A 36-year old Irishman's search for a female companion to join him for a year on an isolated island off the Donegal coast has ended in failure.

In September, John McManus advertised on gumtree.ie for a "wife/companion" who would accompany him to the island of Inishfree in January and spend the next 12 months with him while he lived off the land and wrote a book, the Irish Examiner reports.

McManus was inspired by Gerald Kingsland, whose island adventures with a partner found via an ad were chronicled in the 1980s book and film 'Castaway.'

This isn't the first off-beat venture the London-born Irishman, based in Co Leitrim, has attempted. McManus, an unemployed hotel worker, once offered his services as a sperm donor by making personal deliveries in hotel sex sessions and had once advertised himself as a faith healer and as a "wizard seeking witches to join my coven."

McManus's ad attracted thousands of queries, but just before Christmas, he admitted defeat in his search for an island companion, saying he could not find anyone suitable who could commit for a  full year and that he wasn't planning to go alone.