The boat trip to Toraigh is not just a panoramic sea-trip from An Bun Beag or Machaire Rabhartaigh; it is a journey through time to visit the most remote of Ireland's inhabited islands, where time seems to have stood still.
Toraigh is an island of mystery and antiquity. It had been inhabited since the earliest of times and is rich in archaeological and monastic sitesfrim the Iron Age and Early Christian periods.
Surviving harsh winters, Toraigh islanders are resilient and independent. Many of Toraigh's ancient customs survive, such as the tradition of appointing an island king, or Rí Thoraí. The story-telling, music, song and danceof the people of the island are vibrant expressionsof a distinctive Gaelic language and culture.
Take the oppertunity to visit Toraigh and see its sheer rugged beauty, dive in crrystal-clear waters, or explore its wealth of Celtic heritage. Meet the people of Toraigh and the island king in the hotel or Céilí club. Meet the islands painters and view traditional crafts. See rare birdlife, listen to the corncrakes and visit the monastic sites.
Toraigh is a remote and craggy island lying eight mites off Cnoc Fola (Bloody Foreland) on the northwest Donegal coast. It supports a population of almost 200 people. The islanders live in two clustered settlements - An Baile Thiar (west town) and An Baile Thoir (east town).
Toraigh's spectacular cliff scenery is complemented by a rich and varied history. The island was first occupied more than 4,500 years ago, as a Neolithic dolmen revealed. The Iron Age promontory fort of Dun Bhaloir is said to have been the stronghold of Balor na Suile Nimhe (Balor of the Evil Eye), a mythical warlord prominent in the island's folk memory.
A Christian monastery was founded on Toraigh in the 6th century by St Colmcille, who hailed from Gartan near present-day Glenveagh National Park. The monastery managed the island's farming and fishing but suffered repeated raids by sea pirates. It survived until 1595, when it was ransacked and destroyed.
The rout of Donegal's Gaelic chieftains led to some followers seeking refuge on Toraigh in 1608 - but they were pursued, and 60 were put to the sword in a massacre still bitterly recalled by the islanders.
In 1655, John Stafford, a Cromwellian officer, was made owner of Toraigh and the islanders began to pay rent and taxes, though largely remaining a law unto themselves.
They lived in two 'clachan' settlements surrounded by their best arable land (the infield), and they tilled it communally, which called for firm management by the island king. Toraigh retained the 'clachan and rundale' system long after it was lost elsewhere, and a rare surviving example of a fan-shaped infield can still be seen.
Small farming blossomed with the introduction of the potato, and the population rose to 400 prior to the famine of 1845. The potato blight did not reach Toraigh, but the rise in population meant that smallholdings grew ever smaller.
Now the islanders were living in abject poverty and refusing to pay their rates. In 1884, a British gunboat, HMS Wasp, was despatched to collect arrears, but it foundered off Toraigh with the loss of 52 lives - a misadventure the islanders put down to their Cursing Stone. Tales of shipwrecks and poitin-smuggling fill their folklore.
The prospect of an easier life elsewhere, especially in America, led to many emigrating, and the population fell to 307 by 1911. The 20th century saw the collapse of farming and fishing, the mainstays of Toraigh economy. Many islanders turned to seasonal labour in Scotland. The area under cultivation decreased, and fewer sheep and cattle were kept, or donkeys and ponies.
Toraigh had all but died by the 1970s, but the founding of a co-operative, Comharchumann Thorai, in 1977 turned the tide. Electricity arrived in the 1980s, running water was provided and a daily ferry was established.
The islanders increasingly earn their living from tourism, along with small farming and fishing, and people are now drifting back to homes they left 20 or more years ago.
