THE painter Camille Souter is the most notable victim of tourism development in Achill. Her small studio in Dooagh has been "ruined" by a decision of An Bord Pleanala to permit the erection of a grossly out of scale house directly overlooking it.
Now Ms Souter travels by bus every day to Achill Sound, on the mainland, to a leaking rented shed in order to continue her work in privacy. She has had to leave the island - and her house in Dooagh, where she has been living for more than 10 years.
Camille Souter doesn't drive, doesn't like to be the focus of any attention and was reluctant to have her photograph taken for this article. But she is quite willing to talk about her bruising experience of the planning process, as seen from her own backyard.
The unwelcome new house - still under construction - is interposed between her own modest whitewashed collage and the Atlantic. Like some terrible changeling, it replaces a caravan which once stood on the site, through which people in Dooagh had access to the sea.
Frank Daly, the Tuam based developer who is building it, originally sought planning permission for two holiday homes on the site. But after Ms Souter and several other local residents objected, Mayo Co Council decided that only one house should be built there.
It also ruled that the house "shall be single storey only, similar in scale and design to the existing houses on each side". incredibly, this crucial condition was omitted by An Bord Pleanala on appeal - a decision which Camille Souter describes as being "beyond belief".
Her bewilderment is understandable, given that the planning in spector who dealt with the appeal actually recommended that permission be refused because the proposed house would intrude into views and prospects in an area of special scenic importance.
But the appeals board, which didn't visit the site, chose to ignore his advice Margaret Byrne, the board member who dealt with the case, even drew a line through the condition which would have required the house to match its immediate neighbours.
"Having regard to the pattern of development in the vicinity," the board said, "it is considered that the proposed development ... would not seriously injure the visual amenities of the area or interfere with views or prospects of scenic importance".
As a result, Mr Daly has been able to build something which is not only significantly wider and higher than the traditional cottages on either side, but also contains a dormer floor in the roofspace with a window on the gable end looking into Ms Souter's studio.
Perhaps the members of An Bord Pleanala - and Ms Byrne, in particular - should take a trip to Achill this summer to see it for themselves. Confronted by the evidence on the ground, could they possibly defend this highhanded decision?
"It's so appalling I've been trying to put it out of my mind," says Ms Souter. "Why didn't An Bord Pleanala evaluate it properly? Yet there was just no way of challenging their decision except by going to the High Court and that just wasn't on, certainly not for me."
THE is also "terrified that it's a sort of symbol of what's happening to Ireland, that everything is up for grabs", although she does take some solace from the fact that her decision to seek out a new studio off the island has been a "catalyst" for local awareness.
Might she now leave the island altogether? "I don't know. I like the people here so much and see myself as part of the community. I don't want to go, because I love Achill. It's just so sad, such a pity," she says, adding that she lost six months fighting the case.
Now, Camille Souter is planning to paint a picture titled Alternative Land Use. It will be a boat full of earth and planted with flowers, which she sees as a symbol of the changing face of Achill, where the landscape and way of life are being traduced by tourism.
