Inishtrahull - Isle of Ships by Seán Beattie

 

According to one definition of an island, there are 281 of the little buggers around the coast of Ireland, which can be split up into three categories - those that have a resident population; those that have never had a population; and those that once had a population but now have one no longer. To me, all islands are magical places, each with their own distinct identity, and I would love to be an islander now, leaning on the pier rail and telling tall tales to the tourists that visit.
The saddest islands are the ones whose resident population has left - some of the Blaskets, Scattery, several islands at the mouth of the Fergus, many islands in Clew Bay, the Inishkeas, Inishmurray, Gola, Inishsirrer and Inishtrahull, to name but a few. The latter, Inishtrahull, Ireland's most northerly island, has always fascinated me and, visiting for the first time last year, dispels the myth that you should never meet your heroes. It is an incredible island that changes with the weather and the ghosts of the former inhabitants crouch behind every gable wall, waiting for us visitors to leave.
For me, of course, it has the added attraction of two lighthouses, one ancient, one comparatively modern at opposite ends of the island.

Seán Beattie is well known on the Inishowen peninsula for writing several books on Irish history and is the editor of the journal of the county Donegal Historical Society. Often seen around the pier at Culdaff, his research into the island he could see when growing up produced a booklet called The Book of Inishtrahull, published many moons ago. It was a valuable companion for my visit last year and I noticed several other passengers carried a copy too.

Now, Seán has gathered together all the gleanings since that booklet was published in 1992 and brought out a beautiful new book called 'Inishtrahull - Isle of Ships' (I have to admit, I'm slightly stumped by the title. Aren't all islands isles of ships?) It is much expanded, beautifully presented book, detailing the story of the island from pre-history to the present day, with many photographs old and new that I have never seen.

Naturally, my interest is primarily in lighthouses and I was very surprised to learn that the introduction of the first lighthouse in 1813 was the catalyst for re-populating the island after one of its many terms of abandonment, with some of the lighthouse builders settling down and being joined by local fishermen. There are also details of an earlier 1695 light fired by faggots and sea-coal and a later light called the Goose Light on the pier at Portmore. There is also a fascinating account of the island by former keeper, naturalist and poet DJ O'Sullivan, which ranges from human habitation to folklore and from flora to geology. 

Outside of the lighthouses, there is plenty between the pages of this book to satisfy anybody interested in maritime heritage. The struggles, sometimes against starvation, of the island community, the ingenuity in supplementing their income, the reliance on salvage, their system of self-government and avoidance of paying taxes, their brazenness in boarding passing ships, their battles with the customs men, the incredible community spirit and the eventual desertion of the island - all are examined by Seán in an extremely readable way.

Inishtrahull - Isle of Ships is a tour-de-force, rolling inexorably like an ocean wave towards the present day. Priced at a miserly €25, p and p free to the UK and Ireland, it is a wonderfully entertaining addition to the local history of our coastline. Seán is contactable via Facebook. I give you his FB icon, as I'm sure there is more than one!