Clean Coasts & Fáilte Ireland to host a number of Wild Atlantic Way Community Clean-ups on July 16th
Clean Coasts and Fáilte Ireland are teaming up for a series of Wild Atlantic Way clean-up events on July 16th.
Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development’s role is to support the long-term sustainable growth in the economic, social, cultural, and environmental contribution of tourism to Ireland. By joining forces with Clean Coasts, who engage communities in the protection of Ireland’s beaches, seas and marine life, for their summertime Enjoy and Protect campaign, they hope to raise awareness to how our wildlife and marine spaces, when kept clean, benefit the visitor experience.
The Counties, locations and times of these events are:
• Sligo – Enniscrone Beach – 11:00am
• Galway – Sliverstrand Beach – 11:00am
• Cork – Inchadoney Beach – 10:00am
• Mayo – Keel Beach (Achill Island) – 11:00am
• Clare – Lahinch Beach – 11:00am
• Kerry – Fenit Beach – 11:00am
• Donegal – Killahoey Beach – 11:00am
These 7 Clean Coasts events will include a beach clean-up along with coffee and treats provided by various local cafes in each area, so be sure to remember to bring along your reusable cups!
You will be welcomed by a Clean Coasts Officer at the allocated meeting point for each event and given a safety introduction before being offered Clean Coasts kit prior to your clean-up.
Ireland is known for its magnificent coastlines, picturesque scenery, wildlife and exciting activities with a large majority of these landscapes located along the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s first defined touring route, stretching along the Atlantic coast from Donegal to West Cork.
With the rise of staycations since 2020, more people are visiting Ireland’s west coast and enjoying the spectacular beaches. However, it is important that we remember to help protect and care for Ireland’s waterways, coastline, seas, ocean and marine life by ensuring they are free of litter and educate ourselves on how best to do that.
Shane Dineen, Fáilte Ireland Planning & Environment Manager said;
“The Irish coastline and its beaches are an important part of the visitor experience in Ireland. Outdoor water-based activities such as swimming, kayaking and surfing, are popular attractors for domestic and international tourists, and our stunning coastline, rivers and lakes are the bedrock upon which Irish tourism has been built. As they are now being enjoyed more and more by local communities and visitors it is vital that we all play our part to keep our beaches clean so that they can be enjoyed for years to come. Local communities are at the heart of so many great visitor experiences in Ireland and the Clean Coasts groups are a prime example of this, custodians driven by local pride and a vision to protect and enhance our coastline which in turn offers visitors unique opportunities for connection, learning and enjoyment of our natural assets.”
In preparation for the events, why not take a look at our four enjoy and protect guide, including a fourth Enjoy and Protect guide released on World Ocean Day about wildlife photography for people wishing to enter the Clean Coasts Love Your Coast Amateur Photography competition or if you are interested in capturing beauty of our coastline while taking action to protect it. Have a look through all of our guides here.
For more information on these events please contact us at cleancoasts@eeu.antaisce.org or head to our Eventbrite page to find an event near you here.
The specific locations, times and officer details for the events are as follows:
• Sligo – Enniscrone Beach – 11:00am – Olivia Jones (ojones@eeu.antaisce.org) – Eventbrite Link
• Galway – Sliverstrand Beach – 11:00am – Richard Curtin (rcurtin@eeu.antaisce.org) – Eventbrite Link
• Cork – Inchydoney Beach – 10:00am – Aine Lawless (alawless@eeu.antaisce.org) – Eventbrite Link
• Mayo – Keel Beach (Achill Island) – 11:00am – Liane Costello (lcostello@eeu.antaisce.org) – Eventbrite Link
• Clare – Lahinch Beach – 11:00am – Dara Dever (ddever@eeu.antaisce.org) – Eventbrite Link
• Kerry – Fenit Beach – 11:00am – Rachel Geary – (rgeary@eeu.antaisce.org) – Eventbrite Link
• Donegal – Killahoey Beach – 11:00am – Emily O’Carroll – (eocarroll@eeu.antaisce.org) – Eventbrite Link
How to find us:
WEBSITE: www.cleancoasts.org
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: @CleanCoasts
Twitter: @CleanCoasts
Instagram: @cleancoasts
YouTube: Clean Coasts Ireland
Linkedin: Clean Coasts
About Clean Coasts:
Clean Coasts is a charity programme, run through the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce, which engages communities in the protection of Ireland’s beaches, seas and marine life. The Clean Coasts programme is proudly sponsored by Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Failte Ireland.
Clean Coasts works with communities to help protect and care for Ireland’s waterways, coastline, seas, ocean and marine life. Clean Coasts thrives to create tangible and immediate improvements to Ireland’s coastal environment, involving thousands of volunteers removing large quantities of marine litter from our coastline each year.
Clean Coasts has grown over the years and now includes two main national clean-up drives. Other initiatives include the Green Coast Award, the Love Your Coast Photography competition, the Clean Coasts Roadshows for coastal communities and the Ocean Hero Awards. All these initiatives are aimed at celebrating the beauty of our coast and the efforts of our volunteers across all of Ireland.
Currently, there are over 1,800 registered Clean Coasts volunteering groups and over 37,000 volunteers nationwide. There are a variety of group types such as community groups, residents’ associations, tidy towns groups, sports clubs, schools, businesses, universities etc. Clean Coasts organises hundreds of beach clean-ups annually mobilising thousands of volunteers, removing considerable quantities of marine litter from Ireland’s beaches and waterways. Our volunteering has expanded to also include Corporate Volunteering.
