West coast islands are facing an austere Christmas due to continuous Atlantic gales and heavy seas which have severely disrupted ferry and air services.
"We've had more gales in the past five weeks than in the past three years, and only one cargo delivery service during that time," Simon Murray, island manager on Inishbofin, Co Galway, said yesterday.
"Even when the winds have eased, the sea swells have been so great that it has been almost impossible to berth at the pier. I witnessed a swell of up to six metres this week. Some of our older islanders say they have never seen a weather pattern quite like this at this time of year," Mr Murray said.
Inishbofin has a passenger ferry service, but no State-subsidised cargo service - although tenders are now being sought for one by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. However, even the State-subsidised cargo run to the Aran Islands has been disrupted, with only two cargo deliveries on several of the three islands in the past fortnight.
"There's barely a passenger ferry sailing a day, the plane hasn't been able to fly and people can't travel out to do Christmas shopping," Noirín Nic Caba, resident on Inis Oirr, said. "Some people have found themselves caught in Galway, unable to return back this week."
Compounding the situation on Inishbofin has been a suspension of one of two privately-run cargo services since last August. As a result, there has been no delivery of heavy materials for construction, but food deliveries are still taking place on the passenger ferries from Cleggan.