Inishark, Death of an Island

Documentary recalling life on the Irish west coast island of Inishark and its evacuation in 1960. After its abandonment, Shark, overshadowed in history by the high renown of the similarly fated Blaskets, became a forgotten island. Shark’s resilient community had survived for centuries despite being eternally pestered by the Atlantic and ignored by the authorities. Their story is related primarily by surviving islanders. Exclusive 8mm archive film of the region visually evokes the period, and the island’s final demise is documented in newsreel footage of the evacuation. Inishark's story sheds light on the treatment of peripheral communities by the authorities of the age, and the film stands as an elegy for a proud, ancient tribe and the passing of a unique way of life.