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Rathlin
Rathlin is an L‐shaped island in the Sea of Moyle, 3 miles from Ireland and 13 from Scotland. Inhabited since the Stone Age, fortified by 1,000 bc, it featured in Irish mythology and appeared on Ptolemy's map. Rathlin may have suffered the first Viking raid on Ireland in 795; Robert the Bruce took refuge there in 1306. Acquired by the MacDonnells in 1399, it became their refuge when attacked on the mainland. In the Tudor–Stuart period the inhabitants were massacred by Sidney (1557), Essex (1575—see enterprise of ulster), and the Campbells (1642). In 1617 George Crawford, laird of Lisnorris, claimed Rathlin under a Scottish grant of 1500, but Randal MacDonnell proved that the territory was Irish—historically part of the Glens and of the diocese of Connor, and snakeless. The Gages bought the island in 1746 and, although despotic landlords at times, were benevolent during the Great Famine. Piracy, smuggling, and the kelp industry had boosted the economy from time to time, but emigration now took its toll, with the population declining from 1,010 in 1841 to 103 in 1981. In 1898 Marconi tested his radio invention between Rathlin and the mainland as a commercial application for Lloyd's of London.
Hiram Morgan |
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Cite this article
"Rathlin." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Rathlin." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-Rathlin.html "Rathlin." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-Rathlin.html |
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Rathlin Island
Rathlin Island , 5 sq mi (13 sq km), Moyle dist., N Northern Ireland. Its cliffs, of limestone and basalt, rise at Slieveacarn to 449 ft (137 m). Farming and fishing are important. St. Columba is said to have founded a church there in the 6th cent., and the ruins of a castle in which Robert I (Robert the Bruce) is reputed to have hidden still remain. |
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Cite this article
"Rathlin Island." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Rathlin Island." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-RathlinI.html "Rathlin Island." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-RathlinI.html |
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Rathlin Island
Rathlin Island (Reachlainn) Antrim. (ecclaise) Rechrainne 630. Meaning uncertain.
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Cite this article
A. D. MILLS. "Rathlin Island." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. A. D. MILLS. "Rathlin Island." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-RathlinIsland.html A. D. MILLS. "Rathlin Island." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-RathlinIsland.html |
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