Extended hours are agreed for cable car to Dursey

BY JACKIE KEOGH

AN extended summer schedule for the Dursey Cable Car – Ireland’s only cable car – on the Beara Peninsula is now in operation.

The need for an extended schedule was raised at a public meeting held in Castletownbere at the beginning of May.

Fianna Fáil TD, Deputy Margaret Murphy O’Mahony, organised the meeting and subsequently raised the issue with Cork County Council. 

She stressed the fact that the cable car is ‘one of the premier tourist attractions in West Cork, particularly among tourists following the Wild Atlantic Way,’ and said it was important that the summer schedule should ‘commence as soon as possible.’ There were fears that the winter schedule – which only allows limited access to the island – would continue during the summer months and that hundreds of visitors to the Dursey Sound would leave the area feeling disappointed.

People can now travel out to the island from 9.30am to 11.30am; from 2.30pm to 5pm; and from 7pm to 8pm every Monday through to Saturday, with shorter hours available on Sundays.

The Fianna Fáil TD also discussed the need to improve visitor facilities on the island with the Council’s divisional manager. 

Deputy Murphy O’Mahony said: ‘This is a terrific tourism destination, particularly for walking enthusiasts, and we must make sure that the necessary facilities are provided.’