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Fact #150142

When:

Short story:

John Lennon of The Beatles buys the island of Doranish, in Clew Bay, County Mayo, Ireland, Europe. A snip at £1550.

Full article:

Alastair Taylor (assistant to Brian Epstein] : A lot of things with The Beatles had to be done in secret. They called me their Mr Fixit, because that was my job really, organising things for them. For example, John rushed into Abbey Road one day and thrust a piece of paper into my hand. He said, 'I want to buy an island.' I just laughed, but it turned out that he was serious. When I looked at the note it specified that he wanted an island no more than two hours from London, and it must have a fresh water spring.

So I started scanning the papers, and the following Tuesday, there was an ad in The Times for an island called Doranish, off the shore of County Mayo in Ireland. I told John and he sent me off to take pictures. When we did this sort of thing, it was vital for me to act as an intermediary because if the seller knew a Beatle was interested, the price would shoot up.

When John saw the pictures, he liked the island and gave me the go-ahead. I went along to the auction in Westport, County Mayo and told the auctioneer I was a weary businessman and I needed somewhere to get away from it all, so I could buy it in secret trust for John. In the end, I picked up 30 acres of island with a lovely beach and everything for £1,550. There was even an article in the papers the following week saying that a London businessman had bought Doranish.