AN appeal has been made to restore the pier at Cape Clear’s South Harbour.
The picturesque cove on the south side of Oileán Chléire was once a safe and tranquil haven for visiting yachts wishing to avoid the busy North Harbour, with its commercial and passenger ferries, according to islander Mary O’Driscoll.
She said visiting sailors loved to row ashore to South Harbour pier, then stroll to the North Harbour to meet friends and locals and enjoy some refreshments.
It was also a favourite spot for sea swimmers and kayakers who enjoy exploring the coves and caves around the harbour’s edge.
Since Storm Kathleen a large portion of the pier has been completely washed away, making it impossible to access the landing stage from the public road.
Similarly, a person coming in the opposite direction has no access to the road.
It’s now become a health and safety issue, particularly for children who are walking in the area as evidenced by the photograph which showed the well-known round-the-world sailor Robert Knox Johnson who visited recently.
The famous sailor landed in the harbour only to discover that the pier now had no access to the road. Luckily for him a local person came to the rescue with a ladder!
The second notable visitor, arriving directly after Robert, was the wooden sailing ketch, the Ilen, on her first visit to South Harbour in summer 2024, which also experienced the difficulty of getting ashore on the same afternoon, Mary told The Southern Star.
The Ilen has a very strong Cape Clear connection with South Harbour and the very able seafarers of Cape Clear, Denis Cadogan and Con Cadogan. In 1926 the two Cadogan cousins sailed the Ilen from Baltimore, where she was built, to Port Stanley in the Islas Malvinas.
Mary made the point that the South Harbour pier is also of great importance to swimmers, shore fishers, snorkelers, and kayakers. ‘It is of vital importance that this damage is repaired as soon as possible to avoid any accidents and to facilitate our harbour users over the next few weeks,’ she said.
Cape’s summer season is already quite short, so the lack of a safe landing place in this area will have adverse effects, she added.
The islander said there could also be an additional risk if an unsuspecting sailor arrived after dark and found a gigantic hole in their path. She said it could cause a serious injury or worse if they fell in.
‘The pier is used by children and visiting school groups during the summer and the dangerous implications of a small slip for one of them is enormous,’ said Mary. ‘We very much hope that even a temporary repair and access can be facilitated for the summer in order to prevent an awful accident.’
