It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:55 am


a History of Rathlin Island

A forum for anything not pertaining to one specific Clan ... from ancient Celtic beliefs to the latest genealogy links on the internet
  • Author
  • Message

unitedblogs

a History of Rathlin Island

PostSat Jan 17, 2015 11:47 pm

Between Ireland and Scotland


Rathlin Island lies six miles (10km) off Ballycastle harbour in Northern Ireland – although only just under two miles (3km) from Fair Head – and 16 miles (25km) from the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland.

The island is about six miles (11km) miles long and its widest part is barely more than a mile (1.5km). Its small size belies the rugged and varied scenery, from near 500ft (150m)-high cliffs in the west to rolling lowland heath and lakes in the east.

The higher northern part of the L-shaped island is called Kinramer and the low-lying southern leg, Kinkeel. They are connected by the island’s only major road. Church Bay, the harbour and only large settlement, is in the corner of the L.

There are three lighthouses on Rathlin Island, a pointer to both its wild coast and its strategic importance at the narrowest point between Ireland and Scotland. The North Sea pours into the gap, hitting the tides of the Irish sea storming out, making a passage that is treacherous to shipping – there are at least 40 shipwrecks around the island – and spectacular to see. The mood of sea and sky changes every hour.

People have lived on Rathlin for at least 8,000 years, making it probably the first Irish island to be inhabited. Ancient axe heads (from 5,000BC), Bronze Age graves (3,000BC) and an Iron Age fort (500BC) are among the marks they have left behind. By the time of the Irish Famine in the 1840s, the population was more than 1,000 and the island is covered with reminders of life during those times. About 500 people left Rathlin Island in 1846 alone, bound for North America, on a ship financed by the Gage family.

The population of what is now Northern Ireland’s only offshore inhabited island has dropped to less than 100 people in winter, with numbers boosted in the summer – which also brings a growing number of tourists. Rathlin’s most recent famous visitor was undoubtedly Sir Richard Branson, who crashed near Bull Point in 1987 after a record-breaking Atlantic crossing by hot-air balloon. Branson and pilot Per Lindstrom were rescued from the sea by islanders and later presented the Rathlin Island Trust with £25,000.



The meaning of Rathlin
The Greek geographer Ptolemy mentioned the island of ‘Rikina’ in 150AD. An Irish form of the name, Rechru, appears in the 6th-century Life of St Columba and may mean ‘Standing before Erin’ or ‘Fort of Ireland’. Rechru becomes Reachra (‘Place of many shipwrecks’) by the 8th century with the usage Reachrainn (the genetive form of Reachra), later Reachlainn, appearing. From this, the names Raghery and Rathlin came into common usage by the 1200s. The name Raghery is still used by natives of the island.

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSat Jan 17, 2015 11:50 pm

REMAINS OF BRUCES CASTLE
VIEWING SCOTLAND IN THE DISTANCE
Attachments
rathlin255.jpg
rathlin255.jpg (44.17 KiB) Viewed 27657 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSat Jan 17, 2015 11:57 pm

Pre-history
Rathlin was probably the first Irish island to be inhabited, perhaps as early as 7,000BC. Human remains dating back almost 4,000 years were discovered in 2006, near McCuaig’s bar. A man’s body was found curled in a foetal position, with a food vessel, typical of a Bronze Age burial of 2,000BC. By 2,500BC Rathlin had a thriving export business in porcellanite axes, based on a quarry in the west of the island. The axe factory is closed to visitors but you can see samples at the Boathouse Visitor Centre.

http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/a ... rt_id=1249

Vikings
The first recorded raid by Vikings in Ireland was on Rathlin in 795, when the church was burned. Outside Dublin, Rathlin is also the only known site in Ireland of a Viking cemetery. Among the items discovered in the graves are a sword, a bronze ladle and a magnificent 9th-century silver brooch, made by a Norse craftsman in Irish style (right). It is now in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. A hoard of Hiberno-Norse coins dating to the 1040s has also been found.

