In this fascinating discussion with Tommy Burke and Dr Ryan Lash we discuss aspects of pilgrimage, faith and folklore on Inishbofin and Inishark.

The islands of Inishbofin and Inishark lie off the western coast of County Galway. They are beautiful places, though the breathtaking scenery is imbued with many stories. One of the most celebrated stories of Inishbofin is its connection to the famous St Colmán of Lindisfarne, who established a monastery here in the seventh century. Inishark is connected to the more enigmatic St Leo, and both islands have a long tradition of pilgrimage that centres around the early monastic remains found there. Though they may have began in the early medieval period, these pilgrimage traditions have adapted over the centuries, right up to the twentieth century, creating a blend of continuity and change with each generation of islanders.

This discussion with Tommy Burke and Dr Ryan Lash, looks at some of the key features of the pilgrimage landscape of the islands, and we hear about the discoveries of the research excavations that have taken place in recent years. We discuss holy wells and their origins, and folk belief around cures and curses. We also hear about the skulls taken in the 19th century from St Colmán’s Monastery, and the efforts by the local community and others in helping to secure their return after more than a century. From cures, curses, wells and wonders, this is a wide ranging chat, I hope you enjoy the episode!

Island Pilgrimage – Key Discussion Points

• Introduction to Inishbofin and Inishark – 2 min 13 secs
• Overview of early medieval Christian aspects of the islands – 8 min 20 secs
• Pilgrimage and Turas – 13 min 09 secs
• Holy wells – 17 min 42 secs
• Cures – 22 min 18 secs
• Do Ireland’s holy wells have pagan origins? – 23 min 23 secs
• Curses – 31 min 07 secs
• The practice of pilgrimage – 37 min 38 secs
• The response of the Catholic Church to pattern days and ‘informal’ pilgrimage – 42 min 15 secs
• Island faith and practice in the absence of a priest – 49 mins 55 secs
• The Haddon Project and the repatriation of human remains – 58 min
• Sites at risk through climate change – 1 hour 14 min
• Where can people find out more? – 1 hour 16 mins

Show notes and links to further information

• You can find information on Tommy’s walking tours, including contact info for booking here.
• Tommy did a really interesting interview about Inishbofin during the Covid Lockdowns, available on YouTube.
• You can find a number of papers by Ryan on Academia.edu here.
• And he has a recorded talk that covers a broad sweep of the research on Inishbofin and Inishark available here.
• And there’s a new publication featuring a paper by Ryan: Holy Wells of Ireland: Sacred Realms and Popular Domains, available here.
• I highly recommend checking out Inis Airc: Bás Oileáin – Inishark: Death of an Island. A 2007 TG4 documentary about the abandonment of Inishark directed by Inishbofin film maker Kieran Concannon. You can find it here.
• And there’s a YouTube channel with short videos about Inishbofin and Inishark heritage available here.
• We highly recommend you follow the Facebook page for the Inishbofin Heritage Museum.
• A report by SkyNews that documented the reburial can be found here.
• And an article about the repatriation campaign here.
• You can read more on the visitor experience to Inishbofin here.
• Please do leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts if you can, or share the episode using the podcast #AmplifyArchaeology – it really does help us to be found so I’d be very grateful!
• If you’d like to dig deeper into the stories of Ireland you’ll love our new membership service Tuatha. You’ll find online courses on Irish archaeology and heritage, articles on places to visit, itineraries for great days out (including one on Connemara), opportunities to join us on our monthly lecture series and on our tours, and lots more! You can learn more and sign up here.