Ireland’s disappearing beach on Achill Island vanishes again in winter storms

Dooagh Beach off the coast of Mayo has disappeared after reappearing less than two years ago.

The disappearing Dooagh Beach on Achill Island has again vanished after making a brief reappearance two summers ago.

Read More: Washed away Irish beach reappears for first time in 33 years

The Guardian reports that the sand at Dooagh off the coast of Co Mayo has again retreated to the Atlantic Ocean. The beach reappeared in May 2017 after remaining hidden for over three decades.

Sean Molloy of Achill Tourism blames “a series of storms” for washing away the sand at the beach and leaving behind only rocks.

In 2017, Molloy shared a stunning video of Dooagh Beach after it had finally made its return after being washed away for more than three decades:

Speaking this month with the Independent, Molloy said: “It had been going over the last four or five weeks."

“It has been going since there were storms there over Christmas. There were just big rollers coming in and it was hammered all week, but the last few days now it has nearly taken every grain of sand away again.

“It’s more or less the same as before the sand returned, but there seems to be a lot of bigger boulders thrown up onto the beach that wasn’t there before.”

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The beach, a 300-meter stretch between Keem and Keel, first disappeared in 1984, again due to winter storms.

It reappeared in 2017 when a “freak tide” deposited sand to the area.

“In our own office here in 2017 we saw a 71% footfall increase in people seeking information,” said Molloy of when the beach materialized again.

Locals are hoping that the beach at Dooagh will appear again. When it reappeared in 2017, it brought with it the creation of nearly 80 part- and full-time jobs in the area, as well as a decent amount of global media attention.

Read More: Born-again Irish beach a sensation as world media and tourists flock in

Molloy says "there was an air of inevitability" about Dooagh disappearing again.

"It was gone for years and years so we were always saying ‘what happens if it goes again?’. We kind of were expecting that it would go again."

“If you’re under 40 you only remember it as a very young child or in the last couple of years, more or less you would be expecting it to go again. There’s not much you can do with nature.”

“It was great while we had it but there was an air of inevitability about it going. The sand is just out in the bay. With the right conditions, it can come back.”

“Fortunately, we are not short of beaches here on Achill and have 5 other Blue Flag beaches.

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"We are located on the Wild Atlantic Way and this just shows the awesome power of nature in its full glory. We knew that at some point our gorgeous beach would be washed away again, but we had hoped to have had it for a little longer."

The 'What's On in Achill' Facebook page shared this RTE coverage of Dooagh Beach:

Have you been to Dooagh Beach? Share your experience in the comments