Island life can be difficult but the West Cork islands are full of people who have found innovative ways to make a living – MARY McCARTHY speaks to people who have made the islands their home
The Big Story is a digital, subscriber-only series by The Southern Star. Each part will bring subscribers closer to the stories that matter in West Cork. Browse previous Big Stories here.
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WEST Cork islands hold a special significance on the Wild Atlantic Way. The scenic landscape, beaches and the sea encapsulate the heritage of old Ireland.
The economic security of these islands is enhanced in our digital age by new income streams from remarkable innovation and creativity. This overlaps with the traditional ways of acquiring a livelihood.
Cape Clear Island: A mixed brew
The ferry leaving Cape Clear's North Harbour.
Cape Clear is the Queen of Carbery's Hundred Isles, full of history and tradition.
‘It is the largest island on the bay with the biggest hills. It is a beautiful place with extraordinary people,’ according to Seamus O’Drisceoil, the ferry manager and co-owner of the gin distillery.
‘I adore all the islands in West Cork,’ said Seamus. ‘They are all amazing and each one has a very different feel. It is the hills that dominate Cape. Views are at a much higher elevation. And the ruggedness of the landscape is found by going off the beaten track.’
Most people live in the north and south harbour areas with about 30% of residents and around 90% of businesses found there.
‘The people of Cape Clear are hardworking and want to work. They are fortunate to work at what they enjoy doing. And they tend to do their jobs very well indeed,’ he said.
‘One volunteer is worth ten pressed men,’ he added.
Work is important on the island and a particular kind of work and lifestyle is available here. There is no clear distinction between work and leisure activities.
People on the islands have a range of livelihoods. Many keep the place going in terms of various service providers such as the pier, roads, and water works. All services together amount to a significant part of the workforce. And, of course, there is farming. This represents around a hundred to a hundred and twenty people. Almost all who can work are working. And there are very few unemployed.
Nearly everyone has several strings to their bow. Most people are skilled and very self-reliant. Apart from this, farming interests, tourism, and the Irish language are important. Some are working from home, and others are actively retired. But fishing has declined to one seasonal boat.
‘Bird watching is an addition to the island,’ he said. ‘It takes place in autumn. The late Steve Wing, who was one of Ireland’s foremost authoritative experts in ornithology, had a very welcoming presence here. Recently, he died suddenly and will be sorely missed.’
The age profile of those who live here represent many who are due to retire in the next five years. Due to a housing shortage, there is also a lack of young workers and families on the island.
Most work throughout the year and into the winter. They work on projects that include refurbishing houses, a new playground on the island, and recycling waste being maintained.
‘Many people here are well-educated and competent. This comes mostly from being self-educated,’ he said.
‘Natural history and ecology, the Irish language, the island’s history, folklore, and other relevant matters are some subjects that hold enthusiasm for the islanders. Irish is so important. It’s great to let visitors know about every Irish-related event being hosted,’ he said.
‘This summer, several newcomers attended events for adults and children. All these were successful. The Cape Clear Storytelling Festival celebrated the storytelling tradition that’s existent here. And folklore is currency,’ added Seamus.
A music vibe is present throughout the summer. This takes place in various pubs on the island.
Seamus mentioned there is so much creativity on Cape Clear from storytellers to amazing artists and craft workers. It is also evident in farming practices and tourism. This creativity lends itself to the positivity of the place.
He believed this year has seen an enormous increase in craft working on the island having had a successful summer for most of the crafts. This relates to the lavender initiative. Danzig is a new lavender centre that opened this year in a restored old building. Fields of lavender are the crop that provide the scent. This is good for biodiversity and bees. Lavender is popular in food and beauty products.
‘Having the distillery is significant on the island,’ Seamus said. ‘This was established around four or five years ago as a gin distillery. We hope to have whiskey for Christmas. This is a very competitive market. And the business wasn’t an instant success.’
Gin brings out the taste of the botanicals that are from the island: seaweed, fuchsia, and honeysuckle.
‘What’s special about Cape Clear is the people who visit the island. Many attractions invite them to come here,’ Seamus added.
The goat farm sells its ice cream and cheese. Mara Cléire is a great destination for families with children. It is an open farm, where children learn about the ponies and the cattle, Tamsworth pigs, hens and geese. It also has a lovely café.
‘Cape Clear Island has a yurt village consisting of a ‘kinda Mongolian tent’,’ he said. ‘They’re extremely comfortable. That is an excellent addition to the tourism services on the island. It is well-established and is running for over 10 years.’
The island is the gateway to the Fastnet Rock. Carraigaonair is Irish for Fastnet. Every year, visitors come to Cape by ferry, some are on their way to the Fastnet. Boats come from Schull and Baltimore. Those traveling swap vessels at Cape Clear to go to the Fastnet. It is a great spin and all part of having a good time on Cape. This is great for business for the shops and crafts of the island.
