A South-West Clare beach described as “a hidden gem” is hit by a number of issues preventing wheelchair access.
Provision of wheelchair access at Glasheen Beach in Doonaha was requested by Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) at this month’s meeting of the West Clare Municipal District.
Unimpeded access for all is an aspiration of Clare County Council’s, senior executive engineer Alan Kennelly outlined but warned that issues at Glasheen Beach “complicate the provision of wheelchair access”.
Several “environmental consents” are required before planning consent can be sought due to its location within the Lower River Shannon SAC & the River Shannon and River Fergus Estuaries SPA.
Elevation between the road and bench was observed as “relatively large” which would necessitate a number of wheelchair ramps in series, “this complicates the construction process, and the cost of the project may become relatively expensive,” Kennelly added.
Visitor numbers to Glasheen Beach “are not very high,” he stated while suggesting more wheelchair users could be accommodated at busier beaches. No funding currently exists to carry out the works, he confirmed.
Glasheen Beaches was regarded “one of the hidden gems in Ireland,” by award-winning travel writer, Pól Ó Conghaile, Cllr Keating noted. The Cross native believed the works were vital, “This is beautiful, it has golden sand, people want to enjoy the view of the water from the beach, they’re not swimmers as such,” he stated.
Wheelchair buggies should be in place at all lifeguard beaches, Cllr Shane Talty (FF) remarked, “so that anybody with mobility issues can still enjoy our public amenities”.
