If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Self, wouldn’t it be great to just go away to a remote island somewhere, get a little job at a quaint coffee shop and live the simple life for a while?” If that sounds like the ultimate dream, now it can become a reality as the remote Irish island of Great Blasket is looking for someone to move there for seven months and run its coffee shop.
** Job Vacancy **
A unique position required – looking for long term management of Island Accommodation and Coffee Shop. Couple or two friends.
1st April 2020 – October 2020 accommodation and food provided.
Email Alice on [email protected] for more information pic.twitter.com/RJFfrr4QDH— Great Blasket Island (@gbisland) January 10, 2020
- There’s no electricity, WiFi, or hot showers. When I said this is a remote island, I meant it! Great Blasket is beautifully scenic, with lots of beautiful walks through farmland and along the coast to be taken during your free hours and plenty of fresh air to inhale on a daily basis. However, you can forget about all the mod cons, because they’re not there. However, there is one small wind turbine that will produce enough power to charge your phone, so it’s not all bad!
- You’ll get free housing and food for the duration of your stay. In addition to the wages you’ll be paid, you also get to live in what one assumes will be comfortably adequate accommodation while you’re there and you won’t have to pay for food either, though it’s unclear what food you’ll get and if those providing it can accommodate special diets.
- It’s not as easy as it sounds. Alice Hayes, who placed the job listing on January 10, admitted that this wasn’t going to be an easy position and the people who ultimately got the job would need to be prepared. “It’s intense and tough but it’s a very unique position,” she told RTE on Tuesday. “It’s back to basics – fires, candles, stoves, wildlife and nature.”
- So what will you have to do? You’ll have to look after those visiting the three cottages on the island, and that could be up to 21 people at any given time. You’ll be in charge of serving them snacks, tea, and coffee, but there are no fancy machines here. Instead, you’ll be boiling water in kettles on the gas stoves, so it’s going to be a bit of a time-consuming process.
- They’re looking to hire more than one person. Obviously one person couldn’t handle all the responsibilities involved here, so while Hayes hasn’t said how many people she’s ultimately looking to hire, she has encouraged friends and couples to apply so long as they’re “fit, personable, and chatty.” Getting along well is especially important given how many hours a day you’ll be spending together cut off from much of modern life.
- Last year’s caretakers really loved it! Lesley Kehoe and Gordon Bond are a couple from Dublin who quit their hectic lives and jobs in the capital to take advantage of what they considered to be a rare and unique opportunity on Great Blasket. They shared much of their experience online on social media but did receive negative responses at times. “People are very protective of the island life, people who were saying they knew more about the Great Blasket than us, who were accusing us of commercializing it, saying we were going to attract more tourists to the island and ruin it, criticizing us for not speaking Irish,” Kehoe told the Irish Times. Haters!
- If you’re interested, you should apply ASAP. The post runs from April 1 to October 1 and if you think you would be a good fit to live on Great Blasket Island, you should send your details to [email protected]. Good luck!
