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OFF THE COAST of Mayo in Clew Bay, among some 365 islands of varying sizes, is Dorinish Island – or, as it’s better known, ‘Beatle Island’.
How it got its nickname is no surprise: Dorinish Island was bought by The Beatles frontman John Lennon in 1967.
Lennon bought the island for £1,700, reports Ireland.com, and planned to spend his retirement there. Spanning 19 acres, Lennon received planning permission to build a house on the island, but never did.
Speaking to The Guardian, local estate agent Andrew Crowley said the Liverpudlian was “besotted with the place by all accounts”.
Crowley also told RTE about how the singer ended up buying an island off the west coast of Ireland: “John Lennon saw a newspaper ad for the an island for sale off Ireland, this was Dorinish Island which was being sold by Westport Harbour Board. The island was used by the Board in the 1800s to house marine pilots who guided sailing ships in to Westport harbour.”
Lennon is said to have arranged for a wooden caravan painted in psychedelic colours to be shipped from London to the island to act as a temporary home.
As his career progressed, Lennon postponed his moving to the small island and offered it to Sid Rawle, the founder of the Digger Action Movement and known as ‘King of the Hippies’, reports The Guardian. Rawle and 30 others lived there until 1972 when a dropped oil lamp destroyed their tents, and therefore their homes.
Despite receiving planning permission to build a house there, Lennon postponed the plans to build after the collapse of his first marriage to Cynthia Powell and permission ended in 1972, said Crowley.
He returned to the island just once more with his wife Yoko Ono before his death in 1980, and he is said to have been looking into renewing the permission and was planning to return to the island.
According to IrishCentral.com, Ono said Dorinish Island “was a place where we thought we could escape the pressures and spend some undisturbed time together. But because of what happened our hopes never came to be.”
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“We often discussed the idea of building a cottage there. It was so beautiful, so tranquil, yet so isolated, it seemed a perfect place to get away from it all.”
Ono sold the island for £30,000 in 1984, and it is widely reported that she donated the proceeds of the sale to an Irish orphanage.
The island went on the market again in 2012 for €300,000. There’s little information about whether it has been sold, so you’ll have to do some digging if you fancy treating yourself to a lavish purchase.
Is the Paddocks not Adamstown…. A Fianna Fail ideological village from the boom ???
Fianna Fáil, despite all their faults, cannot control how individuals turn out. That’s what parents are for.
Even if they catch them what’s the worst they’ll get, a suspended sentence? They know that, its why they feel so free to do it.
We talk about needing a new health service we need a new justice system as bad
Exactly right! they have nothing to fear from the guards or the courts. They’ll never see the inside of a courtroom for this
This seems very reminiscent of Martin Cahill’s usual protests against the Gardai getting the upper hand back in the late 80′s and early 90′s by car tyre slashing entire middle class neighbourhoods to get his point across.
Adamstown is to Lucan as Carpenterstown is to Castleknock
More than likely kids, who basically can’t be sentenced now.
What do you mean more then likely kids? It was probably you and your just trying to put the old bill off
We should have a rule that if you’re old enough to commit the crime you’re old enough to serve the punishment.
Combine that with the broken windows rule and some restorative justice and see these incidents decline.
Ryan if you ever were involved with children in the courts you’d realise how stupid a statement that was.. Friend of mine represents children accused of crimes and asked me to sit in on an interview once for a child who was particularly troubled..
He was fifteen and accused of assault, he spent the time talking to us through his hands, spoke entirely in the third person, and at the end we could get nothing from him because all he’d do is sing..
The last thing someone like that needs is eight years in mountjoy..
That’s a special needs case. I’m referring to teenagers perfectly aware of the diff between right and wrong not people with intellectual disability.
I have seen dozens of these cases I grew up around these people. They know exactly what they’re doing. We can debate various methods that might b more effective at rehabilitating them but surly we can agree repeatedly letting them see there’s no consequences to their actions is not acceptable
Dublin. Hell on earth.
Lucan
Adamstown really
Lucan is Kildare
i think you’ll find Lucan in in dublin. the board to kildare is between lucan celbridge and leixlip
No it isn’t.
No its not
Adamstown is in Lucan.
the postal address is : Adamstown, Lucan, Co Dublin
Lucan isn’t Kildare. Kildare is Kildare.
Lucan, Co. Clondalkin!
Lucan, County Dublin
Dregs, dregs…..everywhere, dregs.
Only six cars? Quiet night in Lucan
Not such a nice comment for the people living there James is it?
Don’t worry. They can’t read.
James…you made me spit my tea out..classic..f**kin classic!
Pr1ck.
yes you are
Daffy, Simon I can’t compete with those comebacks. Genius.
Very callous behaviour .
