[3] However, the Norman-Irish Feiritéar (Ferriter) family who rented the islands from the Earl of Desmond since c. 1290 maintained a castle, possibly at Rinn an Chaisleáin on Great Blasket.

The government evacuated most of the remaining residents to the mainland on 17 November 1953 because of increasingly extreme winter weather that left the island's ageing population cut off from emergency services.

These include An tOileánach (The Islandman) and Allagar na hInise (Island cross-talk) by Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig and Machnamh Seanamhná (An Old Woman's Reflections) by Peig Sayers, Fiche Blian ag Fás (Twenty Years A-Growing) by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin and Letters from the Great Blasket by Eilís Ní Shuilleabháin.

In 1974 politician Charles Haughey purchased Inishvickillane from the descendants of the Ó Dalaigh family, who had lived on the island 70 years prior.

As Taoiseach, Haughey used the island as a summer retreat and hosted many prominent visitors, including French President François Mitterrand.

Passengers are transferred to a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) once the ferry gets close to the island, as there are no adequate landing facilities for a larger vessel.