Sceirde Rocks Windfarm partners with Galway Hookers Association for sailing season

• The Sceirde Rocks Windfarm has teamed up with the Galway Hookers Association in a partnership spanning this season’s sailing festivals.
• Sponsorship of this weekend’s local Féile an tSrutháin sailing festival is the developer’s latest collaboration with the association.

The Sceirde Rocks Windfarm is to sponsor the popular Carraroe sailing race across Saturday August 19 and Sunday August 20, as part of a wider partnership with the Galway Hookers Association.

Sceirde Rocks’ sponsorship has spanned the Galway Hookers full season of sailing festivals, with Féile an tSrutháin festival race set to be the penultimate race in the series of festivals.

The sailing regatta in Srutháin, Carraroe will display unique Irish boats, such as currachs and Galway Hookers, traditionally used throughout Galway Bay, along the coast of Connemara and North Clare. As well as the sailing activity, there will be numerous other events taking part over the weekend including a blessing of all the boats, an Irish Coast Guard display, children’s activities, an angling competition and traditional music and entertainment.

As the Sceirde Rocks project develops, it will share the same wind and marine environment as the hookers, running adjacent to many of the racing festivals.

Michael Cloherty, Consent and Stakeholder Lead for the Sceirde Rocks Windfarm, commented: “The Galway Hooker sailing boat is a cultural icon distinctive to Galway Bay and the coast of Connemara.

“Whilst sailors use the wind to navigate our Atlantic coastline, Sceirde Rocks will be utilising that same local wind to empower our local communities with sustainable, clean energy. We are thrilled to support the Galway Hookers as their new ocean neighbour as we look forward to providing further community investment opportunities for the wider Connemara community.”

Cathal Ó Griofa, Galway Hookers Chairperson said: “We’re delighted that the Sceirde Rocks Windfarm has joined us as a sponsor for our series of racing festivals along the Connemara coastline. Our partnership is helping to promote our sport in the area and give invaluable assistance to the local Féile’s, as we share the power of wind to propel our great ocean sport, and the green industries of tomorrow.”

The funding is a precursor to wider community investment to be delivered through the Sceirde Rocks Windfarm Community Benefit Fund. The Community Benefit Fund, which will be managed by an independent administrator, will help fund community-driven initiatives in consultation with local people across Connemara to ensure that the project is a force for positive change. Once operational, the fund will deliver an estimated €70 million over 20 years to local communities.

The Sceirde Rocks Windfarm is being developed by Corio Generation and is due to be constructed between 2026 and 2029. The project is expected to go into operation and deliver renewable energy by 2030.