The document discusses the history of the uninhabited Inishkea islands off the coast of Mayo, Ireland. It describes how the islands were previously inhabited until 1934, with the islanders making their living from fishing and kelp harvesting. Life was difficult without electricity or easy access to supplies from the mainland. The document outlines aspects of the island communities like rivalries between the islands, the school and burial sites. It also discusses the whaling station that operated briefly in the early 1900s, employing some islanders until it closed down. Natural wildlife seen around the islands is also mentioned.

1. The Inishkeas
Inis Gé

2. The Inishkeas Co. Mayo
Black Rock
Achill
Binghamstown
Aughleam
Belmullet
Falmore

3. The Inishkeas
Inis Gé
The Inishkeas are islands off
the coast of the Mullet
Peninsula in Mayo. There is a
North and a South island called
Inishkea North(Inis Gé Thuaidh)
and Inishkea South, (Inis Gé
Theas).
They used to be inhabited but
the islands have been deserted
since 1934 when the last
people came off them.

4. This Project
In this project I’m going to focus in on a few subjects
all about the Inishkeas,
Life on the Inishkeas
The Inishkea Whaling Station
Coming off the Inishkeas
Natural
Inishkeas

5. Life on the Inishkeas was hard and required a
lot of work to even survive. The islanders made
a living from fishing and the sale of kelp
(seaweed). There was no electricity so
everything had to be done by hand and took a
long time. Life was also very inconvenient as
many things such as turf etc. had to be taken
from the mainland. During long storms the
islanders could have been cut off from the
mainland for even a few months!

6. The Community
While the islanders got on well in their local island
community it is said that there was a rivalry
between the two islands. Sometimes they even
threw stones at each other across the narrowest
channel between the two islands – Fact or fiction?

7. In the early years the children on the South island
had to go to school on the North Island. Though in
later years a school was built on the South island.
There was no graveyard on the South island either
(none was ever built unlike the school) so the dead had
to be buried on either the North Island or Falmore on
the mainland. On the South island there were up to 35
families and 18 on the North but it varied over time.
There are signs that the islands were inhabited since
early Christian times as there are Celtic stone slabs on
both islands.

8. Both islands had their own seperate rí or king that
cast lots every 3rd year to share out the land used
for growing crops. The king also collected rents for
the landlord.

9. Housing
The houses were made out of stones found
on the island and were plastered as seen on
the left in this picture.

10. Many writers commented that the
furniture in the houses was superior to
that of the mainland as it was mostly
obtained from shipwrecks. The islanders
also slept on feather beds while most of
the people of Erris slept on straw or
rushes. The islanders obtained these
feathers on a nearby island, Black Rock.
Birds laying eggs in the cliff ledges were
tame during this time and so were easy
to knock with a stick into a boat at the
bottom of the cliff.

12. The houses here were very exposed to the sea and if you were to go and
look inside the ruins you would be able to see that they are full of sand
whipped up by the sea wind coming ashore. When the houses were
inhabited a wall was built to prevent this happening. Much of the wall
however has collapsed and there are very few traces of it left to be seen.
Some of the wall was buried in sand and in the recent big storms last
winter some of it was re-exposed.

13. The Inishkea Whaling Station
In 1908 a Norweigan company
erected a whaling station on Inishkea
South.

14. The company stayed until 1914 and left because
of bad weather causing the lack of whales being
caught. The company were also paying the 20 –
40 islanders that had been employed and were
not making enough profit out of the Whaling
station.
Parts of an old boiler from the whaling station
still on the Island.

15. On the 28 of October 1927, a group of 30 curraghs
each containing two men rowed out after dark on their
usual fishing trip. The day had been very calm and so
the men ignored the low reading on their barometers.
The men were only a short distance from shore when a
violent storm whipped up. Many of the crews had an
instinct something was wrong and turned back early on
however of the six crews that remained out only two
men survived and the other ten died. The two that
survived were thrown up on rocks on the mainland and
made their way to the local pub in Aughleam. When
they got there one of the men had to have the baler
prized out of his hand as he was in so much shock.
The Islanders finally decided to leave the islands after
this and the last people had left by 1934.

16. Natural Inishkeas
Around the Inishkeas I have seen Basking sharks,
dolphins, seals, sunfish, red gurnard and many other
species of fish.
A Sunfish
Some Dolphins
Two Seals A Red Gurnard

17. On the Islands there are seagulls, Oystercatchers,
geese and many other birds.
Every November flocks of Barnacle Geese stop to
feed on the island on their way to Iceland and
Greenland.
An Some tiny Oystercatcher eggs.
Oystercatcher
A Greater Black Backed

18. Credits
Pictures
Google Images
Google Earth
Some taken by me or my family.
Information
http://irishislands.info/inishkea.html#vine
y
http://www.theirishstory.com/2010/11/24
/filming-inishkea-whaling-station-
1908/#.VHeYiDGsWSp