Restoration of home of Blasket writer set to begin

The restoration of the ruined home of the late Blasket Island writer, Tomas Ó Criomhthain, is expected to start soon.

The works follow the allocation of a €45,000 grant by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

A decision by Kerry County Council on a planning application is due in early August. Only the ruins’ four walls remain. The plan is to recreate the structure as it looked in the 1920s /30s when the island’s literary output was at its peak.

Micheal de Mordha, manager of the Blasket Island Interpretive Centre at Dunquin said the grant was another step towards opening the island as a national historic park.

In 2009, the government purchased most of the holdings on the Great Blasket. Approval had previously given for a €8.5m development plan, mainly for work on piers at the island and at Dunquin. However, little has happened since, except for conservation work on the ruined village.

“The island is in a state of limbo at the moment, except for guides out there for the summer and the work on the village,” said Mr de Mordha.

“The island cannot be properly managed until a proper pier is built. It’s important the urgent work is carried out as quickly as possible.”

A second house, known as ‘Tig White’ is also being restored for use as a base for Office of Public Works staff. The total cost of work on both houses is estimated at €180,000. The island was evacuated in 1953. Ó Criomhthain was the main writer and was best remembered for An tOileánach (The Islandman), published in 1929, eight years before he died.

His books depict a long-vanished way of life and An tOileánach has become a classic in Irish literature.

Lying 5km offshore, about 10,000 people visit the island yearly.