Wanted: Two People with ‘basic survival skills’ To Look After Great Blasket Island

“Internet addiction” is a very real, modern day dilemma that has forced some folks to try to give up their wired worlds entirely, for fear of doing little other than staring at screens and constantly updating their contacts lists. There are only so many funny cat videos people should watch in one day before admitting they have a problem.

And of course work only makes it worse. Whether one works from home or at a busy, downtown office, being plugged into the world is mandatory for almost everyone. Almost everyone, that is. But not for the managers of the cabins on Great Blasket Island, in Count Kerry, Ireland, off the coast of the Atlantic.

For those folks, being on the Internet is not a job requirement at all; in fact, a willingness to unplug is a desirable quality in the people who run this family business.

Now, the two individuals who manage the properties are looking for new staff, two people to take care of the business this coming spring and summer.

Alice Hayes and Billy O’Connor, whose family owns the island cottages, are looking for two hearty, sturdy folks — preferably a couple or two close friends — to assume their duties this coming spring, and commit to the caretaker positions for six months.

Hayes posted an ad on their Instagram account, and were stunned by the response — more than 27,000 applicants wrote and expressed enthusiasm about the job.

“It’s amazing how many people have applied,” Hayes recently told Online Travel. “Emails have completely clogged up my inbox, and I have to go through them all, as they are mixed up with our bookings.”

The couple was also amazed at the geographic distance from where applicants hail. Some live in Canada — a country with a similar climate to Ireland’s, at least during winter — and some from Iran and other nations.

Most important, Hayes said, is that the successful hires know what they are in for, in terms of the island’s ‘rustic’ lifestyle. There is no electricity, and no hot water; cold water comes from a spring on Blasket.

Furthermore, there are no permanent residents there, so one must be happy living a life of solitude, and yet be willing to serve strangers in the Coffee Shop and run the Accommodations Office during the tourist season. They must also have “basic survival skills,” Hayes noted.

Being fit is a necessity too, Hayes acknowledged, as there is little to do but hike and swim — if one is daring enough to brave the chilly water.

Ref: irishmirror