AN obsession with early Irish history and the ‘deeper culture of the Gael’ has inspired award-winning harpist Úna Ní Fhlannagáin to take on the biggest project of her life – transforming a derelict hotel on Inis Meáin into a thriving cultural centre.

For the Craughwell native, now an Inis Meáin resident, the island represents the “absolute shining jewel of cultural practice” as she works to breathe new life into the decaying ten-bed hotel.

“It’s been a five-year journey to get here,” she says.

“If you’d asked me five years ago, ‘Do you think you will move to an offshore island and become the custodian of a massive derelict building?’ I would have said, ‘What planet are you on?’ This was not in my life plan.”

Úna has performed around the world with Grammy and Emmy-winning artists, yet the call of the rugged island off the Galway coast proved undeniable.

A visit during the pandemic ultimately led to the purchase of the building and the opportunity to restore it as a centre celebrating Irish language, arts, heritage and island life.

In 2020, Athenry Arts and Heritage Centre invited her to create a series of videos on the history of the Irish harp.

After completing that project, she travelled to Inis Meáin and describes the experience as “magical.”

During her first week there, she walked past a building in a state of decay and immediately recognised its potential as a cultural hub filled with people and activity.

“It was just such a pity. It saddened me that there was such a lost opportunity there,” she explains.

“I thought what a magical and positive impact it could have on the surrounding community if it were open. But the building was not on the market at the time.”

Undeterred, she began researching the property to gather “every bit of information” she could.

Constructed in 1998, Óstan Inis Meáin closed in 2013 and has remained largely untouched since. Over the intervening years, it sustained significant damage, including a hole in the roof and multiple instances of vandalism. As a result, the interior condition deteriorated considerably.

When it finally came up for sale in late 2023, she followed her intuition. Drawing on years of preparatory research, she assembled a group of investors to support her cultural centre proposal.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” she says.

Caption: The former Óstan Inis Meáin.

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