EDITORIAL

WHAT an accolade. Loop Head Peninsula has been named the best place to holiday in Ireland.

 

 

In an Irish Times competition running since March, members of the public were asked to nominate the places they love to holiday in. Loop Head was named the overall winner from a shortlist featuring such well-know places as the Glen of Aherlow, County Tipperary; Inishbofin Island, County Galway; Derry City and Killarney.

Loop Head is a place of remarkable beauty, with the Shannon Estuary and Atlantic Ocean meeting at its furthermost point. Spectacular cliffs, archaeological sites and an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds, add to its lure but it has been the reopening of the lighthouse as a visitor centre that has really put the place on the map.

The achievement is testimony to the love of place among the people of the peninsula. Perhaps it’s in being on the last outcrop of the county that they are so committed to music, festivals and various other events, in addition to sustaining small businesses. It’s all about community.

It’s been a community-led approach over the past number of years that has culminated in Loop Head’s recognition as the best place to visit. Members of the community established their own tourism-based initiatives, aided by support from other established local businesses, the Loop Head Tourism Network, Clare County Council, Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) and Fáilte Ireland. Most importantly, they have retained the unique character of the area; there are no large-scale developments that have blighted many other coastal areas in Clare.

Conor Goodman, features editor of The Irish Times and chair of the judging panel, described how Loop Head clinched the title from an initial entry of more than 1,400.

“Loop Head Peninsula is a truly magnificent location to holiday. The judges chose Loop Head Peninsula because of its great natural advantages: majestic cliffs, pretty beaches and a landscape that remains uncluttered by development. But it is the local people’s attitude to this landscape that makes this place special. The roads remain narrow and grass grows in the middle and walks are not paved. The people of The Loop Head want to keep the place real and invite visitors to see it as it is. And everywhere you will be bowled over by the welcome, the personal touch and the history lesson in every conversation. This is time-machine tourism, a place that looks like 1970s Ireland, yet buzzes with 21st-century inventiveness.”

It was local woman, Mary Redmond, who set the wheels in motion in the awards scheme. “I’ve lived here for 38 years; I think it’s the most beautiful place… But I don’t think people know about it really, so I decided to tell them,” she said. Residents and visitors alike were able to nominate their favourite places by writing a short pitch for judges to consider.
The award for Loop Head is one that should bring additional tourism benefits to West Clare. It’s now a “must see” beauty spot, alongside such places as the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher, in a county that has many lesser-known but equally spectacular locations.

It’s important not to kill the golden goose, however. Access must be properly controlled, with a minimum of cars and visitors encouraged to cycle or walk in order to fully appreciate the breathtaking vistas that Loop Head has to offer.
Congratulations are in order to everybody who played a part in Loop Head winning The Irish Times best place to holiday in Ireland award.

Crèches under scrutiny

The treatment meted out to infants and toddlers at some crèches, as highlighted in an RTÉ Prime Time special report this week, has shocked and repulsed the nation. Worse still, the crèches in Dublin and Wicklow, where covert filming was carried out, have not only received State funding but also passed several HSE inspections.
Images of babies being tossed around like rag dolls and having their heads covered with blankets and pressed down in order to get them to “stay quiet and sleep” evoked memories of TV footage of children’s institutions in Eastern European countries.

Breach of Trust has left parents of children under five years being cared for in crèches in dread that this could happen to their most precious possession. Babies and toddlers crave love and attention and it is important that those in loco parentis should strive to replicate this, especially if they are being paid to do so.

Caroline O’Sullivan, ISPCC director of services, said the organisation is keen to reassure parents that the situation as highlighted may not be indicative of childcare across the whole country.
“We would urge parents to make contact with their own crèches to seek this reassurance. We, as a society, are judged by how we treat children. We need to learn from the past and treat children with respect and dignity,” she said.

Thank God that the majority of crèches do operate to a high standard with properly trained managers and staff, who commit very seriously to their duty of care.
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald believes the treatment of children, as shown on Prime Time, amounted to emotional abuse. She said inspection reports on childcare facilities will in the future be made public online within a couple of weeks.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said crèche inspections need to become child-centred and the focus has to be on quality for children. The upcoming Family Support Bill is the largest reform in this area in the history of the State and would be before the Dáil in the coming weeks, he added.

Frequent and unanounced inspections of all crèches is the most effective way to keep standards up and our children safe. As a further safeguard, parents should never discount complaints by their young childen about a crèche, no matter how trivial.