Robert Bruce
Local legend has it that a cave on the north coast was where Robert The Bruce hid out after being defeated at the Battle of Perth in 1306, during his fight against the English for the crown of Scotland. During his lonely exile he watched a spider patiently trying again and again to spin a web across an impossible gap and eventually succeed. Inspired, he returned to Scotland, to win victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Bruce’s Cave can only be reached by boat but a ruin above, called Bruce’s Castle, may help you relive the legend – which owes much to writer Sir Walter Scott.
Attachments
brooch1.jpg
brooch1.jpg (66.39 KiB) Viewed 27655 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 12:02 am

MASSACRES

The entire population of Rathlin has been wiped out twice by invaders, the most notorious incident being in 1575 when 600 men, women and children were butchered. Sir Francis Drake is often blamed for his role – he was in charge of the English fleet that transported the troops of Colonel John Norris to the island and provided a blockade against Scottish help arriving.

Norris had been sent from Carrickfergus by Lord Essex, the English Deputy, who had landed in Antrim to attack Sorley Boy MacDonnell. Rathlin, long associated with Saint Columba, had a reputation as a sanctuary and Sorley Boy and the other Scottish chiefs had sent their women, elderly and infirm there for safety.

After a brief fight, the small Scottish garrison of about 50 men surrendered their stronghold, Bruce’s Castle Against the rules of siege warfare of the time (see Deuteronomy 20), they were executed, along with about 150 others, mainly women. Another 400 were found hiding in caves – ‘hunted out as if they had been seals or otters’ – and also killed.

Essex wrote to Queen Elizabeth I, saying Sorley Boy had stood on the mainland of the Glens of Antrim ‘and saw the taking of the island, and was likely to have run mad for sorrow, tearing and tormenting himself and saying that he there lost all that he ever had’.

The Queen replied, asking Essex to tell John Norris, ‘the executioner of his well designed enterprise, that she would not be unmindful of his services’.

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 12:28 am

The Book of Antrim”, 1888

THE Island of Rathlin, at its nearest point, is over 7 miles from the mainland. It is about this distance north of Ballycastle, with which it has a connection Tuesdays and Fridays weekly by sail boat for the transit of mails and passengers. In winter, however, the sea is often so rough that the bravest boatmen are not able to make regular passages. During the summer season there are frequent trips from shore to shore. Rathlin is one of the show places which tourists should not fail to visit. Many writers have found names for this island, but it will be sufficient to quote that of Hamilton. He calls it Raghery, from Ragh Erin, the fort of Erin. The natives are known along the Antrim coast northwest of Ballycastle as Ragherymen. Rathlin is the name given to it by Ware, the t only being added.

According to the Ordnance Survey it contains 3,398 3/4 statute acres, 30 1/2 of which are under two lakes, one at Ushet Point, and the other less than a mile from Bull Point. The island is about 7 miles in length, and at the centre about 2 miles in breadth. Rocks and stony pasture make up fully three-fourths, and the rest of the land is of medium quality. Mr. Robert Gage, J.P., is the present owner. He resides all the year round in a prettily-situated house on the verge of Church Bay, and farms a considerable portion of the island himself.

The population in 1831 was 1,039. Of this number the greater part belong to the Roman Catholic faith, the remainder to the Church of Ireland. With the exception of some families in the Church Bay quarter, most of the people speak Irish and English. They live by farming and fishing, and are peaceful and inoffensive in their habits. Their amusements are few and simple, chief among them being that of dancing. The crops grown are beans, barley, and potatoes. Rents run at from ten shillings to twenty-five shillings per acre, and each tenant receives a certain portion of rocky land for nothing.

An industry of the islanders, at one time exceedingly profitable, was the burning of kelp. It is still maintained, though the prices realized are very much smaller. It is said that the tenants are able to get enough out of it yet to pay their rents. There are 8 draft nets used for fishing, each one being owned by 12 men. Pollock is the principal fish caught.

