The Blasket Centre in Dún Chaoin on the western edge of the Dingle Peninsula celebrating the heritage and literature of the Blasket Islands has officially opened.

Fáilte Ireland, the Office of Public Works and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage jointly invested €3m in the project.

It is expected that the centre, which has been designated as a Wild Atlantic Way Signature Discovery Point, will attract an additional 12,500 visitors to the region per annum and support over jobs in the Gaeltacht region

The centre, together with a walkway and viewing platform that opened to the public in 2020, offers dramatic views of the Blanket Island achipelago and the Atlantic coastline.

The centre itself will employ 20 people.

In Association with

The islands have been uninhabited since the final residents were evacuated by the government in 1954 amid fears of extreme weather and a population cut off from emergency services. The traditions of islands have been immortalised in the work of Peig Sayers.

Welcoming the opening of the centre, tourism minister Catherine Martin said: "The story of the Blasket Islands is one of great interest to domestic and international audiences. "The renewed visitor experience at the Blasket Centre is an exciting and imaginative opportunity for visitors to engage with the richness of that culture.”

Minster of State with responsibility for the OPW Patrick O'Donovan commented that the centre is "a stunning piece of architecture in itself" and is now home to a totally new exhibition that tells the story of the Blasket Islands in an imaginative multi-media experience.

"It also pays homage to the significant cultural footprint the islanders left in a series of books documenting their lives. I invite visitors to come and discover this utterly unique heritage centre and museum which is both a window into the past and enables us to keep the extraordinary legacy of the Blasket Islanders alive by engaging with their history, their language and culture." he added

Orla Carroll, director of product development at Fáilte Ireland, said the centre would create "new and unique reasons for visitors to choose Ireland", while creating employment in rural Ireland and its urban centres. 

The original Blasket Centre opened in 1994 and offered tours of the Great Blasket Island. The new project includes a complete refurbishment of the centre’s exhibitions.

The story of island life, subsistence fishing and farming, traditional life, including modes of work and transport, home life, housing and entertainment will be told through exhibitions, interactive displays, artefacts, audio visual presentations and artworks at the new centre.

Photo: Minister Patrick O’Donovan beside a series of illustrations of Blasket Islanders. (Pic: Valerie O’Sullivan)