Once a place of pilgrimage and the site of an ancient monastic settlement, Inishmurray is home to a variety of bird species, writes Eileen Battersby
Hopes of seeing barnacle geese preparing for their annual return flight to Greenland for the summer drew us to Inishmurray, an island off the Co Sligo coast. As with any sea trip, good weather alone does not guarantee a successful passage. The sea must also be calm, particularly when disembarking at the island necessitates a neat hop, step and jump onto slippery rocks, as on this Atlantic haven.
Even when the waves slapped determinedly against the sides of the fishing boat, at times splashing over our heads and into our faces, luck was with us. The skies remained hazy blue and the noisy gulls gathering overhead seemed more welcoming than their usual heckling selves.
On we sailed, waiting for the first sight of the island and the geese. Among the pilgrims were artist Séan McSweeney and writer Dermot Healy. Inishmurray is a holy island, once a place of pilgrimage and the site of an ancient monastic settlement, the establishment of which is attributed to St Molaise. Two of the island's churches, Teach Molaise and Templemolaise, bear his name, although little is known about him.
It must be admitted, geese rather than prayer were initially uppermost in the thoughts of the party, or at least, in mine. When travelling by sea to any island once settled by early Christian monks, the modern visitor is left invariably in awe of the daring, faith and apparent recklessness of the zealous holy men who, centuries ago, rowed treacherous seas in tiny boats to colonise these remote sanctuaries.
Looking back towards land, the Sligo coast appears quite low-lying, with none of neighbouring Co Donegal's dramatic cliffs. Roughly opposite Mullaghmore, some 10 miles out to sea, lies Inishmurray or Inis Muireadhaigh, Muireadhach's Island.
Writing in The Way That I Went (1937), Robert Lloyd Praeger described it as "a low islet, a couple of hundred acres in area, much exposed to Atlantic storms; yet the place is full of early Christian antiquities, pointing to considerable importance in old days; and it still has a population numerous in relation to its size and agricultural possibilities, largely dependent on fishing for its livelihood." In Praeger's time, the island did have a small community, one which had been re-settled about 1802 and had peaked in 1880, when, according to Dr Patrick Heraughty, an islander who left to study medicine and later wrote an account of the island, "there were 102 people living in fifteen houses".
Heraughty also provides interesting information as to another island industry, the making of "poteen" of which he notes: "it was never called by that name on the island. It was known as 'whiskey'
. . . Poteen-making and its sale on the mainland soon became the principal economic activity of Inishmurray."
By November 1948, a gradual pattern of emigration, initiated by poverty, war, economic flight and dreams of life elsewhere, was no longer countered by islanders returning home, and resulted in the final desertion of Inishmurray. No cattle or sheep graze here. The birds share the island with the rabbits, who dart here and there as if living in a giant fox-free adventure playground.
In late spring it is easy to traverse and investigate the island and its many ecclesiastical treasures, as the summer growth has not yet taken over. The sea pinks are only beginning to bloom. But within weeks the vegetation, grasses, reeds and all-conquering brambles, will be running riot. Tiny ferns, currently just pushing beyond ground level, will cover the land.
Territorial gulls wheel overhead, in contrast to the fulmars who glide on straight, extended wings. Eider ducks nest here, in one of the largest colonies in Ireland, as do arctic and common terns. Storm petrels, the smallest of Ireland's seabirds, flit about. Black guillemots float on the water, basking in the sun, occasionally flying to shore to perch, affording us a glimpse of their distinctive bright red feet.
Almost immediately on arrival, it must be conceded that the barnacle geese, so astutely described by ornithologist David Cabot as "evoking prim Victorian spinsters dressed in black velvet and white lace", have already left - their early departure influenced by the late spring's freakishly warm weather.
It is disappointing. If their appearance seems prim, their behaviour is gregarious. Wintering in Ireland from October to April, some 2,000 have been grazing in Lissadell by day, and flying out to the island by late afternoon, to avoid marauding foxes.
Abundant droppings are all that remain of this important flock's recent presence on Inishmurrary.
Some bird-watching compensation is available courtesy of the shags, many of whom oblige by posing on rocks and stone walls, drying their wings. If the geese resemble Victorian spinsters, the shags possess a slinky, oriental glamour and would probably look at home in a Berlin nightclub. Slightly smaller than the cormorant, the shag has a green-black plumage and now, during the breeding season, sports a jaunty little upstanding head-crest adding to the drama of its silhouette.
Up beyond the rocks from the harbour at Clashymore, heading east, lies the island proper. Inishmurray is very flat and composed of sandstone covered by a largely wet, peaty soil. A row of 15 now long-ruined, modest, late-19th century houses, visible on approach above the low southern cliffs, remain along a green street of soft mossy turf, a surface that is pleasant to walk on. The names of islanders are painted on both sides of a doorway which no longer contains a door. As a streetscape of deserted buildings, it offers an eloquent, self-contained chapter of Irish social history.
However romantic it may appear on a beautiful late spring morning to the day-tripper intent on bird spotting and archaeology, the deserted modern settlement says a great deal about the hardship of an Atlantic island life. There was no hospital, and travel to the mainland, always dangerous, was impossible in winter conditions.
A school building, still roofed and standing, dates from 1889. Today it houses a number of cross slabs locked inside. At the time of final evacuation in 1948, 46 people, members of six households, were still resident. These people and earlier generations, including the islanders who greeted artist Gabriel Beranger and his friend, the Italian theatrical designer, Angelo Maria Bigari - the women folk lined up to be kissed when the pair arrived on June 24th, 1779 - had lived their days in the presence of the ecclesiastical remains, much of which are contained within the stone walls of the cashel, or enclosure.
Situated in a slight hollow in the centre of the island, the cashel is a wonder. Within it is a range of stone buildings, including beehive cells, churches, carved stones and grave slabs. At its height, the site must have been impressive, and still is. The Vikings raided here at least twice; first in 795 AD, and again in 807 AD.
In addition to serving as a monastery, it was most likely an active pilgrimage destination. Within the enclosure is the men's cemetery that was still in use in the 1940s. About 150 metres beyond the cashel wall, is Templenaman. A smaller stone enclosure, it houses the women's church and burial grounds. There is a third, smaller cemetery in which evidence of mixed burials was found during excavations.
Features of the turas, drystone cairns or leachta, are found in the enclosure and throughout the island, all acting as stages or "stations" in the pilgrimage route, some of which might also have been used as outdoor altars. Always of interest to the visitor is the Clocha Breaca or cursing stones - the repositioning of which was vital in despatching an effective curse upon a chosen individual. With its range of buildings, stone work and carved slabs, as well as spectacular sea views, Inishmurray is an extraordinary site. Far from being desolate, it has endured, sustaining a sense of permanence.
Sitting on the long stone ledge inside the beehive hut, light entering through the low window, is both peaceful and exciting. Of the many beautiful monastic early Christian sites found throughout and offshore Ireland, Inishmurray, now a glorious bird sanctuary, is one of the most complete and atmospheric, with a long history of, albeit intermittent settlement, spanning the 6th to 20th centuries.
Inishmurray; Archaeology Ireland Heritage Guide No 18 is available from Archaeology Ireland. Tel: 01-2765221.