Duchas, the Heritage Service, is expected to object to a proposal to develop a campsite and service buildings on the Great Blasket Island off the Kerry coast.
Plans for a campsite with provision for cooking and dining facilities, toilet and wash facilities along with septic tank and associated developments were lodged with Kerry County Council on March 2nd. A decision by the council is expected on May 1st.
The plans were lodged by An Blascaod Mor Teoranta, the company which owns most of the island made world famous by Irish language writers Peig Sayers, Tomas O Criomhthain, Muiris O Suilleabhain and the English writer Robin Flower.
Permission is being sought for two cottage-style service buildings, one of which will be built into the hillside. The campsite is for 20 pitches and would be to the west of the existing Board of Works houses.
However, Mr Micheal de Mordha, manager of the Duchas-owned Blasket Island Interpretative Centre on the mainland in Dunquin, said he was alarmed at the scale of the plans. They involved two new structures and the development was out of context with the village, he said. Controlled camping should be allowed, he agreed, but so as not to disturb the peace of the island.
Duchas was concerned and it was examining the file which would be passed to the Minister for Arts, Culture the Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera.
The best idea was a joint plan involving all those concerned with the island, Mr de Mordha said. Kerry County Council has received no objections.
Mr Peter Callery, a solicitor and shareholder in An Blascaod Mor Teoranta, said the company was not bringing campers to the island, but was merely trying to provide those who already use the island with sanitary facilities and proper restaurant facilities.
Up to 400 people visit the Great Blasket daily during high season, with 20 to 30 people camping out on the island overnight. Two 40-passenger ferry boats service the island daily during the summer.
The ruins of Tomas O Criomhthain's house were being used as a toilet, Mr Callery pointed out. Other ruins are being used as camping sites.
Five houses - including that lived in by Peig Sayers - have now been restored by the company and are to be used as hostel accommodation.
The company's aim was to preserve the island and make it financially viable, Mr Callery said. He was not surprised Duchas was likely to object. "But I am disappointed, particularly as it was Duchas's own stated policy to put a campsite on the island," he said.