Hikes and trails: Tory may be small but it packs a mighty punch

Lying 15km off the Donegal coast, Tory is about 5 km long and 1km wide, with massive cliffs on its northern flanks. Distinctive for its strong Irish-speaking culture, it has become a Mecca for discerning tourists and is host to a seven-day walking festival in September

Year-round passenger services to Tory depart mainly from Magheroarty Pier, with a crossing time of approximately 45 minutes.

Until recently, I had never visited Tory Island. It may be the remoteness, the often choppy sea crossing, and the lack of hills to entice me, but for whatever reason, I never made it.

Finally, I fetched up to the island on a beautiful September day for a charity walk organised by Donegal Camino, as a fundraiser for cancer treatment services.

Once an isolated backwater, the fortunes of Tory were transformed with the arrival of a Southampton-born artist in 1956. Immediately finding his spiritual home, Derek Hill discovered inspiration for his landscape paintings amid the otherworldly beauty and serenity of the Island.

Spending his summers there for over 40 years, his biggest contribution to Tory arose from a chance encounter with a local fisherman. James Dixon challenged Hill’s ability and claimed he could do better himself. Encouraging him to see if he could, Hill provided Dixon with a paint palette.

Making brushes from donkey hair, Dixon first put paint to canvas in his sixties, using a nativist style to capture Tory and the surrounding ocean. His works have since proven hugely popular, with a painting titled The Cutty Shark fetching £36,000 in 2024. His style was copied by other islanders, who also became painters and a tourism industry based on art was created. Examples of this distinctive style, known as the Tory School, are displayed at the Island’s Dixon Gallery.

In 1974, a huge storm isolated Tory for seven weeks. No food or fuel could be shipped, with helicopters ferrying in supplies. Afterwards, the Irish government deemed Tory uninhabitable and proposed resettling the islanders on the mainland. While some families did leave, the majority, led by community activist Patsy Dan Rodgers, strongly resisted the evacuation and won the right to remain on their beloved Tory.

Shark’s Head Rock rising from the ocean. Pictures: John G O’Dwyer

Lying 15 km off the Donegal coast, Tory is about 5 km long and 1km wide, with massive cliffs on its northern flanks. Thin soils make agriculture difficult in a treeless landscape of severe winter storms. As a mark of the rugged individuality that comes with surviving this challenging environment, the islanders traditionally elected their own king to represent Tory and rule on local disputes. It was the seat of Patsy Dan Rodgers until his passing in 2018, but the title has remained vacant since.

Distinctive for its strong Irish-speaking culture, Tory has in recent years become a Mecca for discerning tourists. Famously rat-free and lacking intensive agriculture, the Island is one of the few places where you can still hear the distinctive call of the corncrake. Lacking rodents, Tory is a vital sanctuary for these ground-nesting birds, which are now virtually extinct on the Irish mainland.

Beginning our Donegal Camino, we ambled west on a looped walk from the harbour. Passing scenic Loch Thiar, we reached the lighthouse (Teach an tSolais). Nearby, Reilig Ghallda turned out to be a poignant burial ground holding victims of many shipwrecks along the Island’s treacherous coastline.

One such was of HMS Wasp, a Royal Navy gunboat that sank beneath the lighthouse in 1884. On a mission to assist the evictions of tenant farmers on Inishtrahull Island during the Irish Land Wars, she struck rocks and sank rapidly. From the crew of sixty, only six reached the Island, with the many bodies washed ashore buried in Reilig Ghallda.

Local legend holds that the then King of Tory used a pagan-era cursing stone to bring about the ship’s destruction, believing the gunboat was coming to evict tenants on Tory. Appalled, the Island’s Catholic priest, Father Michael O’Donnell, reputedly threw the cursing stone into the ocean to ensure it could never again bring destruction at sea.

Returning from the lighthouse, we made the short diversion to visit Derek Hill’s minimalist hut. Offering an expansive vista along the island’s austere coastline, it was easy to see why this sanctuary was a wellspring for artistic creativity.

The Donegal Camino is a 7-day walking festival taking place from August 30 to September 5, as a fundraiser for Cancer Care West.

At West Town, we come upon the T-shaped Tau Cross near the harbour.

From the 12th century, this Christian symbol was where local fishermen prayed before facing the hazards of the ocean. Beyond, we had alluring views of the amazing Shark's Head Rock rising dramatically from a restless ocean, before continuing to the site of Balor’s Fort. Surrounded by 90-metre cliffs, it was, according to legend, the stronghold of a one-eyed giant named Balor.

Exposed to the elements, the promontory fort needed to be approached with care along a narrow, exposed isthmus. Little now remains of Balor’s lonely redoubt, but the stunning views along the east coast of the Island more than compensated. Afterwards, as we retraced our steps to the harbour, I concluded that Tory may be a small island, but it packs a mighty punch.

Year-round passenger services to Tory depart mainly from Magheroarty Pier, with a crossing time of approximately 45 minutes.

The Donegal Camino is a 7-day walking festival taking place from August 30 to Sept 5, as a fundraiser for Cancer Care West. Information at donegalcamino.ie.