An island council EGM is held on Inishturk.

Tv3s islanders wraps up the past year with climactic series finale

IN the final episode of Islanders on TV3 - airing on May 6 at 9 p.m. - a heartbroken Bríd on Inishturk has to cope without her sons on the island as her youngest, Nathan, has moved to the mainland to join his older brother in secondary school.

Bríd is struggling to adjust to his absence and that of her eldest son Chris, saying: “I came home on Wednesday, I’d a fantastic husband coming home with me - but I was leaving my two boys on the mainland.”

At Halloween, Nathan returns home for the holiday. Whilst some are dressing up for the evening, Bríd's mother Mary Catherine, development officer on the island, has called an emergency island council meeting to share some frightening news. She announces the closure of the development office, possibly at the end of the year, leaving a big question mark as to what will happen with regards to future development for the island.

As the teenagers of the island head back to the mainland after their break, a marine survey ship has entered the harbour to explore the island's suitability for a fish-farm. How will it affect the island's future and what does the future hold for Bríd and Joe now that the boys are gone? Will they really stay on the island?

Amid all of the uncertainty, Bríd and Joe reveal some exciting news of their own; they are expecting a baby in May, adding another new life to the island. It’s a poignant twist of fate that sees the couple gain a child whilst losing one to the lures of the mainland.

Funded by TV3 and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Islanders is an emotional series following the lives of native islanders across the entire year of 2014. From Arranmore, Co. Donegal via Inishturk in Co. Mayo to Whiddy in Co. Cork, this four-part series captures a way-of-life rapidly disappearing.