Irish Islands in Art: Achill, Tory and Arranmore
Ireland's islands sit at the edge of the map, and for more than a century painters have gone out to them to find something the mainland could not give: unfiltered light, a living Irish language, and communities whose lives are tied to the weather. Three islands in particular, Achill in Mayo and Tory and Arranmore off Donegal, have each produced pictures that still hang well in a kitchen or a hall. Here is what drew artists to them, and the prints in our collection that carry the story.
Achill: where an American came back for the children
Achill is the largest island off the Irish coast, and it is joined to the mainland by a bridge, so it has long been easy for visitors to reach. In the summer of 1913 the American painter Robert Henri arrived in the village of Dooagh. He had come out of a period of doubt after the Armory Show brought European modernism to New York, and he found in Achill a subject he kept returning to: the people, especially the children. He came back to the island each year from 1924 to 1928.
His landscapes from that first trip are quieter than the portraits. The White Cottage shows whitewashed thatched cottages against green hillside, and it is one of our most approachable prints for a small wall because the subject is so plainly domestic.
Jellett's horses and the Atlantic as rhythm
Mainie Jellett approached Achill from the other direction. Where Henri recorded what was in front of him, Jellett, Ireland's great pioneer of Cubist-influenced abstraction, turned the island into pattern. Her Achill Horses (1941), an oil on canvas now in the National Gallery of Ireland, reduces horses, sea and sky to interlocking forms and colour. It is among her best-loved late works, and it shows that her modernism could be warm as well as intellectual. If this kind of picture interests you, our guide to Irish abstract art goes further.
The island itself, in a photograph
Sometimes the best picture of an island is simply the island. Achill's sea cliffs drop straight into the Atlantic, and the light changes within minutes. Our Achill Island framed print holds that drama without softening it, and works well in a hallway or above a desk where you want some weather. For a more detailed view of the interior, Raymond McGrath's Bunnafreeva Lough, Croaghaun paints the still water high on the mountain with real precision.
Tory Island and its king
Tory lies about 11 kilometres off the Donegal coast, and Irish is still the main language spoken there. Painting took hold on the island from the 1950s, helped by the English painter Derek Hill, who visited and encouraged local talent. The islanders also elect a symbolic king. The most recent was Patsy Dan Rodgers, a painter, accordion player and committed Irish speaker who held the title from the 1990s until his death in 2018 and welcomed visitors in Irish. Our King of Tory Island print is his portrait, and it is a good choice for anyone who loves the language as much as the landscape.
Arranmore and the songs
A short distance south, Arranmore has its own tradition, carried in music. Róise na hAmhrán, Rosie of the Songs, was a real singer from the island, remembered for keeping its sean-nós singing alive. Our Róise Rua and Uilleann Piper print pairs her with a piper, and it sits naturally beside the prints in our landscape and seascape collection.
Choosing an island print
Island pictures suit rooms where you want a sense of distance. A photograph like Achill suits a modern interior, while a portrait or a painted scene brings more story. You can browse everything in the Irish art prints collection, or look at our Irish photographic prints if the coast is what you are after.