Inishtrahull Initiative collating island stories and folklore

Donegal's Inishtrahull Initiative, which is “passionate” about all things Inishtrahull, is asking people to share their stories and memories about the “wee island.”

Inishtrahull or Inis Trá Tholl, meaning 'island of the hollow / empty beach is the most northerly island off the coast of Ireland. It has an area of 0.34 square kilometres and lies approximately 10 kilometres north-east of Malin Head.

Inishtrahull is home to Ireland's northernmost lighthouse. It had a resident community until 1929 and the lighthouse was staffed until 1987. It is uninhabited today and has been designated a protected area due to its wildlife.

Speaking to Donegal Live, Oisin O’Driscoll from Inishtrahull Initiative said: “We want to create a digital archive containing stories we have collected. Stories about Inishtrahull, about Malin Head, about Inishowen and also about other islands coastal communities in an around Ireland.

“We had planned to try and organise a more traditional oral history project, which would have involved us travelling around, collecting stories and interviewing people. However, early on in the year we recognised that was going to be impossible, for obvious reasons.

“At the moment, a lot of people are pretty much stuck at home looking for things to do, looking for activities to keep them busy. So, Inishtrahull Initiative thought we would put out an open call for people, if they are interested, if they have a story or a memory about Inishtrahull that they would like to share.

“It might be a bit of folklore, an old legend or something they remember. Inishtrahull Initiative would be happy to receive any sort of written material, which could be emailed to: info@intrahullinitiative.com,” said Oisin.

The Initiative is also asking people to consider reaching out to their older relatives, friends, or neighbours, who may be cocooning at the moment to see if they have a story, they might like to share about Inishtrahull.

Oisin O’Driscoll said: “These older people might have a precious memory of Inishtrahull. People can make an audio recording. We would be more than happy to receive them, but it is not necessary, an email is fine too.

“The Inishtrahull Initiative is a non-profit group of volunteers promoting Inishtrahull and, more generally, the history, culture and natural heritage of Irelands islands.

“For this project we would love to receive an old memory of a piece of folklore or a memory of visiting Inishtrahull or another island, a piece of the local history, a local character, anything connected to the island in some way.

“We are inspired by the Dúchas Collection. People might know something, which they think is not important to anyone. We would like to collect up as much material as we can and then make it available for people to read online and to preserve it and make it available to researchers,” said Oisin.

The Inishtrahull Initiative website is: www.inishtrahullinitiative.com.