Clare island adventures in running for best day out award
LOCAL adventure operator Clare Island Adventures has made it to the top five shortlist in the Irish Times' search for the best day out in Ireland, in partnership with Discover Ireland.
Members of the public nominated around 2,000 entries for the award, with the overall winner due to be announced on Saturday (June 27).
Clare Island Adventures is a joint venture between Adventure West (Louisburgh and Westport), Go Explore Hostel (Clare Island) and Clare Island Ferry Company (Roonagh and Clare Island), who teamed up in 2013 to pool resources and provide a high quality experience to those interested in exploring adventure activities on the island.
They offer great value, all-in packages that cover ferry, accommodation and activities. Adventure choices can be water-based or on dry land. They are specialist instructors in coasteering, which is a mix of rock-scrambling, cliff-jumping and adventure swimming that is growing in popularity throughout the country. Water babies might also enjoy snorkelling or raft-building.
For those who prefer to remain on dry land, they can guide even complete beginners to climb and abseil the stunning sea cliffs or take you on a guided hike of the island pointing out the abundance of flora and fauna that it is famous for.
Their nomination for this year’s competition came from Gina Corbett, who said: “Clare Island Adventures give a wonderful day out, full of adventure and challenges. I was enormously impressed with the professionalism of the staff and the confidence they instilled in me, not to mention the sense of achievement I felt at the end of the day.”
Islander Carl O’Grady (Go Explore Hostel/Clare Island Adventures) said: “We’re delighted to have made it on to this shortlist. It’s an amazing achievement for a small operation like ourselves and a testament to the pride that all of our teams take in their work. It also helps to promote general awareness of what Clare Island has to offer, but in particular it highlights the quality of our instructors and the overall experience we provide at Clare Island Adventures.”
Although only working together for two years, Clare Island Adventures have been drawing a fair bit of attention to the island and all it has to offer. In December 2013 they collected 'best outdoor escape' at the Outsider Magazine Awards and in 2014 Carl O’Grady responded to a surprise visit by Irish Times judge Fionn Davenport by giving him a whirlwind tour of the island. That resulted in Clare Island making the cut for the Top 5 Places to Go Wild in Ireland (with the overall award going to Erris).
This is the fourth year that the Irish Times has run a competition of this type and Mayo has picked up the overall prize twice, with Westport winning the Best Place to Live in Ireland in the first year. Although the Great Western Greenway made it onto the top 20 shortlist, Clare Island Adventures is the only Mayo nominee still in with a chance of picking up the overall prize. Will it be three out of four for Mayo?