A ferry operator in Dingle, Co Kerry, said yesterday his passengers were prevented from doing a tour of the Great Blasket island village and lands on Sunday afternoon by security men employed by the people who own most of the island property.
The row has sparked worries about future access by boat owners to the island, which the State and heritage bodies hope will become a Unesco World Heritage site.
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche announced on Friday that agreement had been reached with the landowners to buy the majority of land interests on An Blascaod Mór for €1.7 million.
A detailed management plan envisages a pier for the island and the conservation of writers' buildings, among them those of Peig Sayers, Tomas Ó Criomhthain and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin, along with the provision of a cafe and public toilets.
Tom Hand of Dingle Bay Ferries, which operates the Loch an Iasc ferry from Dingle harbour to the Great Blasket, said his boatman, Daithí Mac Gearailt, whose ancestors came from the island, was prevented from walking up the path to the village by "four burly security men".
The 12 passengers, of different nationalities, were forced to return to the mainland without doing a tour of the island and were extremely disappointed and angry, Mr Hand said.
They were told that only passengers using the Peig Sayers ferry - owned by the majority property owner on the island, Blascaod Mór Teo (BMT) - was allowed to visit the island. Passengers using the traditional Dún Chaoin ferry route were also allowed on the lands.
A complaint was lodged with the Garda.
Mr Hand said future access was an important issue, given the €9 million investment by the State in the island. "How can one company have the exclusive right to operate out of Dingle?" he asked.
However, Peter Callery, secretary of BMT, said island landowners would not tolerate "a new situation" and wanted the status quo of the traditional boatmen from Dún Chaoin operating alongside his company's Dingle harbour boat preserved.
He said landowners were not prepared to tolerate a "free for all".
An spokesman for the OPW, which has responsibility for management of the island, said access to the island in the future was a matter to be considered and resolved by the implementation group which had yet to be set up.