This article is from page 12 of the 2012-06-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
HISTORY was made in Ballyvaughan yesterday as passengers from both sides of Galway Bay travelled between Ballyvaughan and Galway city centre in minutes on the first sailing of the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop.
The fast ferry made the crossing in perfect conditions with everyone present adamant that they would use the service into the future.
Present on the 12.30pm crossing was Mary Unglert from Unglert’s Bakery in Ennistymon, who went to Galway for the day for a spot of shopping with her mother and daughter.
“This is a service that is definitely needed and a permanent link from Ballyvaughan to Galway would be great. With the business that I am in, we wouldn’t need to use it but for anyone who is commuting from Clare to Galway, this is ideal. This can also help to bring more tourists from Galway into Clare,” she said.
“I’m not worried about getting seasick, we’re on ferries and boats the whole time and we like going out to Doolin from the Aran Islands so there’ll be no problem with that.”
Doolin resident Dolores Delaney is hopeful that the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop will be made into a full-time, year-round service.
“I have been waiting for this to happen for years and years. I think it’s wonderful. My husband and myself are going to have a bit of lunch in Galway, do some shopping, have a little walk around – then we are coming back on the 6pm boat,” she said.
“This is a great way of beating the traffic. Sometimes it can take us more than two hours to get from Doolin to Galway. I can guarantee that I would use this service at least once a week, maybe even more.”
There was also some exciting news from Dave Brocklebank from the Burren Yoga Centre, who believes that he can incorporate the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop into the yoga packages that he offers through his business.
“We run yoga courses all year around and, as part of that, we take people on different trips. For us, this would be a fantastic thing, to be able to take people over to Galway city as part of their course,” said Dave.
“We would be able to support the service but, more than that, this surface would help to support our busi- ness, by providing another attraction to bring people to the Burren Yoga Centre.”
The Ballyvaughan Bay Hop is the brainchild of Ballyvaughan resident Gwen Ryan, who is hopeful that a full-time, year round service will be available soon.
“I am thrilled that this is happening. It is brilliant to see the positivity of everyone around here. The response has been so encouraging. This really does present so many opportunities for the area,” said Gwen.
For more information or to book, visit www.ballyvaughanbayhop.com.