Islanders relive day they left their home

Even on the day of their departure from the Great Blasket Island for the last time 60 years ago, the final 22 inhabitants fell victim to the whims of the Atlantic — the constant presence that had shaped the rhythm of their lives.

Waiting with their few belongings on the tiny quayside to be transported the short distance across the Sound to new lives on the mainland, a sudden sea swell delayed the long-planned passage away from a homeland still clutching them in an embrace of wind and spray.

“Conditions were calm when we left Dunquin, before the sea began to rise in white foam across the headlands,” recalled Michael Brosnan, skipper of the Saint Lawrence O’Toole. “It was doubtful if we could land to take the islanders and their belongings due to heavy seas.”