#VOLVOOCEANRACE Volunteers spent last Saturday cleaning up Dead Man's Beach with great success. This is one of the first of Galway's beautiful beaches to get cleaned up before the event. The beach clean-up was the first such event organised in the lead up to the Volvo Ocean Race which will see the boats end this world race event in the west of Ireland. This beach is one of Galway's little hidden treasures. It is a small reclusive beach situated just behind the harbour, and is minutes walk away from Galway city centre.
The eyes of the world will be on the City of the Tribes at the beginning of July when the race boats sail into Galway harbour for their final port of call. This is the biggest sailing boat race in the world and Galway will be ready and looking it's best.
The City Bin Co. who is an official sponsor of the Volvo Ocean Race played their role in Saturday's clean up. Niamh Bray, operations manager with The City Bin Co. said "We're happy to see the clubs and businesses working together to look after our city's beaches. It's fantastic to be involved in these clean up activities and get Galway ready for the Volvo Ocean Race."
John Killeen, President of Let's Do It Global said "With television and news crews from all over the world planning to set up camp in Galway for the race there's an important opportunity for Galway to give a positive impression to every country in the world that this is a place to come and visit. We are delighted with the involvement and dedication of our sponsors. An impressive job was done by The City Bin Co. on the day."
Many types of waste were collected on the day. Items included wrappers, tin cans, plastic, cutlery, discarded clothing and many other materials that were washed up with the tide. Some of the more unusual items found by the volunteers on the day included a football and a pair of shoes!
Captain Bob Ellis, Galway harbour Pilot, organized the clean up initiative with Ger Moyles from the Galway Sail Sports Club. They were delighted with what they picked up from the beach and The City Bin Co.'s involvement in the collection of the material. Mr. Ellis said, "It's great to see so many volunteers getting directly involved with the clean up and thanks to the efforts put in over the weekend. Dead Man's Beach is in better shape and ready to be seen the world."
With the Volvo Ocean Race just around the corner this beach clean was the first of many beach clean ups to happen over the coming month in a campaign to turn Galway into a great place to enjoy the race final.
Mr. Ellis added that "The Clean up was a great success and it was fantastic to see the beach restored to its natural beauty. A great result not just for the people of Galway, but for the bay which is rich in marine life."
