Rathlin Island (, ; Local Irish dialect: Reachraidh, ; Scots: Racherie) is an island and civil parish off the coast of County Antrim (of which it is part) in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's northernmost point. As of the 2021 Census there are 141 people living on the island.
Geography
Rathlin is the only inhabited offshore island of Northern Ireland, with a steadily growing population of approximately 150 people, and is the most northerly inhabited island off the coast of the island of Ireland. The reverse-L-shaped Rathlin Island is from east to west, and from north to south.
The highest point on the island is Slieveard, above sea level. Rathlin is from the Mull of Kintyre, the southern tip of Scotland's Kintyre peninsula. It is part of the Causeway Coast and Glens council area, and is represented by the Rathlin Development & Community Association.
Townland
Rathlin is part of the traditional barony of Cary (around the town of Ballycastle), and of current district Moyle. The island constitutes a civil parish and is subdivided into 22 townlands:
Demography
2021 Census
Rathlin Island is labelled as The_Glens_B1 Data Zone according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. As of the 2021 Census it is the smallest Data Zone. On Census day (21 March 2021) there were 141 people living in Rathlin Island. Of these:
57.5% (81) belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion, 19.9% (28) belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion, 17.7% (25) had no religious background and 5.0% (7) came from other religious backgrounds. 38.3% had an Irish national identity, 39.0% had a Northern Irish national identity and 22.0% indicated that they had a British national identity (Respondents could select more than one nationality).
Irish language
The Irish language was originally spoken on Rathlin Island until around the 1960s and was perhaps the main community language until the early 20th century. As it is located between the Irish and Scottish mainlands, the dialect found on Rathlin shared many features of both the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages while also being unique in structure and grammar, e.g. forming plurals with -án or -eán doing away with inflection for weak nouns and suffixes for strong ones. In addition, the phonology of the dialect was quite divergent, compare íorbáll with Standard Irish eireaball and Scottish Gaelic ("tail").
As of the 2021 Census, 33.3% of the population had some ability in Irish. 7.1% of the population spoke Irish at least weekly.
Transport
A ferry operated by Rathlin Island Ferry Ltd connects the main port of the island, Church Bay, with the mainland at Ballycastle, away. Two ferries operate on the route – the fast foot-passenger-only catamaran ferry Rathlin Express and a purpose-built larger ferry, commissioned in May 2017, Spirit of Rathlin, which carries both foot passengers and a small number of vehicles, weather permitting. Rathlin Island Ferry Ltd won a six-year contract for the service in 2008 providing it as a subsidised "lifeline" service. There is an ongoing investigation on how the transfer was handled between the Environment Minister and the new owners.
Natural history
Rathlin is of prehistoric volcanic origin, having been created as part of the British Tertiary Volcanic Province.
The island was owned by Rev Robert Gage who was also the island's rector. He had two daughters, Adelaide in 1832 and Dorothea in 1835. Adelaide was a botanist who wrote a book concerning the island's flora and fauna. She visited Dorothea in Germany after she married his Serene Highness Albrecht, Prince of Warbeck and Pyrmonte. Adelaide was buried in Ramoan Churchyard in Ballycastle in 1920 and her book on Rathlin is now lost.
Rathlin is one of 43 Special Areas of Conservation in Northern Ireland. It is home to tens of thousands of seabirds, including common guillemots, kittiwakes, puffins and razorbills – about thirty bird families in total. It is visited by birdwatchers, with a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve that has views of Rathlin's bird colony. The RSPB has also successfully managed natural habitat to facilitate the return of the red-billed chough. Northern Ireland's only breeding pair of choughs can be seen during the summer months.