Inishturk (''Inis Toirc'' in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, meaning ''Wild Boar Island'') is an inhabited

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Geography

The island lies about off the coast; its highest point reaches

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. Between Inisturk and

Clare Island Clare Island ( or ''Oileán Chliara''), also historically Inishcleer, is a mountainous island guarding the entrance to Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. Historically part of the kingdom of Umhaill, it is famous as the home of the 15th century pi ...

lies

Caher Island Caher Island (''Cathair na Naomh'' in Irish), an uninhabited island off the coast of County Mayo in Ireland, is situated between the larger Clare Island and Inishturk. Etymology ''Cathair na Naomh'' in Irish means the ''City of the Saints''. ...

. It has a permanent population of 58 people. There are two main settlements, both on the more sheltered eastern end of the island, Ballyheer and Garranty. Bellavaun and Craggy are abandoned settlements. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

built a

Martello tower Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up ...

on the western coast during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

History

Inishturk has been inhabited on and off since 4,000 BCE and has been inhabited permanently since at least 1700. Some of the more recent inhabitants are descended from evacuees from

Inishark Inishark or Inishshark (), sometimes called Shark Island, is a small island neighbouring the larger Inishbofin, Galway, Inishbofin in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Overview The island is now uninhabited; the last 23 inhabitants ...

to the southwest.

Recent history

In 1993, Inishturk Community centre was opened, this community centre doubles as a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. In June 2014 the ESB commissioned three new Broadcrown BCP 110-50 100 kVA diesel generators to supply electricity to the island The ESB have operated a diesel power station on the island since the 1980s Inishturk gained international attention in 2016 after a number of websites claimed that the island would welcome any American "refugees" fleeing a potential

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

presidency. These were examples of the type of "

fake news Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.Schlesinger, Robert (April 14, 2017)"Fake news in reality ...

" that arose during the 2016 US presidential election campaign. The island is home to a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

on the island which in 2011 had only 3 pupils; this is believed to be the smallest primary school in Ireland.

Demographics

The table below reports data on Inisturk's population taken from ''Discover the Islands of Ireland'' (Alex Ritsema, Collins Press, 1999) and the

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of Ireland.

Transport

Prior to 1997 there was no scheduled ferry service and people traveled to and from the islands using local fishing boats. Since then a ferry service operates from Roonagh Quay,

Louisburgh, County Mayo Louisburgh () is a small town on the southwest corner of Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. It is home to Sancta Maria College and the Gráinne O'Malley Interpretive Centre. Transport Road access Louisburgh is located on the R335 regional ro ...

. The pier was constructed during the 1980s by the Irish government, around this time the roads on the island were paved.Winter Inishturk
/ref>

Gallery

File:Caher and Inishturk - geograph.org.uk - 1400397.jpg, Inisturk and Caher island File:Inishturk1.jpg, Inishturk pier File:Inishturk pier1.jpg, Harbour with Caher Island in background File:Inishturk community centre.jpg, Community centre File:Inishturk lake2.jpg, Freshwater lake File:Inishturk clare island.jpg , Clare Island as seen from Inishturk File:Inishturk powerstation.jpg, Power station

References

External links

*
Podcast series on Mayo's Heritage, including a heritage Tour of InishturkMayo News - Inishturk islander committed to her communityIsland life Inishbofin Inishturk
{{Authority control Islands of County Mayo