Inishtrahull ( ga, Inis Trá Tholl, possibly "island of the empty beach" or "island of the yonder beach") is the most northerly island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It has an area of and lies about northeast of

Malin Head Malin Head ( ga, Cionn Mhálanna) is the most northerly point of mainland Ireland, located in the townland of Ardmalin on the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal. The head's northernmost point is called Dunalderagh at latitude 55.38ºN. It ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrcon ...

. The most northerly landfall of Ireland, the Tor Beg rock, is another kilometre to the north. Inishtrahull is home to Ireland's northernmost lighthouse. The island had a resident community until 1929 and the lighthouse was staffed until 1987. Today it is uninhabited and has been designated a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

due to its wildlife.

Geology

The island is formed of a

granitic A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quartz- ...

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...

, a type of

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...

, which is known as Inishtrahull Gneiss. It is dated at 1.7 billion years old, making it

Paleoproterozoic The Paleoproterozoic Era (;, also spelled Palaeoproterozoic), spanning the time period from (2.5–1.6 Ga), is the first of the three sub-divisions ( eras) of the Proterozoic Eon. The Paleoproterozoic is also the longest era of the Earth's ...

in age, and is the oldest known rock on the Irish Islands. The Inishtrahull Gneiss is considered to form part of the

Rhinns complex The Rhinns complex is a deformed Palaeoproterozoic igneous complex that is considered to form the basement to the Colonsay Group of metasedimentary rocks. The largest outcrop of the complex is on the Rhinns of Islay, from where the complex get ...

that is also exposed on the islands of

Islay Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's capital ...

and

Colonsay Colonsay (; gd, Colbhasa; sco, Colonsay) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Argy ...

. The Rhinns complex is correlated with the Ketilidian metamorphic belt of southern Greenland and the Svecofennian of Scandinavia.

Biology

Among the algae present at Inishtrahull, '' Bonnemaisonia asparagoides'', '' Callophyllis laciniata'', '' Kalymenia reniformis'', '' Sphaerococcus coronopifolius'', '' Lomentaria articulate'', '' L. orcadensis'', '' Rhodymenia pseudopalmata'', '' Plumaria plumose'', '' Ceramium shuttleworthianum'', '' Heterosiphonia plumose'', '' Nitophyllum punctatum'', '' Hypoglossum hypoglossoides'', '' Drachiella spectabilis'', '' Odonthalia dentate'', '' Osmundea pinnatifida'', '' Polysiphonia lanosa'', '' P. stricta'', '' Enteromorpha intestinalis'', ''

Ulva lactuca ''Ulva lactuca'', also known by the common name sea lettuce, is an edible green alga in the family Ulvaceae. It is the type species of the genus ''Sea lettuce, Ulva''. A synonym is ''U. fenestrata'', referring to its "windowed" or "holed" appeara ...

'', '' Fucus serratus'', '' F. spiralis'' and ''

Ascophyllum nodosum ''Ascophyllum nodosum'' is a large, common cold water seaweed or brown alga (Phaeophyceae) in the family Fucaceae, being the only species in the genus ''Ascophyllum''. It is a seaweed that only grows in the northern Atlantic Ocean, also known in ...

'' have been recorded.

Population and history

The island is now uninhabited but had a resident community until 1929 and lighthouse keepers until 1987. The evacuation of the community from Inistrahull took place

en bloc ''En Bloc'' is a Singaporean drama produced by Mediacorp, a local TV station. Plot The drama follows the Lim family and some residents of an old Tampines Grove condominium of the consequences of having their estate up for an en bloc sale for ...

in 1929. The matter was raised in a Dáil debate on

illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes p ...

in November 1929 by the TD for the area, Deputy Frank Carney. The Deputy stated that Inishtrahull was one of the few places in the country where the population had actually increased by almost 100% from 1881 to 1901. He said that the people on the island had a school and a graveyard and earned their livelihood from the fishing industry with very small boats for inshore fishing and that they could line fish and fish with nets during the

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean ...

season. Deputy Carney said that, ordinarily, they were able to make a reasonable living. However, he said that because of illegal fishing by "Scotch and English trawlers and French fishing smacks" the islanders had been compelled some weeks earlier to evacuate the island, desert their homes and leave only a lighthouse keeper behind. Responding, the Minister for Fisheries, Fionán Lynch TD said that he did not agree that the people had left the island because of illegal fishing and was making enquiries as to their current circumstances. The Minister said that he "would like to feel that everything was being done to keep them from being a permanent charge on home assistance." The Minister later sent a Principal Officer from his department to report on their circumstances. The Minister then reported in the Dáil that "four of the ix Inistrahullfamilies derived their livelihood from the Irish Lights boat service to the island, in which they are still able to engage" and that there was no case for state intervention. He also said that his Officer's report indicated that the resettled Islanders were not in "poor circumstances."

Last sight of Ireland

Inishtrahull is home to the most northerly Irish lighthouse run by the

Commissioners of Irish Lights The Commissioners of Irish Lights ( ga, Coimisinéirí Soilse na hÉireann), often shortened to Irish Lights or CIL, is the body that serves as the general lighthouse authority for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and their adjacen ...

. The lighthouse was first put into operation in 1813 largely because ships of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

had begun to use

Lough Foyle Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over ...

. Today its light flashes every 30 seconds.Irish Lights Commissioners
The ruins of the old lighthouse as well as a new (1956) lighthouse can be found on the island. Automation of the lighthouse was completed in March 1987 and the last three Lighthousekeepers left the station on 30 April 1987. Over the centuries, Ireland has been the source of millions of emigrants bound for the "New World" across the Atlantic. For many of those emigrants, especially those who departed from

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, Inistrahull and its lighthouse had a special significance. As one emigrant recalled:

Attractions

Inishtrahull is well known for its wildlife and is designated a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

and a

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...

by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.Inishtrahull SAC
npws.ie; accessed 7 November 2016. The island's geographical location and lighthouse attract many unusual birds, as well as a population of

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" o ...

s. The island and its adjacent 90-metre depth tidal sound attract basking sharks and cetaceans in large numbers during the summer months. Many scuba-divers use the Islands Port Mór as a lunch spot while out surveying the hundreds of wrecks off its shores. Access to the island is limited by the dangerous tides and currents around

and the island itself. There are landing restrictions enforced by The

(present owners of the Island). Particular care is requested by visitors during the breeding bird period of May–July. there are two Geocaches on the island. Trahull

References

{{Authority control Important Bird Areas of the Republic of Ireland Islands of County Donegal Protected areas of County Donegal Special Areas of Conservation in the Republic of Ireland Uninhabited islands of Ireland