Ever since Vikings made Dublin a hub for the largest slave markets since the fall of Rome, and since the Norman Richard de Burgo laid the foundations in Galway for one of Europe’s fastest-growing cities, seaports and harbours have been drivers of economic growth.
That’s why fish buyer Bertie Flaherty is among business people in south Connemara convinced the future of the region depends on a simple Government decision to build a deepwater port at Rossaveal, west of Galway city.
Flaherty points out that half the work has already been done. The fishery harbour and ferry port for the Aran islands would need about €20 million in investment to transform it into a port for larger fishing vessels, oil and gas, and wind energy tenders, cargo ships and cruise liners, he says, compared to €50 million for the first phase of a similar plan for Galway docks, already with Bord Pleanála.
Cruise liners
South Connemara and Galway city would benefit from the Rossaveal option, he argues. “You look at the psychology of the cruise liner trade, which Galway wants to avail of,” he says. “Cruise passengers want to go ashore, get on a bus and move away.
“So if they come into Rossaveal, Galway city becomes an attractive destination, whereas if they are landing directly into Galway they want to get out and head for Clare,” he says.
Flaherty works for Iasc Mara, a fish handling factory, which had up to 450 seasonal staff in the 1990s and now employs about 60. The fishing fleet, including Aran island vessels, is close to some of the best prawn and whitefish grounds, but EU quotas and fuel costs have made decommissioning schemes an attractive option.
“There isn’t a house from Barna to Carna that hasn’t a brick in it earned from work in Iasc Mara, but Rossaveal needs more than fishing and ferries to survive,” Flaherty says.
He points to Killybegs in south Donegal and Dingle, Co Kerry, as examples of fishery harbours that diversified in time. Dingle has become a magnet for yachts, expanding its marina several times, while Killybegs used its €50 million deepwater development to target offshore oil and gas.
“Whether it’s offshore wind energy or the oil on the Porcupine, Rossaveal is closer as a service point than Galway,” he says. “We need to provide employment opportunities for our young people out here, not in the cities, and all we need is State leadership to make that start.”
