This article is from page 15 of the 2011-08-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
A PILOT ferry service connecting Ballyvaughan and Galway City looks set to be established early in 2012 after initial feedback from the Spyria Partnership feasibility study has given a thumbs-up to the ambitious project.
While the report in full won’t be published until the middle of next month, The Clare People has learned that the research undertaken by the independent Scottish company will show that tidal conditions are conducive for the service to be established and that there is a demand, both in North Clare and Galway, for the service.
Following the official publication of the report next month, the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop Group will put out a tender, looking for a local ferry owner to operate the service. It is expected that the “hop” will first run for an initial six-week trial basis this spring but hopes are high that the demand will exist to extend the service indefinitely after that.
Once the initial commuter demand has been met, it is hoped that the service could be expanded to ferry tourists between Ballyvaughan and Galway during the busy summer months.
The Ballyvaughan Bay Hop in the brainchild of Ballyvaughan woman Gwen Ryan, who began the project as a means of aiding her own daily commute to and from Galway City. The group itself is a not-for-profit organisation and Gwen is hopeful that a local ferry owner will see the potential for the service, rather that the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop Group having a role to play in directly organising the service themselves.
“We have got initial research back from a company in Scotland and they are very happy that the service that we envision is possible. This is taking into account both the local conditions and also that there is a good demand for the service from the local people. Of course there are some who are not in favour of the service but the majority of people are in favour of it,” said Gwen.
The Ballyvaughan Bay Hop Group has also just launched a small fundraising drive to help pay for the completion the feasibility study conducted by Spyria Partnership. The vast majority of this has been paid through a Leader grant but a small amount of local fundraising is required to pay the balance.
The group are using “crowd funding” to raise the money. The idea of crowd funding is that a relatively large number of people each donate a small amount to fund a community project.
To entice people to donate a number of rewards have been set up for donators, including an invitation to the launch party when the ferry is launched next year to a place on the ferry’s first trip between Ballyvaughan and Galway City.
To donate visit www.ifund.ie/ projects/37/help-us-float-our-boat.