Virus-free islanders still face reality of economic impact

Residents on Galway’s offshore islands are braced for ongoing economic turmoil as a result of the Covid-19 crisis – but there’s a sense of relief that an early lockdown has thus far prevented the virus from reaching islanders.

At a time when ferries full of tourists would normally be making several daily trips to the Aran Islands and Inishbofin, restrictions on travel introduced in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak are set to continue until at least August 10.

Chair of the Inis Oírr Co-op, Enda Ó Conghaile said while there would unquestionably be significant financial implications for the islands as this crisis moves to the next stage, there would always be another tourist season and it was crucial at the moment that islanders’ health and wellbeing was the priority.

The Aran Islands and Bofin sought to get ahead of the virus in early March, ahead of the introduction of the national lockdown, by asking that visitors stay away and that travel to and from the islands be restricted.

That decision had paid dividends, said Mr Conghaile, with no known cases on Inis Oírr or in any of the island communities.

“Everyone is suffering [financially] but it’d be significantly worse if we had an outbreak of coronavirus. An outbreak of the virus on any of the islands would be very serious because of the situation on the islands with vulnerable members of the community,” he continued, adding that accessing medical treatment is a different challenge for those living off the mainland.

There was widespread support for shutting off the islands to tourists among residents, and while the initial closure was due for review on March 29, it has continued and will continue for months to come.

Residents had also limited their travel to mainland for the past couple of months, said Mr Conghaile, with most journeys being made for medical reasons.

“The cargo boat is operating as best it can and we can keep the Co-op running with most of the stuff it needs,” he said.

Much like everyone at the moment, islanders were taking a ‘wait and see approach’ and following the medical advice nationally.

“We have to wait and see what happens in June. We’re following the guidelines and the medical advice and we’re glad that we don’t have any cases of the virus yet.

“There will undoubtedly be major problems down the line in terms of finance, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” said Mr Conghaile.