff – once ranked as the biggest shipyard in the world – dependant on it, but so were the likes of its rivals during the late 1800s, Workman and Clarke.

The Lagan also facilitated important industries such as Belfast Ropeworks Company, Sirocco (which built ventilation units for said ‘distractive’ ship, the Titanic), and Belfast Gasworks.

Charlie is research administrator at Lagan Legacy, a social enterprise formed in 2002 to preserve and promote Belfast’s maritime history and heritage, and I meet him on board a newly opened vessel which was purchased specifically to be transformed into a floating museum that would visually capture the essence of the history of the River Lagan.

He believes the name of this boat – the Barge MV Confiance, which is French for ‘confidence’ – is wholly appropriate, given that confidence was something which everyone involved with its development had to show.

“Until Friday January 21 this year when we opened it, I still couldn’t believe it was going to happen,” he says.

Lagan Legacy purchased the 600-tonne Dutch barge, which is 54.71 metres long, 6.6 m wide, and around five m high, in 2006 and sailed it into Belfast – a feat in itself.

“They basically welded down the hatches, put a lot of ballast in her and she came over as a submarine,” Charlie reveals.

“She’s a long river vessel, she would just crack in two unless they kept her down in the water.

“The calculations were phenomenal; you needed enough water to float her, the speed so that her side thrusters and rudders would steer her, and it had to be the right depth of water, yet it couldn’t be so deep that she wouldn’t get under the bridge.”

Against the odds, the three-man crew successfully sailed the blue and white vessel to where she is moored at Lanyon Quay.

Lagan Legacy secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and adapted her into the state-of-the-art floating cultural centre and maritime museum that she now is.

Named after north Belfast former Harland and Wolff worker George McAllister, who supplied most of the photographs in the exhibition, as well as a wealth of information and memories about shipyard life, the museum was officially opened on January 21 – which is bizarrely, also the date of George’s wife Teresa’s birthday.

Seventy-nine-year-old George began his 45-year-long career in the rigging department of the shipyard at the tender age of 15.

“It was a brilliant time – the camaraderie, the boys down there, acting the fool,” he says, his eyes misting over at the recollections.

“I have my own grandsons and I try to tell them (about the history of the Lagan) – they never knew what ship building was like and there’s a lot more like that who don’t know. They should be told, to let them know just what went on in Belfast at that time.”

Stepping inside the barge is like stepping back in time; from the quiet hum of the engines, the low ceiling, and the tinny echo of your footsteps as you walk down the stairs to where the museum is housed on the lower deck.

The boat also boasts a multi-use space which can be used for temporary or visiting exhibitions, and as a flexible theatre, conference, cinema and music facility. (There was even a hen party here a few weeks ago!)

A cafe is due to open in the vessel next month.

The actual exhibition, which comprises touch screens, interpretive panels, and interactive displays, is entitled: ‘The greatest story never told’.

It’s an extremely impressive collection of artefacts. But it’s the way in which it captures the sights, the sounds, the very essence of what life working on the Lagan must have been like, that makes it such a fascinating, enlightening place to visit.

You can pull out drawers and marvel at maritime menus, showing the kinds of food served on board the ocean liners, and the typed correspondence between Lord William Pirrie, who was Harland and Wolff chairman between 1895 and 1924, and companies, quoting details of dimensions, materials and prices needed to build ships for them.

You can press buttons which sound the noises of drills, welders, hammers, and rivets, sounds that would have been heard daily by workers in the shipyards.

There are several television and computer screens, which, at the lightest touch, will show recorded interviews with shipyard workers and images of newspaper clippings, and quite a novel facility that allows you to learn the ‘berth day’ of the ships built on your own birthday (I’m delighted to discover that of five or six built on my own, a supertanker named Olympic Brilliance was built in the year closest to that of my own birth).

Charlie points out that every single day of the year except Christmas Day saw at least two ships being built in Belfast, with some having up to a dozen constructed.

One display poses the challenge of finding out what kinds of structures were or weren’t built in Belfast. And from the range of things such as trains, wind turbines, and the famous Churchill tank (“one of the most famous fighting vehicles the world has ever known,” Charlie says), it transpires that the only kind not to be built in Belfast, ever, was a submarine.

With his typical sharpness, Charlie observes this is rather poignant, pointing out that in some ways Titanic herself became a submarine – the first to be built in Belfast – when she sank on her 1912 maiden voyage.

But Belfast certainly deserves its place on the world stage it terms what was built here.

SS Canberra, the famous ocean liner which also served as a troop ship in the Falklands War, was built by Harland and Wolff at a cost of £16 million.

The mammoth ship was nicknamed the Great White Whale, and there are rigging maps, showing the design of the ship, showcased in the MV Confiance’s exhibition.

It wasn’t only ships and boats that were constructed at Harland and Wolff; in 2001 the company was commissioned to give Dublin’s famous landmark, the Ha’penny bridge, a major face-lift.

They also built Londonderry’s Foyle Bridge in 1980.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, therefore, to learn that the Harland and Wolff workmen made everything they needed themselves in the line of desks, chairs – and even guitars, which they carefully crafted to amuse themselves during their lunch hour at the height of Beatle-mania during the 1960s!

Another display shows the typical ‘workwear’ of a 1950s shipyard employee – sensible looking but seemingly unpractical lace-up shoes, navy jacket and beige shirt, alongside the altogether more attention-grabbing get-up of a 21st century workman, namely red overalls, boots and fluorescent flak jacket.

There’s a ‘Samson and Goliath’ exhibition, dedicated to Belfast’s giant cranes, or, as they’re referred to, the ‘Giant’s Causeway’ of the city, and a model of the Sea Quest oil rig, which was the first drilling rig to discover oil in the North Sea, and was built by Harland and Wolff for BP at a cost of £3.5 million and launched on January 8, 1966.

Charlie admits he has a particular fondness for this replica: “I love her,” he smiles.

It’s model proportions even show a seemingly small Belfast City Hall in the background, to convey how huge this structure was.

(It was 320 feet high, weighed 150,000 tonnes, and consisted of three legs, each being 35 feet in diameter and 160 feet long).

Charlie may describe himself as a “hack”, and refuse to apply the term historian to himself, but it’s obvious that his passion for ships and all things nautical makes him the perfect candidate for his involvement in Lagan Legacy and MV Confiance.

In his younger days, he came close to quitting university to take up a training post with the British Shipping Federation , and today he is able to describe in detail the seafaring successes of his “favourite ship” – The Mullugh.

But first and foremost comes his desire and dedication to seeing the wonderful legacy of the River Lagan, and the many industries it once supported, preserved.

“Without the Lagan none of that could have happened,” he says.

“But the weird, weird, weird thing is – it shouldn’t have happened. The Lagan was shallow, meandering, it wasn’t just difficult to navigate, it was dangerous to navigate. There are sandbanks, mudbanks.

“The water we’re floating on at the minute – we call it the industrial artery to the world and that’s what it became.”

n The museum on board The Barge MV Confiance is open daily from 10am to 4pm, and is accessible to all ages. Guided tours are available. Group visits and school bookings are welcome and bespoke programmes can be planned. For more information contact admin@laganlegacy.com or phone 028 9023 2555.