Rathlin Island - History

History

Rathlin was probably known to the Romans, Pliny referring to "Reginia" and Ptolemy to "Rhicina" or "Eggarikenna". In the 7th century Adomnán mentions "Rechru" and "Rechrea insula" and these may also have been early names for Rathlin. The 11th century Irish version of the Historia Brittonum states that the Fir Bolg "took possession of Man and of other islands besides - Arran, Islay and 'Racha' " another possible early variant.

Rathlin was the site of the first Viking raid on Ireland, according to the Annals of Ulster. The raid, marked by the pillaging of the island's church and the burning of its buildings, took place in 795 (The burning of Reachrainn by plunderers; and its shrines were broken and plundered.)

Robert the Bruce sought refuge upon Rathlin, owned by the Irish Bissett family, in 1306, staying in Rathlin Castle. Originally belonging to their lordship the Glens of Antrim, the Bissetts were later dispossessed of Rathlin by the English, who were in control of the Earldom of Ulster, for welcoming Bruce. Later, in the 16th century, it came into the possession of the MacDonnells of Antrim.

Rathlin has been the site of a number of infamous massacres. An expedition in 1557 by Sir Henry Sidney in 1557 devastated the island. The massacre in July 1575, when the Earl of Essex ordered a force to the island, led by Francis Drake and John Norreys. The English killed hundreds of the women and children of Clan MacDonnell, who had taken refuge there. Also in 1642 Covenanter Campbell soldiers of the Argyll's Foot were encouraged by their commanding officer Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck to kill the local Catholic MacDonalds, near relatives of their arch Clan enemy in the Scottish Highlands Clan MacDonald. This they did with ruthless efficiency throwing scores of MacDonald women over cliffs to their deaths on rocks below. The number of victims of this massacre has been put as low as one hundred and as high as three thousand.

In the later 18th century kelp production became important with Rathlin becoming a major centre for production. The shoreline is still littered with kilns and storage places. This was a commercial enterprise sponsored by the landlords of the island and involved the whole community.

A 19th century British visitor to the island found that they had an unusual form of government where they elected a judge who sat on a "throne of turf".

The world's first commercial wireless telegraphy link was established by employees of Guglielmo Marconi between East Lighthouse on this island to Kenmara House in Ballycastle on 6 July 1898.

More recently, Richard Branson crashed his hot air balloon into the sea off Rathlin Island in 1987 after his record-breaking cross-Atlantic flight from Maine.

The island formerly boasted a population of over one thousand in the nineteenth century, and its current winter population is around one hundred. This is swelled by visitors in the summer, most come to view the cliffs and their huge sea bird populations. Many visitors come for the day, and the island has around thirty beds for overnight visitors. The visitors' centre at Church Bay is open from May to August, with minibus tours and bicycle hire available. The island is also popular with scuba divers, who come to explore the many wrecked ships in the surrounding waters.

Rathlin Island's dialect of Irish is now extinct, and could have been described as intermediary form between the other Irish dialects and Scottish Gaelic.

Recently, the RNLI Portrush lifeboat, the 'Katie Hannan' grounded itself after a large swell hit the rear end of the vessel on breakwater rocks just outside the harbour on Rathlin while trying to refloat an islander's RIB. The lifeboat has now been handed over to an outside salvage company.