COSTA DEL SLIGO
TAKINGS DOUBLE DAILY AS SEASIDE TOWNS REPORT A SPIKE DURING HEATWAVE
ON the morning I arrive into Enniscrone my brother sends me a holiday snap of Praia Da Rocha beach in Portugal. I immediately capture and send him the vista in front of me - the expanse of golden sand, lapped by intense blue waves and caption the photo ‘Enniscrone Hands Down.’
As Tourlestrane native Martha Allen who has been ‘ living on the beach for seven days’ told me: “It’s better than being abroad because it’s like having a foreign holiday with your own bed.”
Families from near and far are scattered throughout the strand, sitting on colourful fold out fisherman’s seats wearing obligatory sun-hats and little else. Some lug freezer boxes as they search for a soft sandy spot to settle for the day.
Buckets and spades, wind breakers and stripy parasols punctuate the beach while holiday makers lap up the seemingly never ending sunshine of this unique Irish summer.
Longford woman Catherine Egan is on Holiday staying in the Ocean Sands Hotel in the centre of the town. Her toddler Lauren is building sandcastles but the rest of her brood have ‘deserted’ her for the day. As she jokes: “They’re all out in the water. I won’t see them for the rest of the day!”
Sporting a tan worthy of the Canary Islands, Catherine says: “This is my first time in Sligo. It is really lovely, it’s just like being abroad actually.”
Making their way to the village for a bite to eat is the Kiefel family who are no strangers to Enniscrone. Grand-mother Maura is originally from this seaside resort of West Sligo. She says: “My husband and I live in Tuam and the grand-grandkids live in Dublin but every year without fail we come back to Enniscrone.”
Just up from the beach, in Gilroy’s bar staff are busy preparing for the lunch time rush. Proprietor Anne Gilroy has had to draft in seasonal employees early.
“Takings here have doubled daily in the last week,” she tells me, “Enniscrone is usually only busy once the national schools finish but with this good weather we got an extra boost early. We had double takings every day which is really unusual and all down to the weather.”
Anne says that the Wild Atlantic Way has directly led to an influx of foreign tourists: “A German tour visits every two weeks and we see more Dutch and US visitors also. The Wild Atlantic Way has opened up this side of the country for to tourism. It used to be mainly Irish visitors, especially from Mayo, but it’s different now.”
Dressed in her chef apron and busy with more deliveries, Anne says: “We have been 21 years in business in Enniscrone and I do not think we have every had a summer this good. Last weekend was like a bank holiday without a bank holiday.
Likewise local councillor and businessman Joe Queenan who rents out holiday homes says “We are full to capacity. The 300 or so beds in the village are booked! It’s been unbelievably busy.”