It’s not the interview setting Irish Country Living is accustomed to.

We’re sitting on the top floor of a disused double decker bus. Glancing outside, we can see taxis and a train carriage but we are far from a city here on the Quirky Glamping site in Enniscrone, Co Sligo.

This place could easily be mistaken for a scrapyard if not for the site’s star attraction – the Boeing 767 stationed across the way from our current location atop the bus.

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David McGowan made headlines in May last year after he successfully transported the plane from Shannon Airport to Sligo via the Atlantic Ocean, all for his transport-themed campsite. After discovering he would need to cut the plane in three pieces to successfully transport it on land, he looked at his next option – the sea.

“People thought it was mad – and it was mad. But I never thought of failure at any stage. It was going to happen and that was it,” David explains.

“We had to deal with the Atlantic Ocean and the barge coming into Killala bay, with no pier or no port. The last time something like that was beached was Normandy.”

The outlandish endeavour attracted national and international attention, with thousands flocking to Enniscrone to see the plane arrive.

“When we landed that on the beach, we were on Sky News and we were the third most talked about thing on Twitter. We were on the news in Australia, America … we reached around 300 million people.

“There has been so many people in the town to see the plane since it landed and the camping site isn’t even open yet. They ran out of chips in the town three weekends in a row, they ran out of everything.”

So, what happened next? Well, the site has yet to be completed due to delays with sorting out electricity poles. However, David has purchased much of the accommodation and he has big plans for his business, from a mock terminal building and runway to a marina and making the plane accessible for people with disabilities.

“We were hoping we’d have some portion of it open by the summer, but there isn’t a hope of that happening now. Things don’t happen very quickly in Ireland. There will be 40 jobs on this site, and I would say there will be a ripple effect of another 40 jobs in the town,” he says.

Rural investment

Situated on a 5km beach along the Wild Atlantic Way, Enniscrone is an ideal location for a holiday. However, David blames lack of Government investment for a poor supply of amenities for tourists and the decline of rural villages

“It’s the same as every small rural town in Ireland. Emigration, no infrastructure, slow broadband speeds. As soon as there is any dip in the economy at all, they will just go out of here in droves,” he says.

“I think tourism in this country will be our biggest industry yet. If we put in magnets to these towns, it’ll draw the tourists in. Like, nearly nine million people came into the country this year. That’s a lot. If we could just put in two million into this area, we’ll be flying.

“I want to put where I live on the world stage because there is no one else doing it. I have achieved it and if I can do it on my own, what is the Government at? What are the politicians doing?”

David, a funeral home director, has no experience in the tourism sector but is clearly passionate about showcasing rural Ireland.

“I grew up in a pub so I know what footfall is. I also grew up in a small village. I do know what it’s like to be starved of people. You need to draw people into an area – and what better way than a jumbo jet.

“What I would say to rural towns – every town has something unique and they need to develop around that. You’ll find that they all have something that can be developed into a tourist attraction that people would love to come and see.”

There are now plans to host a music festival in Enniscrone this summer, Live On Air, with acts such as Hermitage Green and Rusangano Family already confirmed.

“My daughter had the idea of throwing a two-day music festival, so we’re going to do that at the end of May. It will be in the town and we have 40 bands already,” he says.

David estimates that the finished project will cost €3m in total, with plans to secure private investment. He intends to rent rooms in the plane for €150 per night, offering a cheaper rate for the buses and taxis.

Looking at the plane from where we are sitting is surreal and impressive. It wouldn’t have happened if not for one very determined man, who is proud of what he has achieved.

“It has given a lift to people of all ages – the kids, the elderly, the teenagers. People of all shapes and sizes have come in. It’s amazing like, to look at it all,” says David.

See www.quirkyglamping.town.ie and www.liveonairfestival.com

Along with Jimmy Magee, Steve Redmond and Frank Harrington, David tells his story in Fly, Sink or Swim, a book complied by Dónal Byrne of Big Red Barn in aid of Mayo-Roscommon Hospice. www.hospice.ie/shops/shop-online to buy the book, which is priced at €12. CL