Inchturk

Inchturk (literally the island of the wild-boar) is in the parish of Noughaval, Poor Law Union of Athlone, and County Westmeath and consists of 50 acres, 1 rood and 6 perches. In relation to the island name Harry Rice in Thanks for the memory makes the point that the island was not sufficiently extensive to support a wild-boar but speculates that perhaps one "swam across from the mainland when hunted by hounds, in ancient times".

At the time of the compilation of the Tithe Applotment books for the area, in 1829, the island had only one family in residence and the householder was listed as William Ganly. William farmed fifteen acres of first-class land, fifteen acres or second-class land and ten acres of third-class land. The nineteenth century seems to have witnessed a great growth in the island population and twenty five years later, in Griffith's Valuations, there were four householders listed William Ganly, Patrick Magee, Patrick Quigley and William Ganly Junior.

Evictions

Towards the end of the nineteenth century there were a number of evictions on the island. The islanders had been in dispute with their landlord since 1885 at least. In that year the agent, Mr Ambrose Bole, of Ballymahon visited the islands where he was met by the sheriff's bailiffs. Fr Murray pleaded for the tenants and an amicable settlement was negotiated with the islanders each agreeing to pay what they were able. By 1891 they stopped paying again and by the autumn of 1895 police were again preparing to carry out evictions and this time they went ahead.

The 1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 census Inchturk had a population of fifty: 17 males and 23 females. There were six inhabited houses on the island three had families of Ganly, one McGee, one Walsh and one Quigley. The oldest couple on the island was Patrick and Mary McGee. According to the census form Patrick at 75 years of age was born c1826 while his wife, Mary, was born around the time that Queen Victoria took the throne in England. In the same house were living the two youngest children on the island: their grand-son, Timothy McGee, at a year and a half and an eight month old baby, John Hanly, who may well have been a Hanly of the Black Islands, a family related to the McGees by marriage.

The death knell for island life on Inchmore and Inchturk was sounded when the Fisheries Board bought out the traditional fishing rights from the islanders.

Fish-ponds

On Inchturk there is still evidence of the fish-pond, a feature which is to be found on other islands on Lough Ree and which was used by the islanders to store fish caught out of season. Where a communal pond was used each family marked their fish by taking a small piece out of a particular fin or from the tail of the fish – in this way each family knew their own fish. While fish were stored in the ponds the greatest threat to their safety was not the water-bailiff but the otter. An otter, which is itself a skilled fisherman would not alone take fish to eat but would continue to kill the fish for fun long after its appetite had been sated. Therefore while there was a good stock of trout in the ponds awaiting the opening of the fishing season, it was usual to mount a guard on the pond and burn bonfires around the perimeter of the pond at night to keep the otter at bay.