A young couple is swapping the comforts of home for a life on an uninhabited island off the coast of Ireland, where they will live without hot water, stable electricity, or cars. Camille Rosenfeld, from Minnesota, and James Hayes, from County Kerry, were chosen to be this year’s live-in caretakers of Great Blasket, the largest island of the most westerly archipelago in Europe.

They will reside in a stone house near some abandoned cottages on a windswept hill overlooking the ocean, with gulls, seals, and sharks for company. “We are just really comfortable being uncomfortable,” Rosenfeld said, who has never been to the island which will be her home from April to September.

Life on the island will be simple. Water comes from a spring and must be boiled, while electricity for phones and head torches comes via batteries charged from a small wind turbine. The couple, who got married last summer, were selected from hundreds of applicants to manage five holiday cottages and a coffee hatch for day-trippers.

The islands, known for their rugged beauty and marine life, including basking sharks and dolphins, can experience rough weather with howling winds, driving rain, and powerful waves. Alice Hayes, who along with her partner Billy O’Connor, picked the new caretakers, said the magic of visiting in April is seeing the great white beach blackened with thousands of seals.

Last year’s caretakers were also awed by the seals and seabirds that screamed at night and rested on the hill during the day. The former prime minister of Ireland, Charles Haughey, was attracted to the area by the sense of isolation, but it was also the reason it drove families away, including Peig Sayers, whose biography used to be a compulsory part of the Irish language curriculum.

When first advertised in January 2020, the live-in seasonal job attracted 80,000 applications. “The island, the sunsets, and the beautiful places can be quite romanticized,” said Alice Hayes, “but during the season, it can be quite intense for the caretakers.”

Despite the challenges, the couple is looking forward to the chance to switch off and live a simpler life, surrounded by nature and beautiful scenery.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/26/we-try-to-put-applicants-off-couple-chosen-as-live-in-caretakers-on-uninhabited-irish-island