A chara, - I organised a weekend trip for a group of students to Inis Oírr on June 24th and 25th. We decided to camp in the co-operative camping site on the island. During the night we were disturbed by numerous groups of young males, some of whom were not even camping. Of course disturbed is a mild way of putting it.
We returned to the campsite to find a group of young men drinking, shouting verbal abuse and acting aggressively. When one of us asked them to move away they became more aggressive and verbally abusive and proceeded to tear down our tents. At one point they pushed one of the young men on top of the tent where two of my female friends were sleeping. At this point my friend and I decided to stay up and keep watch over the campsite for fear of them attacking or stealing from us during the night.
We were quite right to do so. At 5am two separate groups of drunken young men approached our tents. The first group left quickly upon seeing that we were still awake. The second group merely avoided our tent and then stole a guitar that we had brought with us. I raised the alarm and retrieved the guitar, whereupon I met further threats and verbal abuse. My friend and I stayed awake all night. As there were no gardaí on the island we had no option but to guard ourselves and the other campers. Next morning we were told this rowdyism was a regular occurrence.
The Aran Islands are an integral part of tourism in the West, and as such we owe to tourists and islanders to ensure that the island is free from such displays of hooliganism. So much money has been spent on promoting the West for tourists and yet the Aran Islands lack basic protection for people who choose to visit them. I certainly won't be returning there soon. - Is mise,
SARAH BRUEN, Woodquay, Galway.