Rutland Island or Inishmacadurn () is an island in County Donegal, Ireland. It is also an electoral and census reporting district covering the island, surrounding islands and part of the mainland. It lies between the village of Burtonport and Arranmore Island.
Anglo-Irish politician William Burton Conyngham founded a fishing village on the island in the 1780s, re-naming it in honour of the British chief governor, Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland. This largely fell into ruin soon after.
History The island was originally called Inis Mhic an Doirn, anglicised Inishmacadurn or Inishmacdurn. It was known for its herring fishery. In 1783–1784, Anglo-Irish politician William Burton Conyngham founded a company to take advantage of the island, aiming to make it into a major fishing station. A fish processing facility and a planned settlement were built. It included streets of houses and businesses, a customs house, a barracks, and a sail and net factory. Conyngham re-named the island "Rutland", in honour of the British Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at the time, Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland (England).
However, fish catches declined heavily soon after construction, and in 1793, the fishery failed. Part of the village also became half-buried under sand dunes. Nevertheless, the island remained inhabited into the 1960s.
Mains electricity reached the island in 1957, due to its being a crucial stepping stone for the Arranmore supply, but piped water has never been provided for its remaining housing stock, which consists entirely of holiday homes.
Rutland Island has become a popular holiday destination with a number of holiday homes built in the first decade of the 2000s.
Demographics
The table below reports data on Rutland's population taken from Discover the Islands of Ireland (Alex Ritsema, Collins Press, 1999) and the Census of Ireland. Census data in Ireland before 1841 are not considered complete and/or reliable.
Fauna Badgers have been recorded from this island.Sleeman, P.D. et al. 2009. The small-bodied Badgers (Meles meles (L.)) of Rutland Island, Co. Donegal. Irish Naturalists' Journal 1 - 6 There is evidence that their diet is poor.Sleeman, D.P. and Daverport, J. 2016. Irish Naturalists' Journal. 35(1) 22 - 26
The island is also home to some foxes.
Flora The following algae have been reported from Rutland South Channel: Gracilaria gracilis (Stackhouse) Steentoft, L.M. Irvine et Farnham; Rhodymenia holmesii Ardissone; Polysiphonia fucoides (Hudson) Greville; Polysiphonia nigra (Hudson) Batters; Sphondylothamnion multifidum (Hudson) Nägeli; Heterosiphonia plumosa (J. Ellis) Batters.Morton, O. 2003. The marine macroalgae of County Donegal, Ireland. Bulletin Irish Biogeographical Society no. 27: 3 - 164
References