The State must buy High Island. It’s a small price to pay for our heritage

The State paid €2m for a majority stake-holding in the Great Blasket a decade ago, which then-environment minister, John Gormley, considered good value, given the island’s cultural importance and its potential as a tourist attraction.

By contrast, High Island, off the Connemara coast, is for sale outright for €1.25m, but Environment Minister, Josepha Madigan, has ruled out the State buying it. She said: