Irish beach that vanished over 30 years ago reappears thanks to freak tide

The beach near Dooagh on Achill Island disappeared in 1984 after a storm washed all the sand away.

The incident resulted in the coastal village being left with just rock pools, causing local hotels, guesthouses and cafes to shut down. Well, 33 years later, the beach has been returned to the area thanks to a ‘freak tide’. The tides that came in over the space of a week, brought with them hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sand, leaving the area with a sandy beach yet again. The 300 metre long stretch is now a cause for hope for the locals who are keeping their fingers crossed it will be given blue-flag status soon. “During the 1980s, there was some big storms that really destroyed the beach and it was completely washed away. 1984 was the last time the beach was there,” Achill Tourism manager, Sean Molly, told The Irish Times. “It’s just so nice for the villagers to have their beach back.”