It's in the back end of nowhere, but the charm of Ireland's Lapland drawschildren from all over the country to see it, writes Patti Holly
Tucked away in the north-west corner of Inishowen in Co Donegal, lies the Isle of Doagh - in the shadow of Slieve Snaght or Snow Mountain. Rather appropriate really, since in the weeks leading up to Christmas it undergoes a metamorphosis to become Ireland's Lapland.
For the past four years, Ireland's Lapland (aka Doagh Island Visitor Centre and Famine Village) has enjoyed phenomenal success - delighting thousands, astounding cynics and turning tourism in the north west on its head.
Every one of the five shows a day between its opening on November 24th and Christmas has been sold out since mid-October - the capacity for each show varies between 100 and 120 depending on the ratio of children to adults. Four years ago, when it opened, around 2,000 visitors made the journey to see Santa. When the curtain goes down on the last show on December 23rd, more than 24,000 people will have passed through this year alone.
For most, it will be their first trip to Inishowen. The visitors' book shows that every county in Ireland, except Cork, is represented and several coachloads from Scotland have visited this year. No mean feat considering how local people claim that Donegal is the forgotten part of Ireland and Inishowen - the most northerly peninsula in Ireland - the forgotten part of Donegal.
Marketing pundits say the three most important things in business are "location, location, location", so few would have given odds on a family-run visitor centre opening, much less flourishing, on the windswept Atlantic shores of this remote part of Inishowen. But then, they hadn't reckoned on the entrepreneurial flair and drive of Pat Doherty from the Isle of Doagh.
Ireland's Lapland, on Doherty's own admission, is at the back end of nowhere. Yet visitors are invariably pleasantly surprised, after miles of driving along narrow country roads - some with less tar than a cigarette - and following signs showing that Lapland is getting tantalisingly closer, to arrive at a well-lit, supervised car park.
For just €10, visitors get a 30-minute show (shows are on the hour from 5p.m. until 9 p.m.), after which each child in the audience is called out by name and given a present and certificate from Santa. They then have about 45 minutes to wander around the specially created Lapland village. As the room empties through the top, people exit onto the village street, while it starts filling up again by the back door with minimum fuss.
According to Doherty, Ireland's Lapland started almost by chance. When the family homestead - a thatched cottage, built circa 1850 - was being replaced in the late 1980s, the family were reluctant to demolish it.
"I was interested in thatching and thought we should retain the old buildings which fortunately we did. In 1997, when there was talk of the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine, we came up with the idea of the Famine Village, to bring some of the old stone byres back into use.
"Like other cottages that age, ours had a wide chimney and open hearth. My six-year-old nephew asked why it was so big and I said, jokingly, it had to be big enough for Santa. That's how it all started, the wee fella kept asking when Santa was coming."
He continues: "The first year I borrowed some deer from a neighbour and fixed up the outhouses so children could feed the reindeer, visit Santa's house and see the elves at work in the toy factory and post office.
"We try to add something different every year - this year, there's a special nativity scene and 24 new sets, including a nightclub for the elves. We're very aware, though, that Christmas is in danger of becoming over-commercialised so we like to get the true meaning of Christmas across and remind children to think of others less fortunate than themselves."
Doagh Island Visitor Centre is a family business with Doherty's two sisters and various members of the extended family involved. Unusually for tourism projects in Border counties, Ireland's Lapland has been developed without public funding, except a marketing grant from North West Tourism. Yet despite the lack of financial support, the project, which started off as a part-time seasonal business, is thriving, creating much needed employment opportunities where few had previously existed (four Santas work there, not to mention the 24 elves, who are played by local children).
The positive spin-off has been felt throughout the area. Midweek and weekend breaks in local hotels incorporating a trip to Lapland were snapped up, and hotels within a 15-mile radius report 100 per cent occupancy.
Brian Harkin, owner of Rossaor House Guest House and six self-catering cottages in the nearby village of Ballyliffen, says he is completely booked out at weekends between now and Christmas.
"We'd usually be slack in the run-up to Christmas so Lapland is a tremendous boost, not just for ourselves but for all businesses. To have well over 20,000 people visiting the area, many staying overnight because of the distance travelled, is a real shot in the arm for the economy."
