'Mini music festival' in West Cork dunes sparks calls for illegal camping clampdown

The sand dunes behind Long Strand in West Cork were left strewn with clothing, plastic, glass, broken pallets, human faeces and used toilet paper

The remains of a fire at the illegal campsite at the Castlefreke/Long Strand Dunes. People may not be aware that they may be camping in environmentally protected and sensitive areas, and even less aware of the damage they could be doing. Photo: Dan Lettice

There have been calls for a major education programme and increased enforcement to prevent illegal wild camping in environmentally sensitive and protected coastal areas.

It follows the staging of a 'mini music festival' in the sand dunes behind Long Strand in West Cork, which are part of the Kilkeran Lake and Castlefreke dunes Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), protected under the EU Habitats Directive.