Tory Island

Toraigh is the most remote inhabited island off Ireland, low and treeless, with cliffs on its northern side and a population of around a hundred and thirty who speak Irish as their first language. Two things make it unusual. It keeps the office of king - Ri Thorai - an unbroken tradition with no legal standing, chosen by consensus rather than election in the formal sense, whose role is to speak for the island and welcome visitors; Patsy Dan Rodgers held it from the 1990s until his death in 2018. And it has a school of painting: in 1968 the English artist Derek Hill was working on the island when a fisherman, James Dixon, told him he could do better, and did - a group of self-taught islanders began painting the place in a distinctive naive style, exhibited internationally, and the tradition continues in the island gallery. The crossing is exposed and cancellations are routine.

What you actually see

• The king - an unbroken island office with no legal standing.
• The painters - the naive school begun by James Dixon in 1968.
• The Irish-speaking community - around a hundred and thirty residents.
• The northern cliffs - and the Tau cross and round tower remains at the harbour.

When to go

May to September; ferries are much reduced in winter and cancel readily in swell at any time of year. Plan for the possibility of being stranded an extra night.

Honest expectations

The crossing is long, exposed and frequently cancelled - build in slack. Very limited accommodation and one hotel; book before travelling. Few services, and the island is treeless and fully exposed to weather.

Nearby

Magheroarty and Bunbeg are the mainland ports; Errigal and the Poisoned Glen are inland.