VIDEO: Life on Cork's Cape Clear - 'We’d really love to stay put, but sadly it might not be possible'

THE dark days of the pandemic were difficult for everyone and expectant mothers were particularly affected.

Due to Covid restrictions, they were without the usual s of birth partners being permitted to stay with them throughout the entire process of labour.

Cape Clear island resident Róisín O’Connell, who runs Cotter’s bar, was one of the many women who gave birth during those difficult times and she recalls the experience.

“It was tough because my partner Cian could only stay for 20 minutes after our baby was born, and, as it was my first child, I would have loved to have had my mam with me too.

When I look back at it now, it’s hard to believe all that we went through.

Róisín grew up in Carraigaline and she has always loved the sea, so when in 2018 she saw an ad for people to work in the Cape Clear island shop for the summer, she jumped at the opportunity.

“I have worked in hospitality since I was 16 and I love meeting people, so the idea of spending the summer on an island really appealed to me, and I was lucky to get the job and off I headed to Cape,” she said.

“That’s where I met my partner Cian McCann, who had grown up on the island. He was based in Kinsale at the time, and when summer ended, I headed back to the city to pursue my art course in St John’s, and he went back to Kinsale, but we continued on our relationship.

“In 2020, I realised I was pregnant and then Covid kicked in. I could not meet up with Cian and I had to tell him the big news over the phone. Then, as restrictions were tightened more and more, we were lucky, just in time before full lockdown kicked in, to be able to get back over to Cape Clear to be together.

We stayed at his family home, and I worked back in the shop, and then, when it was time for our daughter to be born, I headed back to my mam to stay with her before the birth.

“After our baby was born, Cian and I were like two ships in the night for a while. I headed back to the island, while Cian had to stay on in Kinsale, and I was fortunate to be able to rent a house next door to Cotter’s pub, which myself and Cian now run full time.

“During those early days, I was on my own during the week, but looking back on it now it was very special to have that time together bonding with my baby. The islanders were so lovely and ive. You’d never want for anything at all.

“They helped bring up my shopping from the boat, and anything I needed was only a phone call away. 

I never felt isolated, and when you think about it, heading to an island and living alone with a newborn sounds a bit mad, but it was actually a fantastic experience.

Since those early days of her life on Cape Clear, Róisín has given birth to a second baby daughter, and herself and Cian are busy running Cotter’s bar together, which includes a full food menu. It’s a very busy place during the summer months, located only a short walk from the pier, and very popular with tourists.

In the winter months, Róisín opens the bar two or three times a week, alternating with the Club bar so that the islanders always have a place for a social outlet during the winter.

“The winters are much quieter but we have lovely times here. I’m only 24 and one of the things I really love about living here is that you have intergenerational friendships, especially amongst the women. When I lived on the mainland you would generally have friends from your own age group, but on the island that is not the case, and it’s really lovely.

“The women meet up in the bar a couple of times a week and play a Chinese tile game called Mahjong. It’s become a really popular game on Cape, and it was started by one of the women who used to live in Dubai and she introduced it to the island.”

And if she wasn’t busy enough already with running the business and looking after two small girls, Róisín is also in her second year doing the Art degree course on Sherkin island.

“I love the art course, it’s held on Sherkin every second weekend, and you do your work in between the lectures and classes. The tutors were really ive of me when I had my second baby daughter. I took her along to the course with me as I was nursing her. She was born in June, and I was in college on Sherkin in September, so myself and the baby travelled out on the morning ferry, then we had a quick stopover for half and hour for a coffee in Baltimore, and then on to the Sherkin ferry for the course. I travelled back then in the evening to Cape.

“I am really enjoying the course and am also interested in print-making and manual labour processes.

I love island life, and of course I am very busy a lot of the time, but I have to say you could not live in a nicer community, and that extends out to the wider community in Skibbereen, Sherkin, and West Cork in general.

“For example, our shopping comes in on the ferry on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and you just ring in to Field’s of Skibbereen with your order and they send it by van to the pier in Baltimore, then it’s brought over the eight miles across the sea to the island.

“The staff in Field’s are so lovely to deal with. For example, as I am not physically in the shop to see the special offers, when I am ordering my shopping, they will let me know what sort of things are in for the baby. There was a recent offer on nappies which the staff told me about, they are so good, they always ask ‘Do you need anything for the baby?’

“The other thing is, if there is anything needed from the pharmacy, Cleary’s in Skibbereen are fantastic – they will send your prescription, or whatever you might need, over to the van to go in with your shopping, it’s truly great to have that level of .

“We have a What’sApp group for the island and if there is anything needed, then all you have to do is pop a message on the group chat and there is always somebody on the mainland who will pick it up for you, you’d never be stuck.

“Of course, it’s the notice board for everything else too such as any social events happening in the club or pub, if a cow escapes, or somebody loses something, if anyone needs a lift, it really enhances life here for sure.

“I have a car parked on the mainland and I go out two mornings a week to bring my oldest daughter to playschool in Baltimore. I then head to Skibbereen to check out exhibitions at Uillinn, the West Cork Arts centre, or to meet up with friends for a coffee, I enjoy my mornings on the mainland.

“Apart from my family in the city, the only thing I miss on Cape is a chipper and take- away. My friends come in the summertime to do shifts at the pub and help out with the cooking. 

You have to learn to prepare in advance for everything. If there’s one thing which island life has really taught me, it’s forward planning.

“The other thing I have learned is being resourceful. You have to be able to try things out and fix things yourself, living here has really improved my skills in that regard.

“A few summers ago, we had leaking pipes on the island and there was a water shortage. This made life challenging in of the pub, but we managed by filling up pots of water in the morning, and ensuring we had enough water for the day. Thankfully, that issue is now resolved.”

Looking to the future, there will be challenges.

“I am sad when I think that our family will probably be forced to leave the island in a couple of years when my daughter is ready to start primary school. Although it breaks my heart, I am not confident we will be able to stay. I would love if that was not the case, but I want to have my children socialised and right now there are not enough children in the school on the island.

It’s really sad, as we would love to stay here full time, but due to dwindling numbers in the population with young children, it’s not an option unless something changes.

“The main problem is that there is little to no accommodation for families who would locate and live fulltime on the island, and send their children to the local school. Right now, it’s impossible to get planning permission to build a home, and it’s very difficult, practically impossible to get housing to rent.

“I love it here, but I don’t want to sacrifice future opportunities for my children to make a variety of friends and to have good social connections. Something needs to change in of policy to make it a viable place for young families with kids to continue on living here. We’d really love to make our living here and stay put, but sadly it might not be possible.”

Hopefully, something will change and the beautiful Cape Clear will endure on into the future for the generations to come, and not become depopulated with only homes for the exotic sea birds who continue to nest there.