Working remotely on island up for grabs...
Applicants told no hot water or electricity on Great Blasket
It’s fantastic so many people want to come and live here
BILLY O’CONNOR YESTERDAY
A JOB on a remote Atlantic island, which has no hot running water and electricity, is up for grabs again.
Last year more than 40,000 applications were made for two summer caretaker jobs on Great Blasket Island located about three miles off the coast of Dingle, Co Kerry.
It was home to the late author and storyteller Peig Sayers, whose writings formed part of the Leaving Cert Irish curriculum.
Billy O’ Connor and his partner Alice Hayes, who own three cottages and a coffee shop on the island, are to post the vacancies on social media this week.
They were inundated with enquiries by phone, email, social media messages and paper applications from countries as far away as Mexico, Finland and Argentina. The flood of applications heralded international media attention as a result.
More than 23,000 people had applied for the job barely a week after it was listed last year, which left the couple stunned so many wanted to live on a windswept Atlantic island.
Mr O’connor said they decided to ask a foreign couple they thought would be still interested in the job who applied last year to ease the recruitment process, but due to Covid- 19 concerns they could not travel.
He added: “We are going to post the jobs up again on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram this week with a link to the application form and a frequently asked questions section.
“We’ve decided to add some j ob criteria as last year when we started to receive applications it took us a month just to get through them.
“It’s absolutely fantastic that so many people want to come here, but many didn’t reali se what the living conditions are like.”
The Great Blasket Island is home to a huge amount of animal, sea and plant life.
It is just over four miles long and consists of largely mountainous terrain, while there are still some ancient ruins for visitors to explore.
Over the past several months the couple have been carrying out some essential tasks, including adding another bedroom to one of the cottages and upgrading other amenities.
Mr O’ Connor added with the pandemic travel restrictions, which will be in place for months, he does not expect as many interested couples or friends to apply.
He said: “We would li ke a duo of friends or a couple from abroad to get the j obs eventually as they would have a different perspective to bring but with concerns around Covid- 19 that will limit foreign applications I ’d think.
“But maybe they would feel safer on the island, as it is very remote.
“We have had two Irish couples working as caretakers so far.
“It does get very busy on the island with visitors in the height of the summer so the people who get the job have to be able for that.
“But so far we’ve learned from the two couples who have worked as caretakers on what aspects work and do not work and how to make the visitor experience better.”