It is, by any measure, a good yardstick. John Campbell is posing with his young daughter next to the statue of Michael Collins in the middle of Clonakilty. “We do it every year so we can see how much she’s grown,” Campbell says. “Well, we only started it last year.”
Yet the chances are that the run of photographs will continue. Campbell, his wife and their two children live in Greystones, Co Wicklow, but are regular visitors to the west Cork town – as was his own father. Members of their extended family are down for the week and amid general complaints nationally over a “washout” summer, Campbell doesn’t seem too pushed by the few drops of rain sprinkling around Emmet Square.
“I have the rain jacket in the car,” he explains. The family are renting a studio apartment and he argues that by the time you take the cost of flights into account, a domestic holiday likely ends up as cost-effective as an overseas trip – minus some of the hassle. “Sure, it could be raining in Portugal,” he says.
This level of positivity about Ireland’s summer tourism season isn’t universal. Michael Lynagh, office co-ordinator at the Waterford Chamber and a resident of the seaside town of Tramore, used to keep an eye on the weather forecast. These days, not so much.
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“You give up on it at this stage because we know it’s going to be bad,” he says with a laugh. Lynagh believes Ireland’s less-than-vintage summer weather has put a dent in tourist numbers to the area, commenting on the smaller number of people who appear to be on the Waterford-Tramore bus as it shuttles between the two locations.
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“My colleague was telling me the other day that there was only three people on the beach in Tramore; that’s mental in Tramore in the summer – you’d get more in the winter.”
For Michael Garland, director of the Tramore Amusement and Leisure Park, summer 2024 has been “a very tough year”. Originally from St Andrews in Scotland, he has lived in the southeast since 2001. He believes the “misty, sh**ty rain” has an outsized influence, particularly for day-trippers and domestic visitors, but he adds that there are other factors at play.
“Ireland is a very expensive tourism country,” Garland says. “We have to accept that wages are so high, and they have to be high, because the cost of living is so high.” He speaks of “exorbitant rates” and people spending less, as well as a shortage of accommodation locally. Finally, he believes the southeast is only getting a fraction of the number of visitors from the United States, who tend to hit Dublin and the Wild Atlantic Way.
He refers to the fantastic scenery in the southeast and the great food offerings, but adds: “Anywhere outside Dublin and the west coast hasn’t gripped the imagination.”
Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, chief executive of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), says this summer has seen plenty of American visitors here, but with some concerns over whether that pattern is matched by those coming from the UK and Europe.
‘Visitors might go to the Cliffs of Moher, but then they’re going straight back to Dublin or on to Cork There is no dwell time’
— Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, Irish Tourism Industry Confederation
“The US market is performing strongly, but the other markets are soft and one of the big issues is that the cost of running a tourist or hospitality business in Ireland is very, very high,” he says.
O’Mara Walsh refers to challenging factors such as insurance and labour costs and the hike in the VAT rate from its previous level of 9 per cent to 13.5 per cent. The ITIC is looking for that 9 per cent level to be reinstated in the next budget, and stickers and posters on display around Clonakilty bearing the “9 per cent” logo show plenty of people on the ground support such a move.
O’Mara Walsh also argues that in some parts of the country a shortage of tourist accommodation may also be an issue, claiming that 10 per cent of all tourism beds – some 77,000 – are contracted by the State for the provision of accommodation to Ukrainians fleeing the war.
While acknowledging the humanitarian need, he says a shortage of beds in some areas may lead to downstream businesses – such as attractions and restaurants – missing out on increased tourist spend. He points to Co Clare, where he says 25 per cent of tourist beds are unavailable for that purpose, as an example.
“Visitors might go to the Cliffs of Moher, but then they’re going straight back to Dublin or on to Cork,” he says. “There is no dwell time.”
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And what about the weather? O’Mara Walsh says rain is more likely to impact on domestic visitors, who may be more inclined to go overseas for guaranteed sunshine, whereas international visitors don’t come to Ireland for the weather in the first place.
“Come rain, hail or whatever, they are out and about,” he says.
