Inishbofin Heritage Museum & Gift Shop 3.51

“I was greatly impressed both by the quality of the collection and by the manner in which you have displayed it. What I found particularly effective was the thematic approach you have taken and the way in which certain activities are related to particular families, supported by photographs and other documentation. I must honestly say that the use of the collection is effective in conveying to the visitor a sense of the history and heritage of the island”.
Eamonn P.Kelly,
Keeper of Irish Antiquities, National Museum of Ireland

Inishbofin Heritage Museum
The Inishbofin Heritage Museum was set up in “the store” at the old pier in 1998,
It houses the contents of traditional island homes, fishing, farming and tradespeople’s tools along with over 200 photographs of local people.

Inishbofin handmade gifts
The handmade gift range on sale includes, the Inishbofin colouring book, greeting cards, bookmarks, hand painted rocks, shell chimes, earrings, and fridge magnets, framed and mounted photographs. Books, maps, postcards, CD’s, DVD of Inishbofin, and a range of beautifully handcrafted woodwork by Caimin Coyne and lots more.




Visit to the Museum....

When you visit try to imagine a time when Inishbofin was without wire fences, electricity or telephone poles. There were no cars, farm machinery, motor boats or homes with running water.

In those days a paraffin lamp or candle provided the only source of light in the houses at night. Recreational activities included traditional Irish music, dancing and singing, storytelling and card- playing. People in various houses enjoyed these pastimes all over the island throughout the year. There were good times and bad times just as in our lives today.

Occasionally, because of famine, plague, bad weather or a bad harvest, the islanders had to struggle very hard just to survive. Emigration also took a heavy toll. It was quite likely that once a member of the family left he/she would never return.
Many of the islanders rudimentary daily tasks are unheard of today: trips to the local well for water, cooking on an open fire, baking bread, milking the cows and making butter in the churn. Islanders also made many of their own woollen clothes, this involved carding, spinning and then knitting the wool. Farming was also much more labour intensive than today, it involved the gathering of seaweed from the shore to fertilise the potatoes and other vegetables. All the sowing, weeding and harvesting of crops was done manually. The main source of fuel was turf, which was cut in the spring and left to dry for a few months before being stacked. It was brought home, throughout the year, as required on a donkey or horse. Hay was cut with a scythe and saved in a reek. Later it was fed to cattle as winter fodder. A great number of island families were dependant on fishing for their livelihood. They fished around the coast of Inishbofin in currachs and rowing-boats through rough seas and calm. Many drowned leaving broken-hearted relatives behind.
A lot of what you see in the museum comes from the homes of grandparents and great grandparents of the present generation. Inevitably their traditional way of living has been replaced by a more modern one; nowadays every house has running water, electricity and all the mod cons.

There has been considerable change in the population of the island over the last two centuries; in the 1840’s there were about 1,600 people living on Inishbofin and Shark combined. Today there are only about 175 people living on Inishbofin, and Shark was completely abandoned in 1960. The main industries on the island today are tourism, farming and fishing. If you get a chance try and arrange a boat trip to Inishark when you visit Inishbofin, it is a peaceful and an enchanting place.



Dolphin hotel www.dolphinhotel.ie

Caimin www.woodbofin.ie

www.discoverireland.ie/islands

www.inishbofin.com

Pat Collins, Harvest Films www.harvestfilms.ie