Everything Ireland thread

[DJChameleon]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ireland-92000-to-move-to-remote-islands-heres-how-it-works/

This offer seems two years old I wonder if they are still doing it.

Also what's the downside?

The Irish government has a plan to boost the population of more than two dozen remote islands in the Atlantic Ocean: Dangle grants of up to $92,000 to homebuyers who are willing to move there.

The islands include Inis Mór, where the Oscar-nominated 2022 film "The Banshees of Inisherin" was partly filmed and which is one of the Aran Islands that sit off the West coast of Ireland. These islands are often a tourist draw due to their rugged landscapes and history.

About 30 islands off the coast of Ireland have permanent year-round residents who are cut off daily by the tide and who don't have a connection via bridge or causeway to the mainland, the Irish government said when it released the plan earlier this month. Some of the islands have as few as two year-round residents on them, it added.

[Trollheart]

Haven't heard anything about that, but traditionally islands like the Arran Islands and the Blasket Islands are known for having more sheep than people; you get a very old-world, rural style of living there - people fishing for a living, hunting and cooking their own food probably, living in thatched cottages, style of thing - and a lot of the time, though not always, mostly Irish speakers. The downsides would be many: in a major storm, the likes of which are getting more frequent, you'd be far more exposed to the elements and also unlikely to be reachable by the emergency services. Lose power and unless you got a generator you're probably going to be out for weeks. Medical assistance would also be sparse, so don't fall off any cliffs. I assume broadband is shite so you'd be cut off from the mainland, and the climate around those islands is usually pretty harsh, so supplies of fuel would need to be preserved. Whether or not satellite TV would work out there, don't know. Getting other supplies to the island would be a slow process too, so food, medicines, plaster gnomes etc, all in short supply. Then of course there's the isolation. Mobile signal is unlikely to be good, if even available, so you'd be unable to keep in touch with your family and friends, and if people felt isolated during Covid, just imagine what moving to the Arran Islands would be like! Even back in school, as we learned the latest news, that the world was not, to our shock, flat, we were told about these places where time seems to have stood still for the inhabitants.

Generally speaking, I would say the upside would be if you want to go off the grid and get away from it all, it would be perfect. Very peaceful when the weather is fine and nobody hassling you - no protests against immigrants there, unless they're sheep. But overall, I would have to think the disadvantages would outweigh the benefits, which is why I would see very few people taking up such an offer. We're not talking Isle of Man or Isle of Wight here: these are literally mostly barren hunks of rock in the Irish Sea. Can't imagine anyone wanting to move out there.

[SGR]

@Trollheart, what do you think happened to Trevor Deely?

[DJChameleon]

I wonder why the government is trying so hard to populate those islands then. It does sound like a sucker's deal.

[Trollheart]

@Trollheart, what do you think happened to Trevor Deely?

No idea. Seems a weird one. At first, I thought maybe it was one of those "tiger kidnappings", since he worked in the bank, and maybe he had been murdered if it went wrong, but no record (I only read about the case now) of any ransom demand. Then I thought maybe he faked his own death and went to live with yer wan in Alaska, possibly withdrawing or stealing a large sum of money from AIB, but there's no record of any large withdrawals or thefts. It's possible he was murdered by accident, a case of mistaken identity, or that this man in black was some sort of IRA/paramilitary guy? Could be he's buried in the Dublin Mountains, where a lot of people who disappear are believed to have ended up. Strange case for sure, but then there are more people gone missing in mysterious circumstances in Ireland than you would think...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Philip_Cairns

This one goes right back to 1973 and has never been solved.

[Buck_Mulligan]

I wonder why the government is trying so hard to populate those islands then. It does sound like a sucker's deal.

This Irish Times piece from 2023 explains how the "Global Press" got the wrong end of the stick.

https://www.irishtimes.com/property/interiors/2023/07/29/now-you-can-earn-90000-by-moving-to-remote-irish-islands/

[Buck_Mulligan]

Yankees Watch Out!
This deportation racket is catching on...

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2025/04/17/us-passport-fraudster-deported-from-ireland-after-early-release-from-jail/

[Trollheart]

Yeah that was always on the cards. They noted it when sentence was passed; after he had done his time he was getting deported. In an age before Trump...

[Psy-Fi]

Yankees Watch Out!
This deportation racket is catching on...

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2025/04/17/us-passport-fraudster-deported-from-ireland-after-early-release-from-jail/

Seems like this guy must have one hell of a skeleton tucked away in his closet.