Inishgort

Inishgort is a nineteen-acre islet in Clew Bay, County Mayo, where a lighthouse has cut through Atlantic darkness since 1806. Its population swelled to thirty-five people in 1871 before shrinking to a single resident by 2006, suggesting that the sea and sky claimed more life than the land could hold. The lighthouse still stands as a stubborn witness to that quiet retreat, guiding ships past the same waters that once carried away neighbours, children and entire households.