The fast ferry is very important. It has a capacity for two hundred passengers to travel on it. It’s of key importance to the tourist infrastructure of West Cork. It has been in existence for about two years.
Arriving on one of the early ferries, famously, was O’Donovan Rossa, who was one of the most interesting people to come to the island.
Cape Clear is an island off Baltimore about eight miles from the mainland,’ concluded Seamus.
‘And it is on three square miles. This place is about the people and their story. We all know we are stronger together. As the Irish proverb says, ‘Ní neart go cur le chéile.’
Sherkin Island: The artist's way
Majella Collins, Sherkin resident, with one of her works. (Photo: Emma Jervis)
Sherkin Island is a small island off the coast of Baltimore with a great ferry service. There is a vibrant artistic community living here all year round.
‘We are grateful to be close to the mainland. Yet, we feel we are in a little world of our own,’ according to artist and facilitator, Majella O’Neill Collins.
Around 25 years ago, Sherkin Island Development Society (SIDS), TU Dublin and the Uillinn West Cork Art Centre formed a partnership, which developed a full-time visual art degree on the island, as well as and an MA in Art and Environment. This Bachelor of Arts programme (BAVA) is currently supported by the Department of Community and Rural Development and Cork County Council.
‘It was a very long journey to establishing the BAVA on the island. But if you want something badly enough and have the courage to nurture the vision and dream big, anything is possible,’ Majella said.
‘After studying art at Limerick School of Art and Design, I came to the island. It was such a unique place. I fell in love with the Sherkin people, the landscape and the whole way of life,’ she added.
Nowadays, Sherkin is internationally-known for visual art. The fulltime undergraduate degree takes four years to complete. We teach two groups at a time. We can only take in a maximum of 15 students. A new intake takes place every two years. And there is also an MA programme. Lecturers include Jesse Jones, Glenn Loughran, and Sinead Mc Cormick.
The local scenery and nature are both huge influences on artists who study on Sherkin. (Photo: Billy Kemp)
Majella mentioned what’s lovely to see is the students’ interest in learning. From drawing, painting, mark making, visual art, performance and installation, to artistic theory and IT skills for artists.
Students gain a lot of experience by doing the course work. It is open to everyone who is interested in art. Students come from all over Ireland. Some get an opportunity of a second chance to do what they love.
Students can live on Sherkin during the course if they wish. The course is essentially an apprenticeship. It is designed to be delivered every second weekend. Those taking the course do a lot more of the work by themselves at home. At the shed, in the kitchen or at their own studio. By the time they have graduated, they are professional artists. Seeing this is part of the magic of the island.
Sorcha Browning is a graduate of the BAVA course on Sherkin Island.
'I grew up in West Cork,' she said. 'It was great to have had the option to get a university degree in the area.'
Sorcha Browning is the latest Sherkin student to be nominated for a prestigious art award.
'Art has always been a way for me to process ideas. Before starting the course, I had a lot of practical skills relating to art making. Then through learning more about art history and critical theory on the degree programme, that really opened the possibilities of thinking through things that were outside of myself.
'I really enjoyed learning about the world and working through different materials to deepen my own understanding and express or highlight something I had been researching.'
Browning is the latest member of the course to be longlisted for the RDS Visual Arts Awards, which provides her an exciting opportunity to exhibit her work.
The exhibition is being curated by Colin Martin and will be showing in the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin.
It’s an absolute honour to present my work alongside the nine other artists that were shortlisted this year from programmes across Ireland,' Browning said.
‘The selection panel visits the graduate exhibitions around Ireland every year. The work I will be showing is an installation I developed for our graduate show here on Sherkin Island and at the Uillinn West Cork Art Centre in Skibbereen. My work explores different aspects associated with digital culture through performance, sculpture and video. The installation aims to highlight a trapping or cyclical metonymy apparent within online systems of extraction and attention capture, through a kind of playful display of identities and situations collaged together in video format,’ she added.
The opening ceremony is on the 22nd of November, where they will be announcing the recipients of various awards supported by the RDS and their collaborators.
'Hopefully, at some point in the future, I shall do a Masters,' Browning concluded. 'For now, I want to have some time to develop my practice and navigate the space outside of the university.'
Bere Island: History and nature aplenty
The harbour at Bere Island. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Bere island is situated in Bantry Bay, about a mile out from the shore.
'It is serviced by two ferries,' according to Ted O'Sullivan One comes from Castletownbere and goes to the West End of the island. The other leaves from the Pontoon and arrives at the East End,’ according to Ted.
