Rathlin Island - Raghery

The history of Rathlin

Kieran — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:13:36 +0000

Pre-history
Rathlin was probably the first Irish island to be inhabited, perhaps as early as 7,000BC. Human remains dating back almost 4,000 years were discovered in 2006, near McCuaig’s bar. A man’s body was found curled in a foetal position, with a food vessel, typical of a Bronze Age burial of 2,000BC. By 2,500BC Rathlin had a thriving export business in porcellanite axes, based on a quarry in the west of the island. The axe factory is closed to visitors but you can see samples at the Boathouse Visitor Centre.

http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article.aspx?art_id=1249

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Vikings
The first recorded raid by Vikings in Ireland was on Rathlin in 795, when the church was burned. Outside Dublin, Rathlin is also the only known site in Ireland of a Viking cemetery. Among the items discovered in the graves are a sword, a bronze ladle and a magnificent 9th-century silver brooch, made by a Norse craftsman in Irish style (right). It is now in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. A hoard of Hiberno-Norse coins dating to the 1040s has also been found.

Loscad Rechrainne o geinntib, ‘the burning of Rechru by heathens’

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Robert Bruce
Local legend has it that a cave on the north coast was where Robert The Bruce hid out after being defeated at the Battle of Perth in 1306, during his fight against the English for the crown of Scotland. During his lonely exile he watched a spider patiently trying again and again to spin a web across an impossible gap and eventually succeed. Inspired, he returned to Scotland, to win victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Bruce’s Cave can only be reached by boat but a ruin above, called Bruce’s Castle, may help you relive the legend – which owes much to writer Sir Walter Scott.

Bruce and Rathlin
BBC: The spider legend
Searching for Bruce’s cave
Caves of Rathlin

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Rathlin Island Guide 1888
From George Henry Bassett’s “The Book of Antrim”, 1888

THE Island of Rathlin, at its nearest point, is over 7 miles from the mainland. It is about this distance north of Ballycastle, with which it has a connection Tuesdays and Fridays weekly by sail boat for the transit of mails and passengers. In winter, however, the sea is often so rough that the bravest boatmen are not able to make regular passages. During the summer season there are frequent trips from shore to shore. Rathlin is one of the show places which tourists should not fail to visit. Many writers have found names for this island, but it will be sufficient to quote that of Hamilton. He calls it Raghery, from Ragh Erin, the fort of Erin. The natives are known along the Antrim coast northwest of Ballycastle as Ragherymen. Rathlin is the name given to it by Ware, the t only being added.

According to the Ordnance Survey it contains 3,398 3/4 statute acres, 30 1/2 of which are under two lakes, one at Ushet Point, and the other less than a mile from Bull Point. The island is about 7 miles in length, and at the centre about 2 miles in breadth. Rocks and stony pasture make up fully three-fourths, and the rest of the land is of medium quality. Mr. Robert Gage, J.P., is the present owner. He resides all the year round in a prettily-situated house on the verge of Church Bay, and farms a considerable portion of the island himself.

The population in 1831 was 1,039. Of this number the greater part belong to the Roman Catholic faith, the remainder to the Church of Ireland. With the exception of some families in the Church Bay quarter, most of the people speak Irish and English. They live by farming and fishing, and are peaceful and inoffensive in their habits. Their amusements are few and simple, chief among them being that of dancing. The crops grown are beans, barley, and potatoes. Rents run at from ten shillings to twenty-five shillings per acre, and each tenant receives a certain portion of rocky land for nothing.

An industry of the islanders, at one time exceedingly profitable, was the burning of kelp. It is still maintained, though the prices realized are very much smaller. It is said that the tenants are able to get enough out of it yet to pay their rents. There are 8 draft nets used for fishing, each one being owned by 12 men. Pollock is the principal fish caught.

St Comgall visited Rathlin for the purpose of founding a church, but was driven away by a band of soldiers. St Columb in the 6th century succeeded in founding a monastery, which he gave over to the charge of St Colman. There is, however, some doubt as to the person who really did build the monastery.

In 790 the Danes, in their first descent on the Irish coast, destroyed it and ravaged the island. The monastery was repaired, but in 973, on the second visit of the Danes, it was again destroyed and the abbot, St Feradach, murdered.

