A chara, - Following his holiday in North Clare, David Rose wonders "if the success of the Celtic Tiger is subtly changing the soul of Ireland - for the worse" (The Irish Times, September 13th). I believe that Mr Rose's article displays a little paranoia and naivety. However, I do think that his views are worthy of serious consideration in determining whether or not we have lost some of the essence of our Irishness; and if so, why?
Mr Rose is saddened by what he sees as a new aloofness towards tourists. Tourists were once a novelty in North Clare. Not so nowadays. Imagine the effect that an estimated 600,000 visitors a year to the Cliffs of Moher has on the area. And of course, not everyone visits the cliffs. This is an area with a population of only about 8,000!
North Clare/Burren has the second-highest ratio of tourist beds to local population in the country. In the busiest months of July and August the area just cannot cope. Worst of all are the traffic problems. Buses and left-hand drive camper vans are the worst culprits, causing long traffic delays and making life dangerous and miserable for cyclists, walkers and other road users. No one-way system for buses exists here, as on the Ring of Kerry.
Significantly, these huge buses and camper vans contribute very little to the local economy. The overwhelming majority do not even stay the night in the area and leave little to compensate for the inconvenience caused to locals by pot-holed roads or the fact that a mother with baby and pram cannot even go out for a walk. I would never justify Mr Rose's treatment by a local farmer, but farmers suffer too from inconsiderate tourists who park their cars across gateways, leave gates open, frighten animals and knock stones off walls.
Understandably, this kind of mass tourism can lead to a certain weariness in some natives at the sight of yet another tourist. We should be surprised that it doesn't create outright hostility! What we have here is a "peaks and troughs" tourist season, unsustainable and untenable. Few visitors come to enjoy the Burren in the shoulder season when it is at its very best and they almost have the place to themselves. Now I've given away their secret!
I can say from own experience that the overwhelming majority of visitors to North Clare leave with a positive view of this beautiful area and its people. We care about our image and we want more tourists to stay longer in the area. Communities here are starting to encourage sustainable development and eco-tourism and results will indeed be positive for everyone from the farmer, to the tourist operator, to the visitor. Future development will not be at any cost. This is why the people of Ballyvaughan are opposing two large developments which threaten to overwhelm their village, one which includes 60 holiday homes and another a 50bedroom hotel.
We are not opposing them because we don't want tourists (we do). We are opposing them because we want to preserve our quality of life, our village and the surrounding area for ourselves and visitors like Mr Rose. That's why people here have still not given up in the battle to stop the Mullaghmore visitor centre. That's also why the people of Ennis are opposing a huge hotel and multi-storey car park on the Post Office Field, the town centre's last green area.
Mass tourism can breed contempt. It is also by its nature impersonal and consequently it often prompts an impersonal reaction from the local populace. In Ireland we must move away from mass tourism towards sustainable, small-scale, quality tourism. - Is mise,
From Simon P. Maden
Ballyvaughan, Co Clare.