BYC.J. MCGINLEY
AN Arranmore man who uses a jeep, speedboat and a car to make a daily 216km return trip to work plans to launch his own ferry.
Seamus Boyle (34) an army private at Finner Camp in Bundoran plans to launch the ferry in June so that people who live on the island can travel to work on the mainland every day like himself.
Speaking to the Donegal News Seamus, a fitter by trade, said a survey on the island found that 83 per cent of the people were looking for an early morning ferry service.
"I leave my home at Leabgarrow, Arranmore at 7am and take a jeep to the pier and then transfer to a 6.2 Yamaha boat to take me to Burtonport. I then take a car from Burtonport to Finner," Seamus explained.
"The first ferry does not leave Arranmore until 9am, so I have to take this form of transport. I feel the new ferry will give people the chance to consider living on the island and working on the mainland. There are a lot of people from Arranmore working in Letterkenny and Dungloe who are staying in flats and bedsits and want to come back to the island but can't do so," Seamus said.
"I'm not saying they would all want to move back but a percentage would and it might prevent the next one hundred people leaving Arranmore in the future. I hope to have the new ferry up and running in June. It will be a smaller version of a lifeboat and can make the crossing from Arranmore to Burtonport in less than ten minutes," he added.
Seamus had ordered his new boat and is trying to negotiate state grants to provide the alternative service.
"The service will be tailored for the needs of people who are working. It will go out early in the morning and come back at around 7 pm in the evening or later depending on demand," he said.
He has been making the daily trek to Finner Camp for the past two years.
"Some people think I'm crazy what I do but to be honest now I'm that used to it I don't think too much about it. I've only missed work once when snow prevented me along the road," he said.
"I have been told by a number of people they will move back to the island if there is an early morning ferry service," he added.
A spokeswoman for the Arranmore Ferry Service said they were providing the best service along the west coast of Ireland.
"We're running the service for over 20 years with no breakdown times and a regular service. The crew are working seven days a week from early in the morning 'til night. We're providing the service that we can," the spokeswoman said.