St Comgall visited Rathlin for the purpose of founding a church, but was driven away by a band of soldiers. St Columb in the 6th century succeeded in founding a monastery, which he gave over to the charge of St Colman. There is, however, some doubt as to the person who really did build the monastery.

In 790 the Danes, in their first descent on the Irish coast, destroyed it and ravaged the island. The monastery was repaired, but in 973, on the second visit of the Danes, it was again destroyed and the abbot, St Feradach, murdered.

In the 13th century King John made a grant of the island to Alan of Galway. Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, during the civil war in his own country, took refuge at Rathlin, and built a castle on a cliff, at the east side, facing the Mull of Cantyre, distant about 14 miles. He built and fortified a castle, of which there are small remains. The island was in possession of Scotch settlers, in 1558. Lord Deputy Sussex in that year drove them out, with great slaughter, and toward the end of the l6th century, it is said to have been uninhabited. Excavations in the centre of the island resulted in the discovery of brazen swords, spear heads, and a golden fibula of large size. Nearly the entire island has a substratum of basalt and white limestone.

On the western side, the rocks rise to a considerable height, and on the eastern the basalt appears in various forms, including the columnar. Chalk predominates in the cliffs of the southern coast, producing charming effects in the view from Ballycastle. There is good duck and wigeon shooting.

Church of I.–Rev, David Kennedy
Grocers–J. Hunter, Jas. M’Cuaig
Light Keepers–Ptk. Keenan, Aw. M’Gonigle and Edw. Kennedy: Jno. M’Keighton, gunner
Post Master–Aw. Harbison
R.C.–Rev. J. O’Boyle, P.P.
Schl., Nat.–Mrs. B. Anderson
Spirit Retailer–Ml. McCuaig

FARMERS AND RESIDENTS.
Anderson, Alex., Craigmacagan
Anderson, John, Knockans
Black, John, Ballygill S.
Craig, Neal, Ballygill N.
Curry, Alex., Ballyconaghan
Curry, John, Churchquarter
Gage, Robt. (J.P.), Churchquarter
M’Cuaig, Jas., Ballycarry
M’Cuaig, Jas., Ballynoe
M’Cuaig, Jno., Roonivoolin
M’Cuaig, Ml., Demesne
M’Cuaig, Rt., Kinkeel
M’Curdy, Alex., Ballygill N.
M’Curdy, Jos., Ballygill S.
M’Curdy, Neil, Kinramer N.
M’Fall, Neal, Kinramer S.
M’Kay, Jno., Ballyconaghan
Morrison, Arch., Ballygill N.
Spears, Hugh, Knockans
Thompson, Mrs., Craigmacagan
Weir, Alex., Carrivandoon

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 12:58 am

IMAGES AROUND RATHLIN
Attachments
dsc_4721.jpg
dsc_4721.jpg (257.17 KiB) Viewed 27652 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 12:59 am

IMAGES AROUND RATHLIN
Attachments
dsc_44731.jpg
dsc_44731.jpg (206.99 KiB) Viewed 27652 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 1:00 am

IMAGES AROUND RATLIN
Attachments
dsc_4833.jpg
dsc_4833.jpg (187.41 KiB) Viewed 27652 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 1:03 am

IMAGES AROUND RATHLIN
Attachments
dsc_45391.jpg
dsc_45391.jpg (252.34 KiB) Viewed 27652 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 1:07 am

The usual way on to the island
Attachments
rathlin-2.jpg
rathlin-2.jpg (67.48 KiB) Viewed 27652 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 1:09 am

for many the only way off,, some return to rest like my great grandfather his headstone on the left
Attachments
dsc_4785.jpg
dsc_4785.jpg (303.16 KiB) Viewed 27652 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 4:35 pm

Rathlin wrecks







HMS Drake

Rathlin is surrounded by some 40 wrecks, the most famous of which is HMS Drake in Church Bay. Capable of a top speed of 23 knots, she was one of the fastest and heaviest cruisers of her time and was escorting a transatlantic convoy.

