Coastal flux

non-peer-reviewed
Spending so much time by the sea my interests have always lay in the coast and our relationship with these seascapes. As an island nation the coastline is deeply rooted in our society. Personally I have a great association and infinity with the Burren and a small village on the coast, called Fanore. It’s a scenic region with a beautiful sandy golden beach and towering limestone mountains that sink below the water’s edge. It is an area that experiences a shift in conditions. These include variations in the population, the weather and a change in the social dynamic throughout the year. In our society there has always been a connection with the coast and seaside towns of Ireland. We experience them in many ways. Our relationships, associations and perceptions of these seascapes greatly vary amongst different societies. The views of the people who live there are in stark contrast from those who reside there for a few months of the year. Locals see the shortcuts, the fields of agriculture, the roads to school, the routes to access the cattle or livestock, the farm house, the journey home or to the shops. The surrounding landscape has shaped their lives, it has earned their respect and realism. Their view of these seascapes is also quite different to that of the tourist or the holiday home owner, who often hold a view that is somewhat disjointed and there is a detachment between the land, the sea and the viewer. More often than not that experience of the land and the coast is gained from the confines of a vehicle be it a bus or a car. It can be said that this heightens this disconnect. Perhaps there is more of a focus on the destination rather than the journey and the landscape or seascape that is travelled through. Roadways and routes experienced from the car often give the traveller a fragmented experience of the surrounding landscape. The weather and climate also play a huge role in our experiences of the coast. Most recently these conditions have shown the destructive