Local history: 1823 report on proposed harbour on Mayo's Inishturk
By Tom Gillespie
IN the early 1800s teams of engineers were commissioned to undertake extensive surveys of the west of Ireland, on behalf of the Commissioners of Fisheries.
Clifden born author Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill, in her 2006 book Alexander Nimmo and The Western District, reprints the report on Inishturk Island - then spelt Ennisturk.
It read: The isle of Ennisturk is situated about six miles from the west coast of Mayo, about halfway from Boffin to Clare Island, two miles long by a mile broad; chiefly of slate rock; the western shore is steep cliff, the eastern side lower, with rather narrow coves.
The only landing place or harbour is at the east end of the isle in a small bay, affording tolerable anchorage in westerly winds in summer, in four fathoms in strong clay.
The little bay is about 100 fathoms broad, and 50 deep; the upper part ending in two coves with ragged slate shores, each of which dry at low water; the landing-place is in one of these on the north side nearly land-locked.
Some small rocks, which show at low water, occupy half the mouth of this cove, the other half of the cove is nearly dry. Although the cove appears to be land-locked, yet the run within it in easterly winds, and at all times during winter storms, was so great that no boat was ever allowed to be there in bad weather; the few yawls they possessed were universally hauled up on the land; and in a gale previous to my visit, most of them had been broke by the sea washing up near the houses.
As it was impracticable to keep any large sailing boat in Ennisturk, though in the centre of the most valuable fishery on the coast, the inhabitants caught little more than for their own consumption, by means of two or three yawls they had; and they were frequently for weeks together deprived of communications with the mainland.
This state of things, and the great benefit of having a pier in Ennisturk, was represented to me, as engineer of the western district, on the part of the inhabitants, by Mr. S. Knight, an intelligent country surveyor, who had made a survey of the island, I presume on account of Lord Lucan; and accordingly I proposed this among others to the Commissioners of Fisheries, when the additional piers for the western coast were determined on.
Not then prepared to say what ought to be done in Ennisturk, I afterwards suggested to the Commissioners to have the sum intended for the island laid out on the island of Boffin; but as the resolution had been passed for Ennisturk, it did not appear to them advisable to rescind it.
I visited the island in 1823 with Lieutenant Dundas, R.N. in the surveying cutter; and on examining the cove, and hearing the report of the inhabitants, it appeared to me that the run was sent into the cove principally by the point ‘A’ projecting beyond the point of rock ‘B’, and thus forming a kind of funnel to collect the swell. The most obvious method of preventing this would be to run a pier from the point ‘B’, overshooting ‘A’, so as to direct the swell into the southern cove; but to this there were two objections, viz. the pier being in deep water and exposed to the immediate stroke of the sea would cost more than any funds at the disposal of the Fishery Board could defray; and secondly, from the point ‘B’ the shoal-water extended to a considerable distance, so that after foaming this expensive pier, the entrance to this harbour would after all be dry at low water.
Seeing this to be impracticable, the next object was to shut out a part of the swell by narrowing its entrance into the creek, for which a favourable opportunity was offered by the rock in mid-channel, the space on the south side of it being unfit for navigation; and by running a breakwater over these, the portion of swell thus shut out would be caught, and spend itself on the rough coves ‘C’ and ‘D’ immediately outside.
When the water was thus made comparatively still within then cove, I proposed to have a small jetty from the point of the upper bight E, to send the remaining swell into the north bight ‘E’; and by cutting down the rock near the houses, a quay for the use of small craft could be formed, at which boats at least might be moored with safety behind the jetty; the water is too shallow for large craft at this place.
With this view, therefore, and seeing that the jetty could be of no use until the breakwater aforesaid was executed, I directed the space between the rock and the north shore to be filled up with a substantial work of rough stone, being all that could be done against the first winter; this work could have been effected for half the estimate at most, and the remainder the next summer to be laid out on the jetty.
I left Mr. William Bald, of the county of Mayo, to begin this work, and direct its subsequent progress; I have not seen it since that time but on finding, from the representation of the Board of Fisheries, that the funds were rapidly exhausting and yet this breakwater not nearly completed, and that a number of masons and stone-cutters, who were wholly unnecessary, had been sent into the isle for this work, I directed an experienced assistant, Mr. Alexander M’Gill from Dunmore Harbour, to make his way into the island, check this improper expenditure, and cause the work to be prosecuted agreeable to the original intention.
Since that time I have also sent another of my assistants, Mr. O’Hara from Killough Harbour, to visit this work; and with some exertion the breakwater has been completed, though not until the grant from the Fishery Board was exhausted.
It appears, by the change in construction, the work has been enabled to withstand the sea; and I have heard of no injury done to any boat within the harbour since, but find on the contrary that additional new ones are building.
I do not doubt but the run appears at the mouth or entrance of the harbour to be one greater to the islanders than before, the very object of the work being to prevent the water from rising and falling so fast within the harbour as without; and I dare say the run into bight ‘E’ now appears to be as great and into bight F, as this last, from the position of the pier, must necessarily be much diminished but if the jetty I propose for ‘E’3 be executed, so as to shut off the interior wave, I am satisfied we must have as quite a small harbour here as the place can possibly admit (unless the expensive work just proposed by me be undertaken), whatever opinion may be, given to the contrary.