At Home and Abroad

An Tionscnamh Inis Trá Tholl, Ag cur chun cinn Inis Trá Tholl, mar a bhí, mar atá, mar a bheas.

In 1929, the end of island life on Inishtrahull quietly came to pass. Throughout the long and arduous history of Ulster, this island in the bitterly cold and tempestuous waters of the north Atlantic was the last part of Ireland seen by emigrants leaving for North America from Derry. It was the last light of Ireland, quite literally, as its lighthouse would flash reliably until the horizon slowly faded into endless ocean. The story of Inishtrahull does not begin and end with its evacuation and dereliction, it does not begin at any exact point per se. Inishtrahull, like many legends, seems to have no defined start to its story, it just simply existed. Without a shadow of a doubt, the story does not end in 1929 either.

Cathaoirleach: Nicholas Worthington

Nicholas is fascinated by maritime and island history. While researching Tory Island he first came across Inishtrahull Island. As Nicholas researched the islands unique history and heritage further, principally through the work of Seán Beattie and Wallace Clark, he began to ask himself why this island the most northerly point of the islands of Ireland and the oldest geological point of Ireland, was so overlooked. In June 2018 he set up the Inishtrahull Initiative to try and help remedy this and shine a spotlight on all aspects of Inishtrahull, Tor Rocks and the Garvan Isles history and heritage and help protect them for future generations. Nicholas is a graduate of Queens University Belfast and is currently studying an MA in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies at Ulster University. He is particularly interested in the social history of Inishtrahull’s resident community before 1928, the maritime links between Inishtrahull and global trade during the 19th and early 20th century and the Irish language.