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- Great Blasket Island is a remote island off the coast of Ireland.
- Billy O'Connor and Alice Murphy run tours and guesthouses on the island.
- They are hiring two caretakers to run operations from April 1 to October 1.
The managers of guesthouses on a remote island in Ireland are looking for two people to take over for the summer.
Billy O'Connor and Alice Hayes told Business Insider that their company, The Great Blasket Island Experience, is hiring two caretakers to run their operations on Great Blasket Island from April 1 to October 1. It's the only time of the year when the weather is mild enough for people to travel there. They will stop accepting applications on Thursday.
The couple's company offers tours and accommodation on the Great Blasket Island. The Blasket Islands are part of an archipelago of seven islands off Ireland's southwestern coast. The Great Blasket Island is the largest.
The four-mile-long, two-mile-wide island is famed for being home to a large colony of grey seals and towering coves where visitors can gain a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean. The couple estimated that some 10,000 people visit the island every year. BI could not independently verify the number of tourists that visit.
Courtesy of Billy O'Connor
Working as a caretaker isn't a holiday job, the owners say
The Great Blasket Island was home to a small fishing community until residents were evacuated to mainland Ireland in 1953, according to The Irish Times. Extreme weather conditions made it difficult for the community to continue living on the island, and no permanent residents now live on the island.
O'Connor's grandfather and granduncle purchased five cottages on the island and renovated them in the 1970s, the couple told BI. Since 2014, the couple has been running tours and guesthouses on the island.
The four refurbished cottages the caretakers operate are painted white and have black tiled roofs. The nightly rates start from 130 euros, or $141, per person.
The caretakers' jobs will include checking guests in, serving tea and coffee to visitors, cleaning the cottages, and getting them ready for the next guests, The Great Blasket Island Experience shared in a job post and followed up in a post on X on January 10.
"We are looking for hardworking, responsible and trustworthy duo that have great people skills and initiative. Please be aware this is not a holiday job. The season can get VERY busy and you will be on your feet for most of the day," the company wrote.
As for accommodation, caretakers are provided the main bedroom above the coffee shop, and all meals will be provided, per the job post. But things like alcohol, toiletries, and travel expenses are to be covered by the caretakers.
The couple declined to share with BI how much the caretakers would be paid for working on the island.
Courtesy of Billy O'Connor
No restrictions on age or nationality as long as they're physically fit
Competition for the role is fierce, the couple told BI.
"The first year we advertised the caretakers' role we received Approx 40,000 application emails," the couple said, adding that they first advertised the role in 2019. BI was unable to independently verify how many people applied for the role.
Previous caretakers have ranged in age from early 20s to their 50s, the couple said.
"We have no age restriction so long as they have a good level of physical fitness and are healthy!" the couple told BI.
In 2022, a Canadian ice hockey player and Dutch yoga teacher took on the job, per The Irish Times. Last summer's caretakers, Emily Campbell, a nurse, and Daniel Regan, a civil engineer, told the Irish news outlet Breakingnews.ie they took sabbaticals from their jobs to work on the island. All four were in their 20s at the time.
"We applied in January when the job was advertised, and the excitement of the prospect really got us through the January blues," the couple told the outlet.
Courtesy of Billy O'Connor
As the application deadline draws near, O'Connor and Hayes have only good things to say about their past summer caretakers.
"Thankfully, we have had really positive experiences with all our caretakers," they added.
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