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With its ruggedly indented shores pounded day and night by the ocean, TORY ISLAND , though only eight miles north of the mainland coast, is notorious for its inaccessibility. You can only marvel that anyone should want to inhabit this isolated speck of land and struggle for survival against the ferocity of the elements. Yet despite the odds, the Tory islanders are thriving, a situation no one could have predicted after the events of 1974 threatened abruptly to curtail thousands of years of settlement. During that winter the harshest of storms battered Tory for over eight weeks, severing communications and preventing helicopters from landing. When it finally abated, two dozen families applied for mainland housing, ten of them eventually moving to Falcarragh. It later transpired that Donegal County Council had drawn up a full-scale evacuation plan. As in Glencolmcille the arrival of a new priest, Father Diarmuid O Peicin , stimulated a transformation. He came on a day-trip in 1980, but ended up staying for four years as the island's pastor. Conditions were poor and the islanders dispirited. Essential amenities such as a water supply, proper sanitation and reliable electricity were lacking. There was no ferry service and, even if there had been, the harbour was unfit to receive it. Rallying the islanders, the pastor began to lobby every possible target, securing support from such disparate characters as the US senator Tip O'Neill and Ian Paisley. The campaign attracted media attention and, despite O Peicin's replacement, conditions gradually began to improve with the eventual support of the embarrassed state and the financial assistance of an American philanthropist. Nowadays, around 120 people live permanently on the island and 25 children attend the local junior school, a happy sign of the island's revival (older children spend term times in Falcarragh). Tory's inaccessibility has long reinforced its remoteness, ensuring the retention of a powerful culture which has almost vanished from the mainland, referred to by islanders as "the country". Only two and a half miles long and less than a mile wide, its openness to the elements means little can grow here, and what does has to be protected from the salty winds behind stone walls. The Irish-speaking islanders have a deep respect for the island and its landscape, both as inspiration for their musicians, storytellers and artists and as powerful sources of myth and legend. Tory was the stronghold of the Fomorians , who raided the mainland from their island base (the island's name is possibly derived from toiridhe , robber or pirate) and most notable of their number was the cyclops Balor of the Evil Eye , the Celtic god of darkness. Intriguingly, the local legend places his eye at the back of his head. The ruins of Balor's Fort lie on the east coast. There's also said to be a crater in the very heart of the island that none of the locals will approach after dark, for fear of incurring the god's wrath. In the sixth century, St Columba was helped to land on Tory by a member of the Duggan family. In return, the saint made him king of the island; the line has been unbroken ever since and you're more than likely to meet the present King, Patsy Dan Rodgers , who regularly greets arriving ferries. Some monastic relics from St Columba's time remain on Tory, the most unusual of which - now the island's emblem - is the Tau Cross . Its T-cross shape is of Egyptian origin, and is one of only two such monuments in the whole of Ireland. It has now been relocated and set in concrete on Camusmore Pier in West Town. There are other mutilated stone crosses and some carved stones lying around, several by the remains of the round tower , which is thought to date from the tenth century and is uniquely constructed from round beach stones. Another superstition focuses on the wishing stone in the centre of the island, three circuits of which will supposedly lead to your wish being granted. It was utilized to defeat invaders by wrecking their ships: the British gunboat Wasp , sent to collect taxes, was caught in a sudden storm that killed all but six of its crew. The islanders have never paid tax since. Tory islanders are famed for their painting , a development which originated in a chance encounter between the English painter Derek Hill and one of the fishermen, James Dixon , in 1968. Dixon (now dead) had never lifted a brush before the day he told Hill that he could do a better job of painting the Tory scenery, but he went on to become the most renowned of the island's school of primitive painters - Glebe House has a remarkable painting by him . You can view the islanders' work and, more than likely, meet the artists, at the James Dixon Gallery , the originator's former home, a little way to the east of the harbour. Tory has two villages, EAST TOWN and WEST TOWN , and you'll find most of the amenities in the latter. There's a couple of shops, and the Caife an Chreagain serves hearty snacks and meals. Alternatively, there's the restaurant at the Ostan Thoraigh which provides comfortable accommodation (tel 074/35920; GBP55-70/?69.84-88.88), has one of the only two bars, and organizes a range of summer events, including traditional music, sean nos , painting and birdwatching weekends. For B&B there's Graceanne Duffy (tel 074/35136; GBP26-33/?33.01-41.90) in East Town. The Social Club is one of the hubs of island life, with a bar and regular traditional music and dancing.
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