Can you picture yourself living on an Irish island? Arranmore is recruiting new residents

Can you picture yourself living on an Irish island? Arranmore is recruiting new residents

  • By michael@cvcteam.com
  • |

The craggy-cliffed Irish island of Arranmore, now down to its last 469 residents, is recruiting new residents to help boost its dwindling population.

The island’s residents are determined to keep their traditions, community, and infrastructure alive, according to reports by CNN and ABC News. Islanders have started to write letters to the people in the United States and Australia, asking them to consider moving there.

Arranmore, whose Galeic name is Arainn Mhor, is located off the northwest coast of County Donegal. (Although County Donegal is situated in the northern part of the country, it is part of the Republic of Ireland, a member nation of the European Union.)

Arranmore’s tourism website describes the island as “wild and untamed; carrying rich, Gaelic traditions; and a vibrant heritage and culture on an island that has been inhabited since prehistoric times.”

Sheep On Arranmore Island
Sheep On Arranmore Island

In case you feel compelled to share photos of Arranmore’s Instagram-worthy coast, the island would like you to know it boasts high-speed internet and a newly-opened shared digital work space it hopes will appeal to remote workers.

Digital professionals who come will find locals ready to collaborate, including a graphic designer, a mobile games developer, a photographer and an app developer. (However, the island isn’t offering financial incentives.)

“We’re the most connected island in the world,” Arranmore Island Community Council member Adrian Begley told CNN and ABC. He says organizers have gotten “hundreds and hundreds” of responses since publishing their letters, which explain the reason for the island’s population decline.

“Traditional industries such as fishing and farming just aren’t enough of a draw to keep young people here anymore,” one letter obtained by CNN and ABC read. “It’s been a challenge for people to work here. Until now.”

The letters seem tailored to disillusioned city dwellers and suburbanites: “if you’re looking for a change of pace, why not come here? Your commute, no matter where you are, will only ever be five minutes.”

The letters also describe the island’s attractions, which include amenities you’d expect from an Irish town like great musicians, whiskey and Guinness on tap.

But the island also offers things one might not expect: scuba diving, bird watching areas, rock climbing, boating, electric bikes and “seafood to rival the tastiest New England clam chowder.”

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