Rathlin

Nature and Folklore

Rathlin is Northern Ireland's only permanently inhabited offshore island, sitting like a stepping stone in the narrow and turbulent Sea of Moyle between Ireland and Scotland, straddling cultures, habitats and peoples. It is a busy, vibrant and beautiful place with a resident population of around 100 islanders who look to the future with confidence but can also hark back to a past of massacres, famine and emigration.

Peopled for around 7,000 years, the island's rich natural resources on land and in the sea supported a population that rose as high as 1,200 souls in the 1780's. Today, Rathlin's landscape and nature and the islanders' stories reveal rocks and wildlife with global connections and a culture linked to Ireland, Scotland and the natural world. Ecologist and writer Philip Watson has known Rathlin for fifty years, studying the wildlife, conservation and folklore. In this lively and personal book, the author combines nature writing and story-telling to share his enthusiasm for this magical island.