Hopes Blasket Island saga nearing an end

THERE’S a flicker of hope that the long-running saga surrounding plans by the Government to purchase the Great Blasket Island may be slowly grinding to an end.

Talks last week between the Office of Public Works (OPW) and Blascaod Mor Teo, the company that owns 17 of the 25 holdings on the island, were inconclusive.

An OPW spokesperson yesterday said they were awaiting a formal response from the landowners to an offer made at the meeting.

It is understood that the meeting did not go well and that little progress was made towards the final purchase of the famous literary island, off the west Kerry coast.

But, it was learned afterwards that the door for negotiations was left open.

The most recent meeting involved OPW commissioner David Byers and Susan Callery, who represented Blascaod Mor Teo.

Claims by landowners that the OPW had taken a previous agreement “off the table” have been denied by the OPW.

The Government has a €8.5m development plan for the Great Blasket, with the long-term aim of having the island designated as a national historic park.

However, there are concerns that the condition of the ruined village on the island, evacuated more than 50 years ago, will continue to deteriorate.

The Government has been accused of dragging its feet on the issue. There are no plans to restore the village, which contained the homes of many of the island’s writers, and the proposal is to ensure there’s no damage to the environment of the island.

A limit will be placed on visitor numbers and most of the €8.5m will be invested in new piers on the island and in Dunquin, the departure point for the island.

Earlier in the summer, security men were placed on the island by Blascaod Mor Teo to prevent visitors, brought out by ferry operator Tom Hand from Dingle, from getting access to the island.