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Displaying items by tag: Glamping

#Glamping - Kayaking and yoga on the Loop Head Peninsula is among the coastal offerings included in The Irish Times’ selection of Ireland’s top ‘glamping’ spots.

Aside from the aforementioned Purecamping experience on the Wild Atlantic Way, perhaps a stay in a seaside yurt on Cape Clear Island — or a modernist pod on Inis Mór inspired by the Aran Islands’ iconic beehive stone huts — might take your fancy.

And don’t forget the unique Quirky Nights village in Enniscrone, the centrepiece of which is ‘The Big Yoke’: a converted Boeing 767 jet that made headlines when it was transported by barge to the Mayo coast two years ago.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes
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#PlaneSailing - The Boeing 767 that wowed Ireland as it sailed by barge from the Shannon Estuary to a Sligo coastal town arrived at its new home, according to RTÉ News.

Preparations were being made last night (Saturday 7 May) to move the aircraft fuselage from its barge to the nearby site of Enniscrone entrepreneur David McGowan's ambitious Quirky Nights Glamping Village – where it will be converted into unique accommodation alongside converted buses, boats and black cabs.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the aircraft set sail from Shannon on Thursday on the barge after being lifted from the airport grounds earlier in the week using a specially commissioned cradle.

Today FM's Anton Savage Show, which has regaled listeners with McGowan's 'plane sailing' adventures over recent weeks, even broadcast from Enniscrone hours before the Boeing's arrival to mark the event.

Published in Coastal Notes

#PlaneSailing - Video has emerged of the Boeing 767 being sailed by barge from the Shannon Estuary up the coast to Enniscrone for its new life as part of a 'glamping' site in the Co Sligo seaside town.



Local funeral director and entrepreneur David McGowan has kept listeners to Today FM's Anton Savage Show updated on his plans to make the decommissioned plane – nicknamed 'The Big Yoke' – the centrepiece of his Quirky Nights Glamping Village concept.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, McGowan hopes for the aircraft to arrive in Enniscrone by tomorrow (Saturday 7 May).

And what's more, The Anton Savage Show will broadcast live on location from 11am on Today FM to celebrate its arrival - follow the hashtag #PlaneSailing on Twitter for live updates.

Said Savage of the incredible story: “First we thought David was funny. Then we thought he was crazy. Now we’re sure he’s a genius.

"Any man whose business plan is a plane, train and a teapot in a field is our kind of guy. It’s an honour to be there to see the Big Yoke land.”

Published in Coastal Notes

#PlaneSailing - A funeral director's ambitious plans for a unique 'glamping' site in Enniscrone will move a step closer to fruition later this week as he prepares to sail a passenger jet by barge up the coast from Shannon.

That's right, a passenger jet – a Boeing 767 to be precise, which David McGowan picked up for a song from a liquidating Russian airline, as the Irish Examiner reports.

McGowan is the entrepreneur behind the planned 'Quirky Nights Glamping Village' in his Co Sligo seaside town, where the former airliner will be the centrepiece of a development that will also feature repurposed train carriages, dry-docked boats London black cabs.

All will be refitted to accommodate a new kind of camper inspired by boutique festivals like Electric Picnic, people seeking the beauty of the outdoors and the comforts of hotels with a twist.

Quirky Glamping Genesis Skywalker Design

"I’m surrounded with death every week," McGowan told Today FM's Anton Savage Show of what prompted his imaginative idea to boost his coastal community's economy. "You need something to give you a buzz. You need to out and do something unusual.”

But getting the plane from Shannon Airport to Enniscrone posed a problem, as it's simply too big to transport by traditional means.

Hence the need for a barge to sail it by sea along the Wild Atlantic Way, and a specially engineered 'cradle' to lift it onto the barge.

That didn't come cheap – more than double what McGowan paid for the aircraft itself – but it did the job, and the plane is now ready at Knockbeg Point waiting for the weather to clear before the barge sets off this Thursday, expected in Enniscrone on Saturday 7 May.

A previous version of this article incorrectly attributed Independent.ie as the source of quotes from The Anton Savage Show on Today FM.

Published in Coastal Notes

The Irish National Sailing and Powerboat School is based on Dun Laoghaire's West Pier on Dublin Bay and in the heart of Ireland's marine leisure capital.

Whether you are looking at beginners start sailing course, a junior course or something more advanced in yacht racing, the INSS prides itself in being able to provide it as Ireland's largest sailing school.

Since its establishment in 1978, INSS says it has provided sailing and powerboat training to approximately 170,000 trainees. The school has a team of full-time instructors and they operate all year round. Lead by the father and son team of Alistair and Kenneth Rumball, the school has a great passion for the sport of sailing and boating and it enjoys nothing more than introducing it to beginners for the first time. 

Programmes include:

  • Shorebased Courses, including VHF, First Aid, Navigation
  • Powerboat Courses
  • Junior Sailing
  • Schools and College Sailing
  • Adult Dinghy and Yacht Training
  • Corporate Sailing & Events

History of the INSS

Set up by Alistair Rumball in 1978, the sailing school had very humble beginnings, with the original clubhouse situated on the first floor of what is now a charity shop on Dun Laoghaire's main street. Through the late 1970s and 1980s, the business began to establish a foothold, and Alistair's late brother Arthur set up the chandler Viking Marine during this period, which he ran until selling on to its present owners in 1999.

In 1991, the Irish National Sailing School relocated to its current premises at the foot of the West Pier. Throughout the 1990s the business continued to build on its reputation and became the training institution of choice for budding sailors. The 2000s saw the business break barriers - firstly by introducing more people to the water than any other organisation, and secondly pioneering low-cost course fees, thereby rubbishing the assertion that sailing is an expensive sport.