Brock Montgomery grew up in Moose Jaw and now, he and his partner are preparing for a unique new adventure and opportunity of a lifetime.  

Claire de Haas and Brock Montgomery

Montgomery and Claire de Haas have been announced as the new caretakers of Kerry’s Great Blasket Island in the Republic of Ireland. Prior to the pandemic, the highly sought-after positions garnered applications from more than 50 thousand people, and eventually, the couple got the call to start their new temporary jobs.  

According to Montgomery, persistence was key when it came to locking down the gig. But that wasn’t the only thing he said helped their cause.  

“They must have just, liked our vibe, I suppose. We did also kind of go a little bit above and beyond 'cause I knew there were so many people that applied so we had to figure out a way to reach them a little bit different. So we sent a video of us kind of speaking and stuff like that and sent it on over. I guess it got through and caught their attention,” Montgomery explained. 

“Usually, it's couples (from) Ireland and so this way they can kinda have some new faces on over and whatnot. A Dutch and Canadian couple might be fun for them as well.” 

Montgomery and de Haas will be the only ones living on the island consistently for 6 months, welcoming guests and tending to the four guest cottages, that do not offer any running water or electricity.  

“It's really back to the basics kind of living. I'll help (guests) if they need... to get their fire started and stuff in their cottages,” said Montgomery. “Then we will just turn the cottages over for the next guests and we also run the tiny little coffee shop. It's very basic. It's just black coffee and teas.” 

Tourists also visit the island during the day and once the sun goes down, Montgomery and de Haas will have the place to themselves. 

Montgomery admitted their biggest challenge will likely be mother nature. If a bad storm rolls through, they’ll need supplies in advance and the two will be stuck on the island with limited electricity. Rainy weather is not uncommon on the West Coast of Ireland where the island is located.  

The couple is no stranger to traveling, with Montgomery starting at a young age as a hockey player in the Western Canadian Hockey League as a member of Kootenay ICE (now the Winnipeg ICE) for all 4-years of his WHL career.  

Then, his love for the sport took him to Europe where he met his partner.  

“(When) Claire and I met, I was living in the Netherlands, but playing in Germany and then we started travelling together. We kind of just clicked. We went over to Italy, and then we traveled around in Spain a little bit,” Montgomery continued.  

“We have a camper van back in Canada, so we went back and buzzed around and worked in some fun different jobs there, doing like a winery and orchard and stuff like that, so that was fun. And then we went back over to Indonesia. We traveled around Malaysia for a month and then I did some volunteer work at a school in Indonesia for a few months and then when COVID started we were in Bali for quite a while,” he says.

“And then, back over to Canada for a little bit more traveling in the van (then), we were in Portugal for six months and now ...head on over to Ireland.” 

Montgomery went on to say the couple really enjoys that simple life, even though social media may romanticize a life filled with travel, the two still put in the work.  

In addition to this new adventure, Montgomery also launched an apparel company with his brother and continues to practice yoga and mindfulness with a focus on helping other athletes.  

“To me, I personally think all athletes meditate, which is kind of like a bold statement, I suppose ...what I mean by that is they're unknowingly meditating in a certain sense ...they're doing something that they love daily. They're fully focused and in that zone. When you take that sport away from them, they don't have that daily meditation practice anymore.”  

"My main focus would just be bringing those tools to people and helping them become a better person and helping (make) their lives easier, which in turn, you're going to be, I think, a better athlete. That's kind of my main focus trying to be able to just help people. It's something I'm passionate about.” 

Click the video below to watch Discover Moose Jaw's Teagan Witko catch up with Brock Montgomery: