Dooagh Beach, Ireland, returns 30 years after disappearing into the ocean
Thirty years later, the beach is back at Achill Island. (Photo/Achill Island Tourist Office)
The beach washed away in 1984, but came back in April.
When most people think of Ireland, "beach vacation" isn't the first thing that comes to mind. For visitors to Dooagh, a tiny town in the country's northwest, it became an impossibility 33 years ago when Dooagh's beach literally washed away into the ocean. But the beach is back today—and it could make waves for the town's economy.
In 1984, heavy storms hit the small town of Dooagh on the secluded Achill Island, sucking nearly all the beach's sand into the Atlantic Ocean. The resultant landscape was little more than rock pools where the sea met land. In April 2017, however, strong winds during spring tides returned that sand over the course of several days, recreating a 900-foot stretch of beach, according to Reuters, a potential boon for the 2,600 residents of Achill Island, whose biggest industry is tourism.
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“It’s enormously significant,” Sean Molloy of Achill Tourism, told the Irish Times. Molloy went on to say how the beach originally had four hotels nearby before the sand washed away. By his estimate to CNN, between 150,000 and 180,000 tourists visit the island every year. Just because there's a beach now, though, doesn't mean anybody should plan to go for a dip in the chilly Irish waters.
"Because of the sand coming in, we don't know how safe the beach is now because currents could be changed and it'll take a little bit of time," he said.
The newly returned beach isn't likely to shoot to the top of any best beaches list, but it's already drawing plenty of attention from visitors and locals alike.
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