Islands of Ireland: The Island of World Peace

Inishraher can sustain different types of lifestyles in different eras — from subsistence farming and fishing to philosophical.

The transcendental meditation centre on the Island of World Peace, Inishraher, Clew Bay, with Croagh Patrick in the background. The group’s choice of this island as a base is indicative of how islands can sustain different types of lifestyles in different eras. Picture: TM centre

Clew Bay’s myriad islands have attracted people seeking an alternative way of life over the years, including writers (Kevin Barry) and artists (Ron Rooymans, whose work is displayed in the grounds of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam). The most celebrated and publicised group was the hippy commune on Dorinish, which was owned by John Lennon of the Beatles and which was briefly settled in the early 1970s by his associate Sid Rawle.

Inclement conditions, natural and human, ultimately led to the demise of that experiment on the drowned drumlin.

The island of the ferns, Inis Raithneach, must be one of our more beautifully named islands, especially for pteridomaniacs (fern obsessives). It has had a tremendous variety of names over the centuries including Inis Raithne (1235), Insule fortunate (1492, attested by the folklorist and archaeologist Westropp), Inisbraker (1677), Inishbracker (1708), and Inishbruer (1792).

Inishraher is one of a circle of about 10 islands in the southern part of the Co Mayo bay, along with Dorinish. There is nothing particularly distinctive about its geomorphology. It has the same curved surfaces of its neighbours, whether observed from atop Croagh Patrick or from sea level at say, Bertra Beach, parabolas that gladden the eye. It is treeless in its 30 acres.

Yet it proved irresistible to its probable original inhabitants in a group of four buildings on the east of the island, well-sheltered from brutal Atlantic storms. According to the 1911 census, eight people of the Jordan and Joyce families lived in two buildings, each of which had two rooms.

Fast forward to 2005 and the island was named Island of World Peace. The aspiring title was given to Inishraher by the Transcendental Meditation (TM) organisation in Ireland, which bought the island that year.

The group’s choice of this island as a base is indicative of how islands can sustain different types of lifestyles in different eras — from subsistence farming and fishing to philosophical.

TM national director in Ireland Joe Hayden says the island perfectly suited its needs as an eminently peaceful locale, where people attending the group’s courses would be in harmony with nature for the duration of their stay. 

Over time, the group built an 18-bedroom building with dining room, kitchen, and assembly rooms. Running such an enterprise on an island requires careful planning and Joe says they have recently dispensed with their diesel generator and kerosene boiler in a bid to be independent as well as establishing their green credentials.

“We’re off grid so we have to generate our own electricity and we are just completing the installation of 21 kilowatt of photovoltaic panels, so we’ll be greener than we were before.”

Transcendental meditation has some major practitioners, including post-modern film director David Lynch, whose foundation spreads the transcendental meditation concept in the US.

Joe explains the history of the movement.

“It’s a developmental technique brought to the West by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the late 1950s. In Ireland, to date we have taught over 40,000 people. We have a number of centres around the country and give regular introductory talks on this simple technique, which has benefits for mind and body.

“When we meditate and practice transcendental meditation, it’s an absolutely effortless technique. The mental activity goes down, so also the physical activity, the heart rate goes down; all the good chemicals, the endorphins increase. There are over 600 scientific studies demonstrating the benefits of the technique,” he says.

The Inishraher facility has attracted guests from all over Ireland, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the US, and Canada. The courses are usually run over long weekends, but have been hit by the Covid restrictions. However, Joe says they hope to reopen soon.

• How to get there: Arrange through the centre via Rosmoney Pier west of Westport.
• Other: www.islandofworldpeace.ie; Croagh Patrick and the Islands of Clew Bay, Michael Cusack, Berry Print; www.davidlynchfoundation.org; logainm.ie