Dooagh,Achill Island’s returning beach.
When an item hits the frontpage of newspapers like the story of the prodigal beach at Dooagh, Achill Island,(see the Irish Times article) it’s hard not to sit up and take notice.It’s especially hard when you have lived in the area for many years and have spent countless years surfing, kayaking, swimming with dolphins, fishing and involved in all the other watersports that happen in such a location.
As surfers we see movement of sand on our beaches all the time.Generally they are small and tend to be a cycle of stripping and restoring.What the sea removes, it generally tends to replace.How many times have you walked the beach and thought “I don’t remember it being so stony..” and then the next time that you are there you’re not conscious of it because the beach seems completely normal.
Achill Island, on the extreme western shore of Ireland is prone to severe storms and strong tidal movements.Funnily enough though, most of the beaches have few worrisome features.There are very strong tidal flows at the North, South and West of the Island but in general the beaches are sheltered.That’s why a movement of sand of the scale required to change the beachscape of Dooagh is quite significant.Hopefully the conditions that caused the occurrence won’t happen in reverse and that the beach will remain a sandy shoreline for years to come, instead of a mixed beach of sand and stone.
Should you wish to visit the beach, by using one of our Achill Island Tidelocks, showing Dooagh beach,you can make sure that you get there when the tide is out so that you can view it in its full sandy splendour!