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It could have been where John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent their retirement, yet Dorinish Island became home only to grazing sheep and seabirds.

Now, the land the size of a dozen soccer fields off Ireland is being offered as a retreat to a potential new owner for $384,000, 45 years after the Beatles songwriter bought it. Just before he was slain in New York in 1980, Lennon revived plans to build a home on the island. Ono sold it to local farmers in 1984.

"He was constantly panning a cine-camera to get a panoramic of the bay," Michael Browne, 73, said of Lennon, whom he took to visit Dorinish.

The history of Dorinish, in Clew Bay in Mayo, marks it out from the slew of Irish islands for sale in the wake of the country's real-estate market collapse. The farmers are selling the 21-acre island because it's getting more difficult for them to keep animals there as they get older, said Andrew Crowley, the agent in charge of the sale. He said he couldn't specify how much they paid for the island, while Browne said Lennon paid about $2,700 in 1967.

"The owners are getting on in years and maintaining their livestock at such a distance isn't practicable anymore," Crowley said.

The Beatles connection isn't making it easier to sell. Dorinish, known locally as "Beatle Island," has been on the market since mid-July.

The island is being marketed without it having planning permission, and the ruins of old marine pilot houses dating to 19th century are still visible.

For some, ownership of an Irish island became a symbol of affluence and wealth.

"The kind of person who wants to own an island is the sort of person who wants to print their own money," said Dominic Daly, a real estate agent selling three islands.

In Clew Bay alone, there are more than 300 islands, including Dorinish. Lennon bought Dorinish, which is made up of two small islands joined by stone causeway, from the Westport Harbor Board through an intermediary to avoid publicity, Browne said.

"After about a year, he sent over a gypsy type-caravan to be put out on the island," Browne said. "The caravan was painted in psychedelic patterns like the Sergeant Pepper album cover, so people eventually worked out that John Lennon was involved."

Lennon and Ono visited the island in 1968, according to pictures of his arrival at a local hostelry. He was asked in an interview published in Rolling Stone in 1971 if he had a picture of their life when he hit 64. Lennon said: "I hope we're a nice old couple living off the coast of Ireland or something like that -- looking out at our scrapbook of madness."