‘Americans love it... the mists are something they expect’
Elaine Power knows all about the weather after more than six summers of serving fresh food at East Pier in Dunmore East, Co Waterford.
“I think we’ve been lucky, even though we depend on day trippers who could be put off coming here if it’s bad,” she said.
Met Éireann has confirmed that this summer had the wettest July on record — with four times as much rain than in the same month last year. Its data for August is eagerly awaited.
“We’ve had wind here virtually all summer, so that doesn’t allow people to stick around and eat outdoors — but they are still coming,” she said.
“We have customers using the motorway to travel from Kilkenny and Tipperary for the day. They do the cliff walk and go for a swim in any of the three coves on the route.
“And because we sell fish landed in Kilmore Quay, spuds grown locally, oysters from Woodstown and bread baked in Waterford, I tell visitors to the cliff that you can actually eat the view…”
The specialties at East Pier draw not only Irish customers, but also many Europeans and Asians.
“Many members of the Muslim community like the fact that we don’t sell pork and don’t use animal fat.”
Power said she is witnessing the impact of Brexit and the consequent decline of the local fishing industry — as fishing “kept everything going in Dunmore East during the winter”.
Like tourism businesses around the country, she questions the decision to increase Vat when other costs are also rising.
“I wonder does this Government just want the whole country to be full of chains of coffee shops and franchised hotels and restaurants, as it’s squeezing out the independent operator,” she said.
Out on the Dunmore East road from Waterford, Des and Susan Daunt run Samuel’s Heritage B&B, which is one of the few bed and breakfasts now in the area. Many closed during Covid-19 and didn’t open up afterwards, a pattern seen throughout the State.
“Business is on a par with last year, though it started slowly. It took off from the end of June,” Des Daunt said.
“The northern European business was very good, particularly from Switzerland for some reason — it was among the top three by nationality.
“North Americans book early, as they don’t get long holidays and they like certainty — so July and August have been good, and September is also looking very good.
“Waterford is drawing more visitors who are interested in outdoor activities, with the greenway and the sea,” he added.
“Those coming from abroad are never worried about weather here — and in fact they’re often escaping high temperatures in Europe and North America.
“The Americans love it — they don’t necessarily want days of
gales and rain, but mists are something they expect,” Mr Daunt said.
Former fisherman Andrew Doherty of Tides and Tales runs “mudlarking” outings and walking tours with an historical focus in the Waterford estuary area.
He finds that while there is great enthusiasm and interest for his walks in villages like Cheekpoint — the confluence of the Three Sisters, the Barrow, Nore and Suir rivers — bookings are affected by weather.
“This is not full-time for me, but it can be hard to plan,” Mr Doherty added. “You could have 20 people on a sunny day — but if it’s wet and cold, the numbers are half that.”
Dunmore East Adventure
Centre opened 31 years ago, when there wasn’t a huge appetite for outdoor pursuits. But interest in adventure sports has since soared.
Karen Harris, one of the centre’s three founding owners, says their location and their range of activities (kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, climbing, caving and archery) has protected them from the worst of the elements this summer.
“We did have a quiet enough July, and even the August bank holiday weekend. Perhaps Irish people just wanted to get on a plane and get away from the rain if they could,” she suggested.
“However, it really ramped up from that second week of August. And people know that if they’re going to be doing something in a wetsuit, they’ll probably be getting wet anyway.”