Obituary: Paddy Sheehan

For more than two decades, Paddy Sheehan, who has died suddenly at the age of 58, was the operator of Ireland's only cable car, a service that carried tens of thousands of visitors to remote Dursey Island on the tip of the Beara peninsula in west Cork.

Suspended high above the treacherous rip tides of Dursey Sound, he chatted easily with passengers during the 10-minute trip from mainland to island and his name was a byword for friendly advice on what to see on the Wild Atlantic Way. In Viking Norse, the word ‘Dursey’ means ‘The Bull’.

Under his watchful eye, around 17,500 tourists made the journey to the island last year despite its lack of pub, shop, school, post office or chapel (a ruined chapel in the old graveyard is thought to have been built by the monks of Skellig Michael). Other interesting reminders of past times include a ruined Napoleonic signal tower and an array of scattered stones proclaiming Ireland’s neutrality in the second World War.

Born in the family home, a short walk from the Sound, Sheehan went to the local national school followed by secondary level at the old tech in Castletownbere, where he later ran a chip van.

With an interest in catering, he joined the staff of the local hotel and became manager. After building a new house near the Sound, he was named Homemaker of the Year in 1995.

Holiday homes

Three years earlier, he had taken over the cable car operation. In those days, it could carry cattle and sheep to and from the island but in the interests of health and safety that practice was barred in 2011 and even pet dogs are now forbidden in the cable car.

Instead, farmers transport animals three times a year by subsidised barge. Only one farmer and one retiree now live on the island but several families still farm there and there are eight holiday homes. The cable car trip costs €8 per adult and €4 for each child

Dursey is increasingly popular with walkers and birdwatchers are also drawn there by the large gannet colony on nearby Bull Rock and by the thousands of other seabirds which breed on the cliffs, including Manx shearwaters, guillemots, razorbills and puffins. In addition, the island is a nesting place for choughs which are in decline in Europe.

People who followed Sheehan’s advice to go from end to end of the 6.5 km-long by 1.5 km-wide island had a good chance of spotting pods of whale and dolphin or glimpsing a basking shark.

In a tribute to him, Aidan Prendergast, Cork County Council engineer in West Cork, described him as "a great ambassador for tourism", adding that it would be hard to replace a person of his temperament. "He never had a bad word to say about anyone," he said.

Having set it up in 1969, the Council is still firmly committed to the cable car service. Apart from normal wear and tear, the Atlantic weather has also taken its toll on the aging machinery and the local authority wants to replace the existing car with a bigger one. A €6 million plan has been submitted to Fáilte Éireann – a fitting memorial for Paddy Sheehan.

He is survived by his widow, Agnes (nee Murphy), daughter Madeline and son Damien.