@james how dare you say people from lucan can’t read,where are you from because you were clearly dragged up in life with a narrow minded opinion.i am well able to read and also from lucan which is in co dublin and the paddocks has a postal address in lucan.
Why would you take offence at be lumped in with people who can’t read? Unless you have something against people who can’t read, and don’t want to be associated with them, which seem rather elitist.
Neal I think it was the wider implication of being a sc**bag that was being taken exception to.
People from tallaght and shankill can relate no doubt. Presumptions ye know..
OK – but you sure as hell can’t capitalise!
Here is a photo for those interested http://i.imgur.com/rQk77H9.jpg
Adamstown is a dump….it was built on the back of Liam Lawlor’s corruption (and in his back yard)….towns in Ireland cannot be built overnight….they have to be developed and nurtured over generations….this place is full of drug dealers gangsters criminals and good people trying to keep themselves and their families good….
Absolute brain dead comment from someone who obviously doesn’t live in the area. The area where the cars were burnt out is a quiet residential area where there are mostly families living.
A national scandal, there should be an independent inquiry, poor children
Someone must be house hunting in Lucan and hoping to get a price reduction!!
Property isn’t cheap in Lucan ….. And the people aren’t too
If someone’s car was set alight and was not insured then I have no sympathy for that person for some people the ownership of a big car is important to them but forget tax and insurances
A similar set of incidents happened in Sligo a couple of weeks ago where 4 cars were set alight. My friend’s car was one of them. She’s due to return home to France in a few days with no car. Her insurance is refusing to pay. Just because you have insurance it doesn’t mean squat.
Well Alan, i drove for over about 4years. had 4 years no claims bonus with my insurance. when my car broke down the cost of fixing the engine and labor was around a thousand euro… or could just scrap the car for 100euro…Dont have that kinda money.. so i stopped driving altogether (cant understand how people on the dole can afford to drive around in BMW’s and other big cars) a few people suggested that i burn out my car and get money back from the insurance, i had no claims bonus so i could of claimed once and not affect me. I’m not the type of person to do something like that..others wouldn’t think twice. i decided to scrap my car in the end and stop driving all together. now recently i tired to get insured under my brothers car and because i stopped driving over 2 years. the insurance company said i no longer have 4years no claims that id have to start from scratch again. that’s what i get for doing the right thing. pissed me off i lost my 4years no claims makes me never wanna buy car insurance again!!! moral of the story if you stop driving for over a year or more and have no claims bonus between 1-5years you will lost it if you dont keep paying your insurance!
Pinellas g ,
I sympathize with you on your insurance I had the same problem back in the early 90s had to sell my car and because I did not buy another car for over three yearsI had to start all over again I had 100% no claim bonus my job was driving under company insurance 30 years but still had to start again it’s just not fair. Regarding people driving big cars with no job I dont have a problem with that What I do have a problem is when they drive with no insurance .
Seems I am getting lots of red thumbs on my remarks the truth effects people in different ways lol
So you want to be commended for not burning out your car?
Alan I think you’re getting red thumbs because you took the opportunity to have a rant about people driving without insurance in an article about people whose property has been destroyed. You’re not wrong, you’re just coming off as a bit of a pr*ck
Alan, people aren’t offended by you telling the truth, they’re offended by you expressing it in such an a-holy manner.
I say “bring back Wilson” super hero cop !!!!
Sure it’s all gone tits up since he left, law & order in tatters.
Actually Wilson used to live in Hillcrest – a few doors away from me – which is just on the other side of Superquinn from the Paddocks…. but seriously Adamstown is a ghetto now – all rented out – hardly any actual Irish living there now. Wouldn’t buy there now if you paid me and in height of boom people were falling over themselves to buy the overpriced boxes.
Still are, 5 houses sold out in minutes two weeks ago. People queued up from early in the morning!
Plenty of Irish people living in the paddocks
Slight technicality but did they light the six cars separately or light one and the others caught fire as a result? Just wondering
you can be guaranteed someone drives a big car they are insured….its first time buyers young people who have no insurance….I had an apprentice before who had a battered fiesta with no insurance….I asked him was he not worried about a criminal record if he got caught….he said the fine was always cheaper than the insurance (10 years ago….I don’t know what it is now)….I presume if caught and loss of licence would be the same thing
You try getting full comp insurance or fire n theft insurance there now .
There will be a “district loading” similar to a house located in a low lying area subject to flooding.
Why don’t we all do exactly what the insurance people want.
Simply send huge cheques each year even if you never drive and never make any claims.
they are programmed to receive your money not pay some of it out.
The paddocks is a lovely place to live with a good mix of Irish and non Irish Where do you live james
Hahaha standard call out for a false insurance claims!!!
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