Donegal island group fear artefacts being removed and history destroyed

Fears that historical artefacts from Inishtrahull Island are being casually discarded and burned as part of an Irish Lights clean up operation have prompted calls for a more sensitive approach to dealing with this unique area.

The island, which lies off the north Irish coast around eight miles from Malin Head, was inhabited for many years but families left in or around the first quarter of the 20th century.

It has the oldest rocks in Ireland and is an important transit point for migrating birds.

Families who lived on the island primarily fished for a living but would also grow crops and keep animals - sheep and cattle.

In more recent times, red deer have been kept on the island which is now owned by the Commissioners of Irish Lights.

According to Irish Lights the work on Inishtrahull is part of a project to mothball the houses there for future use but many locals and those with connections to the island are concerned that Inishtrahull's unique place in history is under threat.

The island has served as a location for an important lighthouse and previously a Lloyds Signal Stations relaying the movement of outbound and inbound shipping crossing the North Atlantic.

The concerns were raised this week by London-based Danny McLaughlin (above). He runs the Inishtrahull Island Facebook page which has over 420 members right now many of whom have family or other historic connections to the island.

His connections to the island are strong.

“My own family are from the island with my grandfather and great-grandfather being fishermen who were both drowned at sea near the island, one in the late 1800s and the other in 1917 months before my dad was born.

“We learned in the Facebook group yesterday (Monday), from one of our members that a visitor to the island last week had witnessed the burning of furniture which was being removed from the former keepers’ cottages on the island.

“These showed that the wardrobes for example were marked as the property of the Commissioners of Irish Lights on Inishtrahull and dated from 1904.

Other markings appear to be the names of former personnel serving on the island (above).The team disposing of these items were apparently not keen that the visitor was taking photographs.

“The concern within the group was that these historical artefacts were being casually discarded without relevance to their significance. Why could they not be offered to a museum or kept in situ? Had they in fact even been the subject of an appraisal by Irish Lights for their historical importance?"

Mr McLaughlin said he decided to try and find out by contacting the Irish Lights chief executive, Yvonne Shields-O’Connor. During the day (Monday) he received an e-mail from Captain Robert McCabe, director of coastal operations for Irish Lights.

In it Captain McCabe said the work on Inishtrahull is part of a project to mothball the houses so that they are kept in good condition for future use.

He added: “Following conversion of the lighthouse from diesel to solar we no longer require the houses for aids to navigation purposes.

“Our objective is to identify a suitable alternative use for the property which would respect the history and heritage of the island.

“However, as there is no immediate use identified we have secured the houses by removing items that could cause damage.

“This includes draining and removing central heating and removing furniture which could rot or, in the case of the wardrobe, spread woodworm throughout the property.

The wardrobe which was left outside

“We retain artefacts of heritage value and are at present engaged in a major heritage project on the preservation of our archives.”

Captain McCabe added he wanted to assure him that the work at Inishtrahull was carried out in the interests of protecting the properties for future use.

"I absolutely appreciate the concerns that people may have regarding this and I hope this information provides you with some reassurance that we have the best interests of the station in mind.

"I understand the link to our history represented by the names on the wardrobe and we will learn from this experience. We do have detailed histories of all of our lighthouse keepers back to the late 1800s," he said.

He added they are currently considering the potential for a wildlife conservation project on Inishtrahull and actively looking for suitable alternative uses for the property.
Mr McLaughlin said he felt this response seemed a bit like a PR driven defence, vague about the specifics of what had in fact been done.

He added that during the day, the group also reported the use of a helicopter and the Irish Lights vessel Granuaile.
He took this up with Captain McCabe in another e-mail and pressed him on whether any historical material had been recovered or documented.

Captain McCabe confirmed to him in his reply that they had removed a lot of material by helicopter under slinging to the Granuaile and this will eventually be landed in Dun Laoghaire.

“This would not generally be of heritage interest. Heritage items when landed would be sent to our museum for storage/ display.

“We would not have recorded the items removed for disposal, but, just to be clear, these are not heritage items.

"However, I can understand how this could cause concern so recording is part of the learning. We would certainly want a good relationship with your group given our shared interest.”

Captain McCabe said while movement was restricted by Covid at the moment he was anxious to meet up at some time in the future.

Mr McLaughlin said he was still a little concerned.

“The most telling aspect of this second email is the line. However, I can understand how this could cause concern so recording is part of the learning'.

“This suggests that despite Irish Lights claims to be concerned about their history and heritage – the actuality is that this is not done as thoroughly as it might be. Was the approach here, as so often it is towards Donegal, no one will notice?”

He added the reaction on the Inishtrahull Group and Wild Atlantic Way Facebook pages (above) suggested that “history is literally being consigned to the bonfire here!”

“We as a group would like, going forward to see better consultation and cooperation with a group of people who share a genuine interest in keeping Inishtrahull the magic place it is.

“Irish lights talk of plans for alternative uses for the keepers’ cottages should not do anything to ruin the island or commercialise it in a way that would be detrimental to what is an important National Nature Reserve,” he said.