She was hit in Rathlin Sound by a torpedo from German U-Boat U-79 early on October 2, 1917, killing 19 of her crew. Her Captain, SH Radcliffe brought her into Church Bay but she was too heavily damaged to be saved and soon sank.

The SS Lugano and HMS Brisk were sunk during the same attack – probably by mines laid by U79 and the wrecks lie in Rathlin Sound just over a mile from each other. The technically challenging dive to the SS Lugano is considered one of the best in the British Isles. There was no loss of life on the Lugano but 31 crew died on HMS Brisk. Although her bow section sank, the stern section of the ship was towed into dock in Londonderry.

In 1962, the wreck of HMS Drake was hit by the Fleetwood trawler Ella Hewitt, which soon joined the cruiser on the seabed in the middle of Church Bay :mrgreen:

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 9:12 pm

Sponges

Rathlin Island is one of the most important areas in Europe for sponges. In 2007, a team of scientists discovered 28 new species in the seas around the island during a six-week expedition, and three species which had never before been seen in the British Isles. Project director Bernard Picton, curator of marine invertebrates at the Ulster Museum’s department of zoology, said the findings confirmed the significance of the area for these small marine animals.

Sponges feed by filtering particles from the water and play a key role in the marine environment. There are about 15,000 species in the world yet only 400 of these have so far been found in the waters around Britain and Ireland.

Divers from the same team, from the Environment and Heritage Service and Ulster Museum, made another discovery in June 2007. A specimen of the rare Fan Mussel (atrina fragilis), Britain’s largest and rarest bivalve mollusc, thought extinct in Irish waters, was found off Rathlin. The mollusc is extremely vulnerable to pollution, trawling and dredging and this is a significant find, especially if a larger population exists.
:mrgreen:

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 9:14 pm

A prominent feature of the waterfront of Rathlin’s Church Bay is the old kelp store (left). Until the 1930s, when artificial methods replaced it, kelp was a rich source of iodine and soda for glass and soap manufacture and the islanders made an income by gathering it. Once dry, the kelp was burned and the sites of 83 kilns have been found on the island – though 150 were recorded in the mid-19th century. Kelp production ended in Rathlin in 1938 – 25 years after the Antrim mainland.
Attachments
rathlin2972.jpg
rathlin2972.jpg (35.77 KiB) Viewed 27647 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 9:17 pm

Seals

A colony of about 100 seals can be found at Rue Point on the east of Rathlin. They are easy to approach but care should be taken not to disturb them, particularly in the breeding season. A boat trip is the best way to see the colony, as they will investigate the boats in their home environment


seals at rue point rathlin
Attachments
rathlin1021.jpg
rathlin1021.jpg (28.76 KiB) Viewed 27647 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 9:28 pm

PUFFINS & OTHER BIRDS

Rathlin is home during the spring and summer to some 100,000 seabirds of seven different species, an amazing sight and a deafening sound. They breed in the RSPB sanctuary near the West Light. Towards the end of July, the birds start to leave the island.

Although it’s still midsummer, it’s the first sign that the weather is starting to turn. It’s a thrilling sight to see puffins ‘beaking’ before they fly off. The couples hit each other’s beaks repeatedly before they part until the next spring, when they return to raise a new brood.

June 2007 saw the only breeding pair of choughs in Ulster hatch three chicks, the first on Rathlin since 1989. The species, at risk of extinction, is a member of the crow family, with red bill and legs.

Other birds you will see in their thousands include guillemots and kittiwakes, as well as razorbills and fulmars. These massive colonies also attract predators such as kestrels, peregrine falcons and buzzards.
You’ll hear – and hopefully see – dozens of other species on Rathlin’s shores, fields and lakes, many rare elsewhere, ranging from chaffinches and corncrakes, through eiders and linnets, to skylarks and wrens.

