FOR 25 years, Tommy Cecil has run a ferry service to Rathlin Island. In all kinds of weather, at all hours of the day and night, he has taken passengers across the seven mile stretch from Co Antrim's north coast.
On cold winter mornings when the sensible stayed in bed, he rose to ferry children to school on the mainland at Ballycastle. He brought across women in labour so they could give birth in the safety of a hospital.
In lashing rain and howling gales, he set off to bring the islanders food and mail or to rescue fishermen stranded at sea. Sometimes, the conditions were so treacherous that the journey, normally 30 minutes, took five or six hours.
"Tommy risked his life on countless occasions," says his wile, Mary. "There were a few near misses. It was only his skill as a boatman that saved his life and the lives of others.
"It was particularly dangerous in the first 10 years, before the harbours at Rathlin and Ballycastle were reinforced. Many times, the boat was nearly swept away.
A Sense of Duty
Mary would sit at home worried, waiting for Tommy to return. "The hours would pass and I'd fear the worst. I'd listen to the weather forecast on the radio and think he'd never make it back."
Rathlin is Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island. Its population, 1,000 at the turn of the century, has fallen to 106, as young people leave in search of work on the mainland or abroad.
Tommy (49) was driven to maintain the ferry service by duty and tradition. His great grandfather established it in 1885 and it was passed down through the generations. He has seven children.
His son Douglas (17), due to inherit the ferry, was busy learning the ropes. But the British government had other plans. Six years ago Tommy applied for a grant to buy a bigger boat. His 42 foot trawler, the Iona Isle, can carry only 45 passengers and he thought it was time to expand.
"I provided them with all the facts and figures," he says. "They promised to consider my case. I nearly died when they said they had decided to build a Pounds 6 million harbour on the island, contract out the terry, service and take my job away.
The government said that Tommy's boat did not meet new EU safety regulations. He strongly denies the claim. The harbour is due to open in September. Calmac Ferries, a government owned company, is widely tipped to take over the service.
"We're very bitter," says Mary Cecil. "For years Tommy campaigned to improve the harbour, but he won't be able to reap the benefits. Some big ferry company will be able to sail in and take advantage of the all the efforts he has made.
Commitment and Dedication
"What interest have any of these companies ever had in Rathlin? They won't arrive here until conditions are perfect. When things were tough, they weren't interested in us."
"I provided a service all these years when no one else would touch Rathlin," says Tommy. I kept going because of my commitment to the community. I live and work amongst these people. My family has been here for generations.
"What type of commitment will an outside operator have? Will they put on a special service because somebody needs to go to the mainland urgently? Will they turn the boat back for a latecomer running down the pier? Will an islander be able to say, I'm a bit short, I'll pay you in a few weeks?
Tommy fears that a large, profit driven company will actually limit the service. "It will be fine during the summer months when hordes of visitors are coming across. But what are type of in the winter when it isn't economical? Will there still be a daily ferry or will it operate only twice a week like on some of the Scottish islands?"
Farming is the main occupation on Rathlin. The island is 90 per cent Catholic. It has a resident curate, and a Church of Ireland minister stays during the summer months. It is a small island, seven miles long, three miles wide.
It has a post office, a shop, a pub and a cafe. More than 100 people have been drowned off Rathlin this century. In 1942, 29 died when a British army ship sank.
Tommy's brother, Vincent, was drowned 13 years ago when his boat sank making the crossing to the mainland. He had one life jacket on board which he gave to his sole passenger, a British government official. The official survived. Vincent left a wife and two children.
"I get very angry when I think of the sacrifices we have made over the years," says Mary. "Boatmen on Rathlin have always had hard lives. It's a stressful job. Many die prematurely from heart attacks and strokes.
Loss of Livelihood
The British government has refused Tommy compensation for loss of livelihood, but his case is being argued by a cross party group of MPs including the DUP leader, Ian Paisley the UK Unionist, Robert McCartney Kate Hoey of the British Labour Party and the Conservative, Peter Bottomley.
"The government is guilty of legalised theft," says Tommy. "They moved in, took away a business I had built up over the years and gave me nothing in return.
Tommy fears that he will have to leave Rathlin in search of employment elsewhere. There's no way I could sit around living on social security. I've worked all my life.
It would break my heart to go because generations of my family struggled to stay on the island during very hard times. I wanted my grandchildren to grow up here. I know that if we leave Rathlin, we will never be back."