Snow-obsessed Irishman wants postmaster’s job in Antarctica

A snow-obsessed Irishman believes he has the ice-factor to claim the recently advertised job of postmaster in Antarctica. Anthony Galvin knows it is a long shot as he is one of over 1000 people seeking the position in Port Lockrov, one of the world’s most isolated outposts. Galvin has an empathy with all things cold and frozen, which he feels might give him an edge in a tight finish.

Penguins in Antarctica. Image by Christopher Michel / CC BY 2.0

Since the UK Antarctic Trust advertised the positions, they have received an avalanche of applications for the job on Goudier Island. The Irish Independent reports that the Irishman, from County Clare, is hoping that his enthusiasm for snow and the cold may give him the nod.

Mr Galvin told RTE radio in an interview that when he heard about the position, “I knew I had to apply for it.”

And he can back up his love of the extreme by pointing to seasons spent in Arctic Finland over the past two decades while writing a book on the history of the North Pole.

He knows the score and seems enthused by the fact that his only neighbours will be penguins, with the odd cruise ship as a distraction. “Only four people live there on average,” he stressed, adding that this was only during the summer months.

The successful candidate will have to face summer temperatures of -10C and will be living in frontier-like conditions in a wooden cabin with none of the modern luxuries – not even running water.

Goudier needs a postmaster because 18,000 people visit the tiny island each year and send a number of postcards with the Antarctic stamp on it.

Apart from a penguin colony “that can cause a bit of a whiff in the place”, up to 18,000 tourists visit the tiny island every Antarctic summer where daytime temperatures average -10C.

The job doesn’t pay particularly well – about €400 a week – but then as Anthony jokes, “you’re not going to be spending it out there.”