Skip to main content

TORY ISLAND/OILEÁN THORAÍ Tory Island is a remarkable place, with some of the most challenging climatic regimes in the whole of Ireland and, indeed, the north-western European seaboard. Meteorological data from the closest station at Malin Head, 57km to the east, show a mild climate with rare frost and little sunshine but a high level of precipitation (1,076mm), with rain on an average of 226 days per year. Moreover, and most importantly, the mean monthly wind speed is 15.6 knots, and on average Tory Island has 65 days per year with gales. Given the small size of the island and the westerly prevailing wind direction, most of the rainfall is salt-laden. Despite these extreme conditions, however, archaeological and historical evidence shows an island that has endured through time and has developed unique traditions and cultures. The question at hand is how the inhabitants of this small, inaccessible island have survived and developed over time. This is the context for Tory’s inclusion in a new research project entitled ‘Waves of Colonisation Around the Sea of Moyle (Sruth na Maoile)’, led by a consortium of universities and supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (DOEHLG), the Department of Communities Northern Ireland (DCNI) and Scottish Heritage (SH). The focus of this work Above: Fig. 3—Multivallate earthworks at the entrance to the eastern promontory fort, looking south (the authors). Right: Fig. 4—Early medieval and medieval religious sites: (A) round tower; (B) possible site of one of the five churches (the authors). is on understanding how small islands survived and changed over the last few thousand years, and on what we can learn about the resilience of small coastal island communities. Two thriving settlements through time? The historical success of Tory can be traced for most of its past through archaeological and historical evidence. From the earliest times to the present, settlement across the island appears to have maintained a doublefocus pattern, from the magnificent prehistoric promontory forts on the higher ground at the northern edge of the island (Fig. 3) to the later clachans of West Town (An Baile Thiar) and East Town (An Baile Thoir), possibly created alongside the founding of the early sixth-century monastery of St Colmcille (Fig. 4). Both of these settlement patterns share a common trait: the control and management of limited agricultural land as well as the two harbours, essential for access, fishing and wider trade links (Fig. 5). In addition, the archaeological evidence from the promontory forts (including at least fifteen internal hut circles; Lacey et al. 1983), the early field systems and the early medieval clachans created around the monastic centre (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970)—as well as the possible presence of five churches, purportedly recorded in 1654–6 (Simington 1937, 114)—demonstrate that a significant population (possibly well over 300) must have persisted throughout most of the island’s history and would have upheld a wholly self-supporting subsistence economy. The presence of a monastery—and a mark of economic success—might also be inferred by the record of a raid in AD 617, when the Annals of Ulster record ‘the devastation of Tory Island by a marine fleet’; given the date, however, this is more likely to have been carried out by Saxon or Pictish raiders than by Vikings. Nevertheless, although there is no evidence, it is possible that Tory was targeted by Viking raids on other occasions, such as when Rathlin Island to the east was attacked in 795, or before a Viking fleet sailed round to attack monasteries in the Upper Erne system in 837. Archaeology Ireland Autumn 2020 31

My Bookmarks

Skip to main content