€6m pier at Doolin can double ferry visitors to 200k

A €6m pier at Doolin which will end an unacceptable boating practice that put lives at risk was officially opened yesterday.

At the Clare gateway to the Aran Islands, Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin declared he was “on sacred ground” when opening the amenity which is expected to double the number of passengers on the ferry route to 200,000.

Locals had been campaigning for a new pier for three decades and, until now, passengers heading to the Aran Islands at low tide had to be ‘trans-shipped’ off the existing small pier by currach to the larger ferry.

Mr Howlin said yesterday that “the practice of trans-shipping is not acceptable and puts lives at risk”.

On the importance of balanced development across the country, he said: “We have seen, after really dark days, a change in the public mood as the economy has improved, but it is important that is shared everywhere.”

The initial plan for the new pier was lodged in 2010, but a further planning application had to be made after surfers raised objections that the plan would damage “the jewel in the crown” of Irish surf — a wave breaking off nearby Crab Island.

Ferry operator Eugene Garrihy said: “There was a good long battle with the surfers but I think the new pier doesn’t have any effect on the wave and there are facilities provided for the surfers now — a launch area and showers — so it is safer for them entering the water.

“There are up to 100,000 passengers leaving Doolin every year for the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher cruise but we really believe this investment in the pier, which is the best money spent here for decades, will double within the next three to five years now that this pier has been redeveloped.”

Mr Garrihy added: “We were completely hamstrung in the past by tidal issues, which prevented us from scheduling sailings for a peak period of the day but now the pier is redeveloped the shackles are definitely off for us.”

Also at the pier opening yesterday was Mr Garrihy’s daughter, actor Aoibhín, who has starred in The Fall and Fair City. She said: “It is a great day for the family and Doolin.

“Doolin is already a very well-known place but between the pier development and the Wild Atlantic Way promotion, it is going to be a name on a lot more people’s lips both in Ireland and internationally. We just need to make sure that the growth here is managed properly and respects the sensitivity of the landscape and surrounds.”

Bill O’Brien of the Doolin Ferry Company has operated a service for the past 45 years. The 64-year-old started in 1970. “I had a very small boat with room for 12 people and we charged 10 shillings return,” he said.

He said it was a lucrative business in 1970 “where we would make £50 a day and the average wage was £3 a week”.