Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [273]
When the kiosks are open in summer, you’ll be charged about €2 to €3 for entrance to the sights.
Dunquin
Yet another pause on a road of scenic pauses, Dunquin is a scattered village beneath Mt Eagle and Croaghmarhin. It’s a hub for all things Blasket. The local website (www.dunchaoin.com) notes that it is the next parish to America.
The Blasket Centre (Ionad an Bhlascaoid Mhóir; 066-915 6444; www.heritageireland.ie; adult/child €4/2; 10am-7pm Jul & Aug, to 6pm mid-Mar–Jun, Sep & Oct, last admission 45min before closing) is a wonderful interpretive centre in a long, white hall ending in a wall-to-ceiling window overlooking the islands. Great Blasket’s rich community of storytellers and musicians is profiled along with its literary visitors like John Millington Synge, writer of Playboy of the Western World. The more prosaic practicalities of island life are covered by exhibits on shipbuilding and fishing. There’s a cafe with Blasket views, and a useful bookshop.
Dunquin Hostel ( 066-915 6121; www.anoige.ie; dm €15-19, tw €42; Feb-Nov) has a terrific location, near the Blasket Centre and not too far from Dunquin Pier. There are stunning views. This An Óige member closes between 10am and 5pm.
Mustard-coloured De Mórdha B&B ( 066-915 6276; www.demordha.com; s/d from €45/70; Easter-Oct) is a pleasant little B&B with all mod cons and great views. The pub is under a 1km walk away.
An Portán ( 066-915 6212; www.anportan.com; meals €12-25; Easter-Sep) serves traditional Irish meals with an international flavour. It has a separate guesthouse with 14 modern, large and fairly unadorned rooms.
Blasket Islands
The Blasket Islands (Na Blascaodaí), 5km out into the Atlantic, are the most westerly in Ireland. At 6km by 1.2km, Great Blasket (An Blascaod Mór) is the largest and most visited, and mountainous enough for strenuous walks, including a good one detailed in Kevin Corcoran’s Kerry Walks. All of the Blaskets were inhabited at one time or another; there is evidence of Great Blasket being inhabited during the Iron Age and early Christian times. The last islanders left for the mainland in 1953 after they and the government agreed that it was no longer feasible to live in such isolated and harsh conditions.
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THE BLASKET WEAVER
The deserted village on Great Blasket might not look like the most inviting place to live, but for some 20 years Welsh immigrant Sue Redican has occupied one of the cottages between April and October.
Europe’s westernmost resident has no electricity or phone line, but has candles for light, gas for cooking, and a mobile phone and VHF radio for communication. She stays there for as much of the year as she can, and once stayed for 10 months, although bad weather can cut her off from the mainland. ‘I’d rather get stuck in than stuck out,’ she says. Blasket inhabitants traditionally speak of going ‘out’ to the mainland and coming ‘in’ to the island.
‘I feel alone rather than lonely here,’ she says. ‘You can have 400 seals on the beach sitting up and watching you, and in the past few weeks we’ve seen basking sharks and killer whales.’ Sue also gets plenty of human company during the summer, when she sells her weaving to day-trippers and delivers her scones to the Blasket Islands Eco Ventures boat.
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You could camp on the islands, but there are no facilities. There’s accommodation in Dunquin, although a few people make their home out here for part of the year (see the boxed text, Click here).
Weather can cause ferry cancellations; otherwise the options for getting there and away are similar:
Blasket Island Ferries ( 066-915 1344, 066-915 6422; www.blasketisland.com; adult/child €20/10; 10.30am-3.30pm Easter-Sep) Boats depart hourly and take 20 minutes; add €15 for an ecotour of the island.
Blasket Islands Ferry ( 066-915 4864, 087 231 6131; www.blasketislands.ie; adult/child €20/10; 9.55am-4.55pm Easter-Oct) Boats