A Wexford seaside village is gradually being washed away by the sea.
The village of Poulshone located just two miles from the holiday resort of Courtown in County Wexford, is home to just four families. In summer it becomes home to about five hundred holiday makers. However, the village faces a natural threat from the sea and is literally shrinking.
The village is gradually being washed into Saint George's Channel and just won’t exist in a few years.
For years Johnny McLoughlin and local people have been campaigning to get Wexford County Council to do something to prevent the erosion. So far nothing has been done and the erosion continues. Johnny McLoughlin describes how the village has already lost one house to erosion and the others remain under serious threat. He is critical of the County Council saying that the only time you see a councillor in the area is on the beach during the summer.
Johnny McLoughlin acknowledges that protecting the land from coastal erosion is a big undertaking but is calling on the County Council to build a wall to protect the local houses from being washed away. He points to similar endeavours in Rosslare and in Holland where they have successfully used plastic seaweed to protect the land from erosion. There has already been one wall built in Poulshone but it was washed away. Johnny McLoughlin is unsure of what will become of Poulshone but anticipates that in four or five years it will no longer exist unless action is taken.
A 'Newsbeat’ report broadcast on 28 January 1971. The reporter is Michael Ryan.