In the 13th century King John made a grant of the island to Alan of Galway. Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, during the civil war in his own country, took refuge at Rathlin, and built a castle on a cliff, at the east side, facing the Mull of Cantyre, distant about 14 miles. He built and fortified a castle, of which there are small remains. The island was in possession of Scotch settlers, in 1558. Lord Deputy Sussex in that year drove them out, with great slaughter, and toward the end of the l6th century, it is said to have been uninhabited. Excavations in the centre of the island resulted in the discovery of brazen swords, spear heads, and a golden fibula of large size. Nearly the entire island has a substratum of basalt and white limestone.

On the western side, the rocks rise to a considerable height, and on the eastern the basalt appears in various forms, including the columnar. Chalk predominates in the cliffs of the southern coast, producing charming effects in the view from Ballycastle. There is good duck and wigeon shooting.

Church of I.–Rev, David Kennedy
Grocers–J. Hunter, Jas. M’Cuaig
Light Keepers–Ptk. Keenan, Aw. M’Gonigle and Edw. Kennedy: Jno. M’Keighton, gunner
Post Master–Aw. Harbison
R.C.–Rev. J. O’Boyle, P.P.
Schl., Nat.–Mrs. B. Anderson
Spirit Retailer–Ml. McCuaig

FARMERS AND RESIDENTS.
Anderson, Alex., Craigmacagan
Anderson, John, Knockans
Black, John, Ballygill S.
Craig, Neal, Ballygill N.
Curry, Alex., Ballyconaghan
Curry, John, Churchquarter
Gage, Robt. (J.P.), Churchquarter
M’Cuaig, Jas., Ballycarry
M’Cuaig, Jas., Ballynoe
M’Cuaig, Jno., Roonivoolin
M’Cuaig, Ml., Demesne
M’Cuaig, Rt., Kinkeel
M’Curdy, Alex., Ballygill N.
M’Curdy, Jos., Ballygill S.
M’Curdy, Neil, Kinramer N.
M’Fall, Neal, Kinramer S.
M’Kay, Jno., Ballyconaghan
Morrison, Arch., Ballygill N.
Spears, Hugh, Knockans
Thompson, Mrs., Craigmacagan
Weir, Alex., Carrivandoon

Filed under: 4 HISTORY

Massacres

Kieran — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:24:40 +0000

Remains of Bruce’s Castle, overlooking Scotland

The entire population of Rathlin has been wiped out twice by invaders, the most notorious incident being in 1575 when 600 men, women and children were butchered. Sir Francis Drake is often blamed for his role – he was in charge of the English fleet that transported the troops of Colonel John Norris to the island and provided a blockade against Scottish help arriving.

Norris had been sent from Carrickfergus by Lord Essex, the English Deputy, who had landed in Antrim to attack Sorley Boy MacDonnell. Rathlin, long associated with Saint Columba, had a reputation as a sanctuary and Sorley Boy and the other Scottish chiefs had sent their women, elderly and infirm there for safety.

After a brief fight, the small Scottish garrison of about 50 men surrendered their stronghold, Bruce’s Castle (see left). Against the rules of siege warfare of the time (see Deuteronomy 20), they were executed, along with about 150 others, mainly women. Another 400 were found hiding in caves – ‘hunted out as if they had been seals or otters’ – and also killed.

Essex wrote to Queen Elizabeth I, saying Sorley Boy had stood on the mainland of the Glens of Antrim ‘and saw the taking of the island, and was likely to have run mad for sorrow, tearing and tormenting himself and saying that he there lost all that he ever had’.

The Queen replied, asking Essex to tell John Norris, ‘the executioner of his well designed enterprise, that she would not be unmindful of his services’.

The 1575 Massacre

Sorley Boy MacDonnell

Filed under: 4 HISTORY, Massacres

Marconi’s wireless transmission

Kieran — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:37:23 +0000

East Light

Marconi

Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy, in 1874 to an Italian father and an Irish mother, Annie Jameson, of the Irish whisky distillery family. Inspired by the work of Heinrich Hertz on the properties of electromagnetic waves, Marconi filed the patent for ‘wireless technology’ in 1896.

