The Great Blasket Island is off the coast of Co Kerry in southwest Ireland.Ireland's Content Pool

The deadline to apply for the coveted caretaker job on the Great Blasket Island  - where there is no electricity or hot running water - for 2025 is Friday, January 10.

The position has drawn tens of thousands of applicants from around the world in past years, forcing Billy O’Connor and Alice Hayes, who own the holiday cottages and coffee shop on the Great Blasket Island, to put a cap on the number of job applications they will take.

Applications for the Great Blasket Island job for 2025 can be made online here.

On their revamped Great Blasket Island website, O’Connor and Hayes answer some FAQs to consider before applying for the caretaker job.

Simply put, the caretakers will manage the coffee shop and the four holiday cottages on the Great Blasket Island. 

This involves meeting and greeting overnight guests, serving tea and coffee to day visitors, and ensuring the day-to-day running is being met. 

Great Blasket Jetty. (Ireland's Content Pool)

“We are looking for a hardworking, responsible, and trustworthy duo that have great people skills and initiative,” O’Connor and Hayes said.

They cautioned, however: “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.”

They added: “These are intense positions and caretakers must acknowledge that they are on an Island with very little resources.”

The caretaker role runs from April 1 through October 1, weather permitting. 

“If the weather is settled the last week of March we will try to get caretakers out a week before opening to settle in,” O’Connor and Hayes said.

Travel expenses are not covered, and non-EU citizens will need a work visa. Fluency in English is required, while having some Irish is “great” and should be noted in your application.

Great Blasket Accommodation. (Ireland's Content Pool)

O’Connor and Hayes note that days off are determined by the weather: “We could have a week of bad weather, therefore no sailings to the Island, or else 4 weeks of sunshine. This is where the role can be very intense."

In the busier months of June, July, and August, the caretaker duo will have "helpexers" on a voluntary work basis in exchange for bed and board. The volunteers will sleep in the second upstairs bedroom.

Great Blasket Island. (Ireland's Content Pool)

While the job can get "intense," the perks are attractive - all food and board is included on top of the duo’s wages.

“Staff will sleep above the coffee shop and share the main bedroom (hence why looking for a couple) and use the coffee shop kitchen and toilets as their own,” O’Connor and Hayes said.

“There is a stove which can be lit in the evening, any laundry will be collected and washed on the mainland and food shops will be delivered daily."

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In 2024, Irish couple Emma Melay, 26, and Darren McFadden, 34, were selected from hundreds of applicants to become caretakers on Great Blasket Island.

"Emma and Darren came across really down to earth, easy to chat to, and enthusiastic about the role," Hayes told RTÉ News last April.

"When we FaceTimed in January, they were sitting in Darren’s grandmother's house, located in a remote part of Donegal, and explained how they enjoyed going without basic amenities, no Wi-Fi, etc., a similar setup to the Island, which stuck in our heads."

The couple began their tenure on April 1.

Nearing the end of their role in September, Melay told The Guardian: "Our cottage is cosy, with a stove and photos of previous islanders dotted around.

"There’s a small wind turbine with enough power to charge a phone, but no fridge or freezer."

She added: "We have breakfast looking over the kitchen half-door, watching the seals move with the tide. Most evenings we watch spectacular sunsets."

Melay said applications for the 2025 position will be capped at 300. 

"Our advice to anyone thinking of applying? Go for it."

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What is the Great Blasket Island?

The Great Blasket Island (An Blascaod Mór in Irish) is the main island in the group of six off the coast of the Dingle Peninsula in Co Kerry. The other five islands are Beiginis (Beginish), Inis na Bró (Inishabro), Inis Mhic Uileáin (Inishvickillane), Inis Tuaisceart (Inishtooskert), and An Tiaracht (Tearaght Island).

The group of islands was inhabited for centuries by a small but close-knit Irish-speaking population who followed a traditional way of life – farming, fishing, weaving – and eventually became the subjects of important linguistic studies for their use of a largely unchanged version of the Irish language.

Great Blasket Island. (Ireland's Content Pool)

At its peak, Great Blasket Island had only some 175 residents, but their cultural output was immense, including important Irish language works such as “An tOileánach" (“The Islander") by Tomás Ó Criomhthain, “Fiche Bliain Ag Fás” ("Twenty Years a-Growing") by Maurice O’Sullivan, and "Peig," by Peig Sayers.

In 1953, however, the last remaining inhabitants of the Blasket Islands were permanently evacuated to the mainland.

Today, the Great Blasket Island can be experienced through day tours or in self-catering accommodation.