In recent years, perhaps due to climate change causing lack of food at sea, there has been a vast decrease in some types of sea birds. Puffin, razorbill and fulmar numbers fell by half between 2000 and 2007 and guillemot numbers fell by 15 per cent.

The RSPB’s West Light Viewpoint is open during the breeding season from April to August. The best time to visit is between May and June. You can contact the warden on: +44(0)28 2076 3948.

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 18, 2015 9:31 pm

WIND TURBINES

In 1992, three wind turbines were installed by Northern Ireland Electricity on Rathlin. Called Conn, Aedh and Fiachra, after three of the sons of Lir, who were turned into swans by their evil stepmother to roam the water around Rathlin, the turbines are no longer operational. The island relied on oil-fired generators until a cable was laid to connect to the mainland supply. Power was officially switched on on June 26, 2008.



HOT AIR

In 1987, following his record-breaking first transatlantic flight, Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson and his pilot Per Lindstrom crashed their hot-air balloon into the sea off Rathlin. They were fished from the water off Bull Point by boatman Tommy Cecil. (Sadly, Tommy died in a diving accident in Church Bay a few years later.) Branson donated £25,000 to the Rathlin Island Trust which was used to help turn part of the Manor House into a community centre

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostMon Jan 19, 2015 12:44 am

You’ll see plenty of rabbits on Rathlin but look out also for the unique Irish hare. With smaller ears, a white tail and reddish coat, this native Irish species is quite distinct from the Brown hare found in Britain. They can be found all over the island and there is even a rare local genetic mutation – an albino – with a much lighter coat and blue eyes, called the Rathlin Golden hare :mrgreen:
Attachments
rathlin258.jpg
rathlin258.jpg (47.83 KiB) Viewed 27645 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostFri Jan 23, 2015 8:16 pm

west lighthouse
Attachments
safe_imageKIMGU4NR.jpg
safe_imageKIMGU4NR.jpg (35.37 KiB) Viewed 27615 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostFri Jan 23, 2015 8:19 pm

Summit of Knocklayd 1695 ft. on the mainland with Rathlin Island in the distance....
Attachments
10313737_1615809388640882_2000379712286132634_n.jpg
10313737_1615809388640882_2000379712286132634_n.jpg (30.81 KiB) Viewed 27614 times

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSat Jan 24, 2015 2:48 am

stormy weather around rathlin
Attachments
1606981_1024166364266314_1433950631606436314_n.jpg
1606981_1024166364266314_1433950631606436314_n.jpg (20.8 KiB) Viewed 27607 times
1654250_1025379784144972_7259117962627478641_n.jpg
1654250_1025379784144972_7259117962627478641_n.jpg (27.59 KiB) Viewed 27607 times
10915187_415596631932783_825290561805718922_n.jpg
10915187_415596631932783_825290561805718922_n.jpg (27.67 KiB) Viewed 27607 times
10906046_1025465937469690_2203400132896420263_n.jpg
10906046_1025465937469690_2203400132896420263_n.jpg (29.06 KiB) Viewed 27607 times
Offline
User avatar

Tricia

Site Admin

  • Posts: 4181
  • Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:28 pm

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 25, 2015 3:22 pm

Absolutely amazing pics... See the boat was canceled recently to Rathlin due to storms
My ipad controls my spellings not me so apologies from it in advance :) lol

unitedblogs

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostSun Jan 25, 2015 4:28 pm

Tricia » Sun Jan 25, 2015 3:22 pm wrote:Absolutely amazing pics... See the boat was canceled recently to Rathlin due to storms




quite often in winter they can be cut off for days until storms abate :mrgreen:
Offline
User avatar

Tricia

Site Admin

  • Posts: 4181
  • Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:28 pm

Re: a History of Rathlin Island

PostWed Jan 28, 2015 2:54 pm

I dont know how they live there i really don't
My ipad controls my spellings not me so apologies from it in advance :) lol

Return to History & Genealogy

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests

cron