Inishbofin Ferry coming into the harbour (Image © CLIC)
TANGIBLE HISTORIES OF INISHBOFIN, INISHTURK, & INISHARK
Since 2008, our team explores how people crafted vibrant and enduring communities on three of Ireland’s westernmost islands. Working with islanders, we conduct archaeological, ethnographic, oral historical, and archival research to document peoples’ lives for the last 3.500 years.
Please note: Unless otherwise stated, all photographs and images on this website are © Cultural Landscapes of the Irish Past—CLIC
Living Island Heritage
Image © CLIC
How do people transform a residence into a home that nourishes both body and soul? This book investigates the alchemy of homemaking by exploring dresser- and delph-keeping in western Connemara, where people utilise these everyday belongings and heirlooms to evoke a powerful sense of welcome and emotional wellbeing in the island communities of Inishbofin, Inishark, and Inishturk and the nearby mainland towns of Clifden and Cashel today and in the past. The dressers and delph featured in this book connect people across space and through time by telling stories of social memories, personal histories, and community heritage, anchoring their homes in the past while forging pathways into the future. Published by University of Cork Press, 2025
Many look to Ireland's Atlantic islands as timeless places, resistant to change. Island Endurance offers an alternative perspective, examining how Inishark and Inishbofin islanders have cultivated their heritage to confront new challenges and opportunities across centuries of creativity—from the development of pilgrimage traditions at shrines of monastic saints, to the reuse of medieval monuments for local devotions in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to the repurposing of ruins for managing livestock and guiding tourist trails today. Published by Indiana University Press, 2025
As a guide to the archaeological and historical sites on Inishbofin and Inishark, Co. Galway, Island Places, Island Lives celebrates the rich heritage of two of Ireland’s westernmost islands. Combining historical analysis, photography, and links to short films about island heritage, this 70-page beautifully illustrated book provides readers and visitors a unique archaeological and historical exploration of the islands. Published by Wordwell Press, 2015
Inishbofin historian Marie Coyne wrote a comprehensive history of the church of St Colman’s on Inishbofin, Co. Galway. In addition to the historical overviews of the church and Christianity on the island, the volume documents all those buried in the cemetery, compiled by an axhaustive analysis of archival records from governmental and parish sources and oral histories. This book offers an extraordinary resource for anyone keen to learn more about their ancestors who lived on Inishbofin and Inishark. Published by the Inishbofin Development Company, 2008
Inishbofin filmmaker Kieran Conconnan edited this impressive volume, gathering together centuries of folklore, oral history, poetry, and archival records to tell the dynamic story of the islands of Inishbofin and Inishark. Compiling the heritage of islanders in their own voices, this classic volume documents the unique and rich history of islanders on Inishbofin and Inishark. Published by Temple Printing. Company, 1997
People have lived on Inishbofin (Inis Bó Finne), Inishark (Inis Airc), and Inishturk (Inis Toirc) since the Bronze Age period (roughly 1500–600 BC), and remains of prehistoric houses, promontory forts and field systems are still visible today. Scholars have also documented extensive evidence for medieval communities (AD 650–1200) from both excavations and textual accounts. Tourists and residents alike can explore medieval Christian shrines and churches, cemeteries and holy wells, many of which served as places of pilgrimage for islanders over the centuries. More recently, during the post-medieval period (AD 1600 to roughly 1950), residents of Inishbofin, Inishturk and Inishark experienced 350 years of tumultuous change and challenges as regional, national and international political, religious and economic transformations profoundly affected their communities.
Map Image © CLIC
Inishbofin, Co. Galway (Image © CLIC)
Inishturk, Co. Mayo (Image © CLIC)
Inishark, Co. Galway (Image © CLIC)
Our team and island partners use a variety of methods to investigate island heritage, including archaeology, ethnography, oral history, archival research, and documentary filmmaking.
Image © CLIC
Image © CLIC
Image © Tailte Eireann
Image © CLIC
Image © CLIC
Since 2009, the Cultural Landscapes of the Irish Coast (CLIC) Project, associated with the University of Notre Dame (USA), partners with islanders of Inishbofin, Inishturk, and Inishark to investigate and document island life and histories. We are a team of archaeologists, historians, and ethnographers who examine how islanders meet life’s big challenges, today and in the past. To discover more about our team members, please click HERE.
Team surveying houses on Inishbofin (Image © CLIC)