In 2016, SHDW sponsored the purchase of a sea kayak to assist in the campaign to clear plastic from the Skerries Islands. This started with a solo journey, filling just one fishing basket full of bottles and debris. Along with kayaker friends and Currach na Sceirí, we have collected over 13,500 items from the three islands; Colt, St. Patrick’s and Shenick. This project has seen thousands of bottles, pieces of rope, lobster pots, oil drums, nets, garments and all of the debris that gets washed up from the Irish Sea. In 2018 we added Currach na Sceirí to this team by building a 20ft traditional Currach. This addition has allowed us to collect more heavy-duty waste. Over the course of the four years, we have completed over 60 trips.

Aside from the island clean up, the project has extended to a community boat building project. The island clean up fleet will soon have a new addition with one, Dunfanaghy Currach now nearing completion.

The moral of the story is that actions speak louder than words. Getting involved in social media can be an interesting thing but doing something physical for the planet is so much more effective. Any global problem can be tackled on an individual and local basis.

In October of this year, The Irish Times sent Bryan O’Brien out to interview us.

Link to video on the Irish Times