Amphitheatre to form part of €300k headland facelift

A spectacular headland in West Cork is getting a facelift in a €300,000 project.

A picnic terrace in an ancient amphitheatre setting is one of the creative features of a new-look Virgin Mary Point at Inchydoney beach, near Clonakilty.

Work is well under way on the headland improvement scheme and project promoter, hotelier Des O’Dowd, says conservation management will be a primary factor.

The site, extending out from the luxury Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa hotel, is in both private and public ownership.

Over many generations, both the Atlantic and the public have taken their toll on the eroding headland.

“Parts of the Virgin Mary bank were not very inviting and inaccessible to many people, especially those with mobility difficulties,” said Mr O’Dowd. “Erosion is a problem, grasses were not being regenerated, briars were out of control and pathways close to the cliff edge were unsafe.

“Conservation is not all about retaining a site in its natural state,” he said. “We can’t ignore the damage and we have to take measures to manage and preserve the headland for future generations.”

Mr O’Dowd said the idea to improve the headland was in the making for six years but was accelerated after Inchydoney hosted an international project to help protect Asian elephants. Magnificent sculptures of a herd of green-coloured lifesize elephants, made from recycled material with clover foliage, attracted thousands of people over the summer months of 2008. “At that time, so many people said they loved the fantastic headland and were impressed by its spectacular views. But many others, in wheelchairs and elderly who were not so mobile, had been confined to enjoying it only from the car parks.

“Our plan is simple,” said Mr O’Dowd, who has been operating the award-winning luxury hotel since 1998. “We want to make the headland fully accessible so that many more people can use it. We also want to make it safer and enhance its environment.”

County council planners approved Mr O’Dowd’s application last March and there were no appeals to an Bord Pleanála.

Inchydoney is a designated Natura 2000 site where its flora and fauna are protected habitats of European importance. “As a special area of conservation, there will be no dramatic changes to the site,” Mr O’Dowd said. “It will be like a long garden, visually appealing with meandering paths, stone-faced walls with grass seating, proper fencing and lighting along with native species of grasses and foliage.”

A viewing platform will be constructed overlooking the beach and headland on the Ring side of Inchydoney

“The planning has been a long process but, from the start, we consulted with the neighbours and other stakeholders and the local support was overwhelming.”

Garden designer Diarmuid Gavin played a part in the project but landscape architect Mike Waldvogel from Cloyne, Co Cork-based Forestbird Design and the Kinsale-based Mike Walsh Design Group brought the concept to fruition.

“We see ourselves as custodians of the headland and we would like to leave it in a better way than we found it,” said Mr O’Dowd.

The West Cork Development Partnership is providing €185,000 towards the project. Its chief executive Ian Dempsey said Inchydoney was one of several Blue Flag beaches in West Cork being “upgraded” under a scheme to enhance amenities.

“Phase I of a three-part scheme has just been completed at the Warren in Rosscarbery and a number of projects for other top beaches are under consideration.

“Along with Inchydoney, they are all sensitive sites but have an extraordinary importance in terms of their tourism and recreational amenity resources,” he said.

Mr Dempsey said the WCDP was considering, at other blue flag beach locations, forging a joint approach with local authority on planned development projects.