In the spring of 1984, the tiny Irish village of Dooagh on the island of Achill was hit with a series of Atlantic storms. After a particularly severe storm, the villagers woke up to find their beloved beach missing. The storm had sucked all of the beach’s sand into the Atlantic Ocean leaving behind a bare rocky coastline.
© Achill Island Tourism Office
33-years later, in April 2017, Dooagh was hit with some freak tidal waves. Lo and behold, its missing 900ft long beach was back within a couple of days! The unusual tides washed back tons of sand, recreating the old beach.
© Achill Island Tourism Office
Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time Dooagh’s beach has disappeared only to reappear again! Sean Molly, manager at Achill Tourism, told The Irish Times that a very similar missing beach incident occurred in the 1890s. But by 1930s, sand was once again deposited, and the beach was back.
© Achill Island Tourism Office
Though we don’t know if and when the beach will vanish again, let’s enjoy it while it’s here!
