Myrtle Beach trash barrel washes ashore 3,500 miles aways in Ireland

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — A trash barrel from Myrtle Beach traveled more than 3,500 miles across the Atlantic Ocean and washed ashore in Ireland over the weekend.

In a Facebook post, Myrtle Beach officials shared an email exchange they had with Irish authorities.

“I wanted to share some images of a blue trash barrel that has washed up on our local beach on the west coast of Ireland, Mulranny, County Mayo,” Keith McGreal wrote.

The beach is on the northwest coast of Ireland. McGreal emailed Myrtle Beach authorities and shared pictures of the bright blue barrel with city stickers on it. The city posted the photos online, showing that the barrel’s Atlantic crossing took enough time for it to be encrusted with shells.

Myrtle Beach officials said in their post that the barrel traveled via the Gulf Stream. They said they don’t know when it went missing but it was probably during a wind or storm event.

“We typically remove trash containers from the beach before a hurricane, but this one apparently had a mind of its own,” they said, adding that they’d “already had a city employee volunteer to come fetch it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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