CBA 1 Geography in the News Dooagh Beach Reappears –
33 Years After Being Washed Away A beach that disappeared more than 30 years ago, returned to an island off the County Mayo coast in 2017.
The sand at Dooagh, Achill Island, was washed away by storms in 1984, leaving only rocks and rock pools. However, following a freak tide, hundreds of tonnes of sand were deposited, recreating the old 300-metre stretch of golden beach.
Before After
According to Sean Molloy, manager at
Achill
Tourism: ‘Before it disappeared, the beach had been there for as long as living memory, almost continuously, until 1984–85. … then when we had a cold snap over Easter, the wind was coming in from the north. It was very constant and steady and it must have transported eroded material in from elsewhere.’
He said the bulk of the sand was deposited in just over a week, leaving locals delighted.
Excitement was short lived however, as in January 2019, the beach disappeared once again during a period of bad weather.
2022
To read a news report on the reappearance and disappearance of this beach, search online for ‘Coast to ghost: Irish beach vanishes after brief reappearance – Guardian’.