Since the Bronze Age (1500 BC), there has always been people living on Bere, with the evidence of a wedge tomb at the east end of the island in Ardaragh.
At the last census, it was recorded that 216 people live on Bere Island, with a good spread across the ages.
People with no connection have come to live here, including those from Poland, South Africa, Romania, Brazil, England, France and elsewhere,' Ted told The Southern Star.
‘Most people’s jobs are marine based due to the skilled workers on the island. The boat yard has a dry dock for trawlers for scraping and painting, antifouling, repair work and servicing,’ he added.
Ted mentioned that marine engineering is important for contract workers, who fix engines on boats.
‘The Marina is used for yachts, both in terms of storage and repairs,’ he said. ‘It is popular during the summer. Lawrence Cove Marine build and instal marinas all over the country, and navigation buoys.’
Atlantic Towage salvage tow boats and service wind farms. They provide good employment to people on Bere Island, but also around the country, Denmark and The Netherlands.
Farming includes cattle and sheep, which are the main agriculture products.
On Bere Island, there has always been a fishing industry, and it continues to this day. Many young islanders are fishing on the big trawlers fishing out of Castletownbere. However, fishing has fewer people engaged in it today.
Aquaculture is important in terms of fish farming that include mussels.
Ocean Bloom produces a natural skincare range here on our shores of West Cork that contain seaweed extract. Bere Island Honey is sought after and another product of the island.
The Heritage Centre on the island has a museum, while Bere Island Community Radio broadcasts every Sunday on 100.1 FM and on the internet all over the world. Discussions include what’s topical in farming and fishing.
Tourism takes advantage of the island being part of the Wild Atlantic Way. There are several loops of the Beara Way on Bere Island, and many come here on walking weekends. Accommodation is available all year round and there are two pubs on the island.
In fact, walking has become so popular that a local resident's coffee cart has opened alongside the route to Ardnakinna Lighthouse and is proving to be a big hit with both islanders and visitors alike.
Eoghan at his coffee truck on Bere Island, where both locals and visitors are availing of Mahers coffee and tea, with snacks on site too. (Photo: Anne Marie Cronin)
A great community spirit is present here, with many organisations and activities, including a sailing school and a GAA club.
Bere Island's military history
Having a military history is unusual for any island, but it’s part of the story of Bere Island, according to Barry Hanley, retired schoolteacher.
Every year, the Bere Island Military Heritage Festival explores some aspects of the past.
In 1602, after the Battle of Kinsale, Dunboy was captured by the English. Dunboy is located opposite Berehaven Harbour. Back then, O’ Sullivan Beara was the Irish chieftain who controlled the area. After 1602, he was defeated and went on the long march from Glengariff to the O’ Rourkes in Breffni in Co Leitrim. Most of the people in his company on the journey were lost. Afterwards, the Munster Plantation took place. British landlords were the foreign landlords.
During 1796, an attempt at a French invasion was made on Bere Island. In the 1800s, the Martello towers were built to defend the harbour. Around 1900, fortifications were built at the two entrances of the harbour. Lonehort Battery was built to defend the harbour, while the ships were being serviced.
During World War 1, there was a hive of activity in Berehaven Harbour with the presence of British navy ships and American ships.
Bere Island was a Treaty Port until 1938, after the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in 1922. In the 1940s and the 1950s, the downside of the British and Irish Army leaving was the population dropped and there was a huge economic decline.
‘The whole experience of island life is different and welcoming,’ Barry said. ‘Activities in the summer include the cool camps, the swimming week, the two sailing weeks, beaches, regatta and various festivals taking place. Every Saturday, there is a park run, which is most scenic. People come to take part from all over the world, including the UK and from the continent.’
‘We belong to a very supportive community that’s engaged and involved,’ he concluded.
‘Bere Island is a progressive place. As a result of people returning to the island, thanks to remote working and those working on the ferries, the number of children attending the primary school has increased. And this can only be described as a positive opportunity for the future.’
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Living on Cape Clear, Sherkin and Bere Island brings variety with a difference. Work contributes to the locals being engaged and more involved in island life. Skills vary from the creative to the marine and the traditional, reflecting the demands that are needed.
Out on the broad Atlantic, these islands bring an immersive experience to the locals. The beauty of the stunning scenery comes to be appreciated. The stillness, silence and ‘slow time’ are all part of living here.
But the greatest gift the islanders give is the way they make time for people in the place that they call home.
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The people bringing West Cork's islands to life is the latest in The Southern Star's digital-only series, The Big Story.
Each part of this series brings readers closer to the stories that matter. The Big Story is only available to Southern Star subscribers.
Written by Mary McCarthy. Produced and edited by Dylan Mangan.
