A ship has sunk off Killala Bay this afternoon and its hoped it will generate a big tourism push in the region along with enhancing ecosystems.

The MV Shingle, which was towed from New Ross by the Ocean Bank Ship, is now the country's first marine artificial reef.

The ship arrived into Killala Bay yesterday afternoon shortly before 3pm.

It was sunk by opening its valves just after 3pm this afternoon, before it dropped to the seabed 29m below, over 4km out in the bay, just after 4pm.

Those behind the project say the man-made reef will attract divers to the area as well as helping marine biodiversity.

It was originally seized by Revenue after it was intercepted smuggling millions of cigarettes in 2014.

The €2 million project, which has been years in the making, is being carried out by a local campaign group - Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef - along with the Revenue Commissioners and Mayo and Sligo county councils.

Those behind the campaign say the artificial reef will become a significant tourist attraction and provide a boost to the sector in Mayo and Sligo as well as benefitting marine bio-diversity.

Foxford native, Patrick Heneghan was a member of the Revenue CommisSion and was tasked with finding a home for the seized vessel. He has been speaking to Midwest Radio’s Michael D McAndrew  today about the experience.

When Patrick retired, colleague, Des McGann took over at “the helm” and he spoke about the task…