They were certainly out and about in Killarney, Co Kerry, on the last Saturday in July. In what O’Mara Walsh calls “the heartbeat of Irish tourism”, the town seems flush with foreign visitors enjoying the sunshine.
An American duo with a newly acquired hurley are batting a ball towards their dog in the grounds of Muckross House, while nearby a five-strong group of Canadians are sorting out their map for a tour of the famous property. One of the group admits that the costs in Ireland are higher than expected, but not outlandish compared to other destinations. And they all seem to be enjoying themselves “What a great country,” says one.
‘It’s the Wild Atlantic Way – you expect a bit of weather. The weather shapes the countryside and people, so it’s part of the experience’
— Michael O’Neill, Fernhill House Hotel and Gardens
Tom Randles agrees. The owner of Randles Hotel in the town, Randles is also on the local chamber of commerce. He says Killarney is busy, but “quieter than usual”.
“Traditionally the last week July and first two to three weeks in August are the busiest times, and when I look [for accommodation] there is availability throughout Killarney,” he says.
“There is a lot of footfall on the streets, but the feedback we are getting is that people are spending less.”
Randles believes the impact of emergency accommodation has been overstated, unlike the rising input costs, from linen to food and beverages – after all, the price of a pint increased again earlier this year.
As for the weather, in the Kingdom it has been not so much the rain that’s the issue as “the daily grey skies”. Not that it matters so much. According to Randles, “As late as yesterday I spoke to some golfers and I was apologising to them for the weather, and they love it. They’re coming from severe weather, wild fires – American tourists are very happy to come here and go golfing or hiking in a more temperate climate.”
Catherine Kilbane, communications officer for Achill Tourism, says the Co Mayo island has seen plenty visitors this summer, many from overseas.
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“There are a lot of places doing food and drink that are not as busy as they were previously,” she says. “You would notice that it is easier to get a table. The pub culture is not in it as much as it used to be. Pubs are busier earlier on in the day, around five or six o’clock.”
Yet for all that, the recently extended Great Western Greenway, the hiking, walking and water sports, along with traditional music sessions, are still drawing in visitors, she says.
Down the other end of the coast, it’s a similar story in Clonakilty. Michael O’Neill, fourth-generation proprietor of Fernhill House Hotel and Gardens, says: “It’s the Wild Atlantic Way – you expect a bit of weather. The weather shapes the countryside and people, so it’s part of the experience.”
“The general consensus is that, overall, visitors are back,” he says, even if he also feels inflation and the VAT rate have combined to make life harder for the hospitality sector.
For the visitor though, it all seems quite serene. At La Creperie, one of the food stalls at Clonakilty’s weekly Friday market, Freda Gorman and Joan Loghran are part of a group taking a light lunch. Gorman, a dog groomer, lives in Trim, Co Meath, while Loghran, a recently retired audiologist, lives in Newry. They are visiting their friend Bernie, a resident of Clonakilty.
“There’s lots to do, weather is good, it’s kind of more relaxed, you can bring the dog into cafes that you mightn’t be able to do in other towns,” says Loghran.
Gorman, who plans on going to Loop Head in Co Clare for a week in August, says they arrived just hours previously in Clonakilty and have already been swimming. “The beaches are beautiful, and it’s not busy,” she says. They plan on heading to Lough Hyne the following day, regardless of the weather. “What are we going to do?” Gorman says. “Sit inside? It’s bright until 10 o’clock, it’s beautiful.”
Has the weather really been that bad?
It turns out this summer hasn’t been a washout. Technically at least. According to Met Éireann forecaster Keith Lambkin, the first half of summer 2024 has had “around 30 per cent below normal rainfall, and temperatures were about 1 degree below normal”.
“[We have had] less than normal rainfall this summer to date, but because of the jet stream position, Ireland has experienced a lot of rain/shower low pressure systems passing overhead this summer.”
According to Met Éireann, all available sunshine totals were above their long-term average for the season, with seasonal sunshine highest at Malin Head, Co Donegal. But, says Lambkin, compared with the same period in summer 2023, “we have had 23 per cent less sunshine”.