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Kemp & Glanville

In May 1898, Lloyds Insurance of London financed an experimental wireless link to test signal reception at Ballycastle from Rathlin. Marconi made a preliminary survey but the work was given to his right-hand man, George Kemp, who hired Edward Glanville, a Trinity College Dublin graduate, to assist him. They in turn hired islander Johnny Cecil as a labourer.

Marconi music project

Lloyds, Rathlin and Marconi

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Rathlin-Ballycastle transmission

Kemp and Granville strung a 25m aerial from the top of Rathlin’s East lighthouse (an aerial was also stretched from the spire of the Roman Catholic church). In Ballycastle, after failures at various other sites, a 50m receiving aerial was hung along the cliffs at a house called Kenmara – now a B&B.

On July 6, 1898, Kemp received the first Morse signal from Glanville on Rathlin. The transmission was a repeated letter V. Improving reception, the pair were soon able to report the passage of ships through Rathlin Sound, following their transatlantic crossing, the result Lloyds had been paying for and the world’s first commercial wireless signal.

On August 21, 1898, Glanville (a keen amateur geologist and bird-watcher who was often seen chipping away at rocks along the coastline) fell to his death from the cliffs at Rathlin. Johnny Cecil recovered his body which was shipped to Ballycastle where the young man’s father met it to take it home to Dublin. Marconi attended the funeral service in Dublin, then came to Ballycastle for four days when he made a brief visit to Rathlin (paying his respects at the site of Glanville’s fall).

Marconi left Ballycastle, after the Oul Lammas Fair, on September 2, 1898, with Kemp packing up all the equipment and leaving two days later.

Kemp and Marconi had stayed at the Antrim Arms Hotel in Ballycastle. One of its staff was Mary McCormick, who later married Johnny Cecil.

Marconi Radio Group

History of radio

(Note: Many thanks to Lynne Nelson for clarifying the date of Edward Glanville’s death.)

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Filed under: 4 HISTORY, Marconi

Rathlin wrecks

Kieran — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:25:08 +0000

HMS Drake

Rathlin is surrounded by some 40 wrecks, the most famous of which is HMS Drake in Church Bay. Capable of a top speed of 23 knots, she was one of the fastest and heaviest cruisers of her time and was escorting a transatlantic convoy.

She was hit in Rathlin Sound by a torpedo from German U-Boat U-79 early on October 2, 1917, killing 19 of her crew. Her Captain, SH Radcliffe brought her into Church Bay but she was too heavily damaged to be saved and soon sank.

The SS Lugano and HMS Brisk were sunk during the same attack – probably by mines laid by U79 and the wrecks lie in Rathlin Sound just over a mile from each other. The technically challenging dive to the SS Lugano is considered one of the best in the British Isles. There was no loss of life on the Lugano but 31 crew died on HMS Brisk. Although her bow section sank, the stern section of the ship was towed into dock in Londonderry.

In 1962, the wreck of HMS Drake was hit by the Fleetwood trawler Ella Hewitt, which soon joined the cruiser on the seabed in the middle of Church Bay.

List of Rathlin wrecks

SS Tuscania, first US troopship to be torpedoed in WWI

The story of HMS Drake

Diving Rathlin’s North Wall

Sponges on Rathlin’s North Wall (video)

Diving on the SS Loughgarry (1min video)

Diving on the SS Loughgarry (excellent 5min video)

Filed under: Wrecks

Lights of Rathlin

Kieran — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:17:45 +0000

East Light

The oldest of Rathlin’s lighthouses sits high above Bruce’s Cave at Altacarry Head. It has been flashing a warning to shipping since 1856 and is a vital component of the traffic separation scheme in the North Channel.

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West Light
This upside-down light was a major feat of engineering when it was built, between 1912 and 1917. The top of Kebble Point was too high for the light to be effective, so it had to be placed some way down the cliff. The works needed a cable tramway and a pier, as well as the road across Kebble. The work cost £400,000 in 1912, equivalent to an amazing £17million today.

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Rue Point

Sitting at the southern tip of Rathlin, only 2.5 miles from Fair Head, this light has been operating since 1921. Only 35 feet above sea level, it is now fully automated and has a 14 nautical mile range.

Rathlin Lighthouses

Memories of a Rathlin lighthouse keeper

Filed under: 2 SEA, Lighthouses