Life on Inishturk: It’s still not touristy here. You can see the Milky Way at night, and there is peace

The rain is down as the Pirate Queen draws out of Roonagh Pier in Co Mayo. At this time of year, there are three return sailings a day between Roonagh, a half-hour or so from Westport, and Inishturk.

I am out on deck, in the misty rain, peering into a horizon where Inishturk is invisible. But instead of an island, I briefly see two frolicking dolphins, and that’s worth being soaked for.

Inishturk – or Turk, as the locals call it – is an hour’s ferry ride from Roonagh and 14.5 kilometres distance. The little harbour the ferry docks at is ridiculously beautiful, with the clearest of teal-coloured water. I am one of only three tourists disembarking; the handful of other passengers are locals, or summer residents. The last census had Inishturk’s residents as 56, which makes it one of the most sparsely populated of all our islands.

There is no hotel on Turk, just two B&Bs, Ocean View and Tranaun House. Recently, two new modular houses, Craggy Cottages, became available to rent, with a minimum stay of three nights. I’m staying in Tranuan House, where my lavender purple-themed room overlooks the ocean and distant mainland beyond. Pretty much everywhere you go in Inishturk has a spectacular view, because it is so small.

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During the summer months, a restaurant operates in the island’s Community Club, a large building with a triangular gable that’s visible from the harbour. The Club is where everything happens, because it’s the only real indoor communal space on the island. The restaurant space can be used for meetings outside of season, and it’s where local people can gather all year round. There is also an atmospheric little bar attached, where every seat has a view. It’s the kind of local bar you dream about finding, but so rarely do.

The island is beautiful, but everything comes back to the people. It’s still not touristy here. You can see the Milky Way and the stars at night, and there is peace and quiet

—  Seán Taaffe

Joe Salam is the Club’s community social programme manager, and his job includes driving the island’s community bus. Originally from Dublin, he took the job earlier this year without ever having actually visited the island. “Housing is a real problem, as there are so few houses,” he explains. “I heard a house was coming up and I came out at Easter to secure it.”

Salam’s house is close to the harbour, an area he tells me is locally known as “the city”, as it’s where the ferries dock, and thus is the centre of any action. He loves island life, and his curious friends have been visiting him most weekends ever since he arrived. “There’s a joke that the Loop Walk is the island’s number one attraction, but at this point, my house might be number two.”

The Community Club employs three people full time, and three part-time, which makes it the island’s single biggest employer. I order crab claws, which have been landed that very day, and which arrive plump and fresh, with a dipping sauce of hot melted butter. They are unquestionably the best crab claws I have had in a very long time. A generous starter portion with a salad is €12.95. I discover that you can order lobster a day in advance, and feel like keening, as I did not know this before arriving.

‘Advertised on Instagram’

Seán Taaffe from Coolock is working in the bar for the season. He too had never been to the island before he got the job in April. “My mam saw it advertised on Instagram and sent off my CV without me knowing,” he says, explaining how the hiring process began. Taaffe loves Turk so much he is now planning on delaying a move to Boston, and instead spending a year on the island.

“What makes it so special here are the people,” he says. “I was made so welcome here from the get go. The island is beautiful, but everything comes back to the people. It’s still not touristy here. You can see the Milky Way and the stars at night, and there is peace and quiet.”

Deborah Bennett from Louisburgh is also working in the bar for the season. “There’s something very special about this island. It’s authentic. Peaceful. Unspoiled.”

Bennett went to school with students from Turk; there is no secondary school on the island. This autumn, there will be four children in primary school. Only a couple of years ago, there was just one child in primary.

There might be only four children of primary school age on the island, but these children have the amenity of a fabulous playground located near the health centre, again with astonishing views. There is a zipline, a see-saw, swings, and a slide set into a hilly mound. Any village anywhere would be lucky to have a playground of this quality.

The island also got a helipad on a designated site this year, which will be an all-weather link with the mainland in case of medical emergencies. The day before I arrived, a tourist who hit their head while on the ferry from Roonagh had been helicoptered off soon after arriving.

In a field near the Club, there is a sign that says the area is a “Corncrake Breeding Site”. Corncrakes are an endangered species in Ireland; a once-large population is now mostly found only in remote parts of the west.

Two roosters

Down at the harbour, the Harbour View Tea Room is open to cater for summer tourists. Pauline O’Toole, who grew up on the island, opens the tea room during July and August. There are home-made apple and rhubarb tarts and large scones on offer. It’s €2.50 for a coffee and €2.50 for a scone and butter; cash and Revolut only. She has 13 hens for her fresh egg baking supplies and two roosters; while we chat, hens keep trying to come in and join us. The previous day, she had just nine customers all day, composed of two families.

“I had to go away to secondary school,” O’Toole says. “In those days, you went in September and didn’t come back until Christmas. You would feel very lonely, because nobody had landlines. You’d have to ring the post office and arrange a time to talk to your family. I had to stand on my own two feet from an early age.”

O’Toole came back to live on Turk and raised nine children. She has seen the decades pass on the island, and is clear about what she believes it needs to continue to survive and thrive. “The island needs more people, and more families to come and live here.”

[ Check in to Craggy Cottages on a remote Co Mayo island ]

[ Remote work provides a new lease of life for offshore islands ]

When asked what she most values about her island home, she doesn’t have to think. “Peace. Tranquillity. Safety. I can go for a walk at any time of the day or night and feel safe.”

Doors really are left open on Inishturk. I have to return to Tranuan House to pick up my bag before the afternoon ferry leaves. The front door is wide open, my bag waiting for collection in the hall. How many other places in 2023 in Ireland can you leave your door open all day without fear of theft, or intrusion? It’s a rare privilege to be able to do so.

I leave Inishturk feeling I haven’t spent enough time there. I’ll be back.

Ireland’s Islands Series