Inisheer Island: Ireland's Western Isles are offering up to $149,000 for people to relocate there. Photo / iStock, Getty Images
Inisheer Island: Ireland's Western Isles are offering up to $149,000 for people to relocate there. Photo / iStock, Getty Images
Ireland is offering grants of up to $149,000 to move to the islands of the beautiful West Coast. What’s the catch?
It’s a part of the county that recently caught the world’s eye for cinematic beauty, appearing in Martin McDonagh’s TheBanshees of Inisherin. Now the Irish government Rialtas na hÉireann is offering grants of up to €84,000 to move there. And you’ll not even have to cut off any of your fingers or put up with an eejit neighbour.
You may, however, need to do a spot of refurbishment.
Ireland is looking for new owners to revitalise derelict homes in the 20 or so islands on the Atlantic Coast.
As part of a 10-year programme called ‘Our Living Islands’, the Department of Rural Community and Community Development has laid out an action plan whereby new transplants will be paid for renovating the historic islands.
Five counties - Galway, Donegal and Mayo, Galway and Cork - have signed up to the new initiative to preserve island communities and heritage. These crofts in Ireland’s traditional Gaeltacht (Gaelic-speaking regions) have fallen into disrepair. New homeowners will have to preserve not only the buildings but traditions of the region.
That’s not to say you can’t have your modern conveniences.
Brendon Gleeson and Colin Farrell play the part of friends at a crossroads in the movie The Banshees of Inisherin.
As part of the open invitation to relocate to the isles, Minister Heather Humphreys said the government is pledging $3.5 million into infrastructure projects to future-proof the remote communities.
Improving tourism infrastructure and broadband internet speeds, it is hoped to bring remote workers and holidaymakers to the Western Isles.
“We will see more people living on the islands and more people working on our islands, with good career prospects, regardless of where their employer is headquartered,” said the minister.
This is not your opportunity to build a holiday home, however. While the government is paying for people to relocate and improve the historic crofts, they must be committed to living in them as part of the community.
Creating what could be called Ireland’s Silicon Archipelago, Humphreys said the Croí Cónaithe will provide a “bright and sustainable future” for the islands.
Ireland isn’t the first idyllic country to pay people to relocate to their remote communities, but it is one of the most scenic.
In 2020, sunny Abruzzo began offering ex-pats up to $76,000 to relocate to their rural Italian villages. Earlier this year, the Japanese government began offering families $65,000 to relocate from Tokyo to the countryside to revitalise ageing rural communities.
My Lovely Pony: Aran and Ireland's beautiful Western Islands have been backdrops for films and TV shows, including Father Ted. Photo / Paolo Geregotti, Unsplash
Relocating to Ireland’s Western Isles
Ireland’s Atlantic Coast is full of picturesque islands, many of which have seen dramatic depopulation through industrialisation. The remote islands remain a draw for tourists and filmmakers.
Inis Mór was recently the backdrop of Hollywood drama TheBanshees of Inisherin, and Inisheer might be better recognisable to fans of TV comedy Father Ted as Craggy Island.
Apart from wild landscapes, the Aran Islands are famous for their cable-knit jumpers. Beyond ripping yarns and film adaptations, the Irish islands are full of intriguing landmarks and destinations.
In West Cork, the Heir Island Cookery School claims to be the smallest cookery school in the world, running two-day food workshops on the island. John Desmond, ex-chef at the Ritz Hotel Paris and professor at École de Cuisine La Varenne Paris, moved to the island in 1989 and has turned it into a site of food pilgrimage, with the help of wife and restaurateur Ellmary Fenton.
