Dorinish
Native name: Deoirinis | |
|---|---|
  Dorinish | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean (Clew Bay) |
| Coordinates | 53°48′44.68″N 9°40′17.65″W / 53.8124111°N 9.6715694°W |
| Area | 19.74 acres (7.99 ha)[1] |
| Administration | |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | Mayo |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Dorinish (Irish: Deoirinis) is an uninhabited island in Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. During the 1970s it was briefly inhabited by Hippies who established a commune there under the patronage of the island's then owner John Lennon.
History
John Lennon purchase and Hippie Commune
The island was previously owned by John Lennon, who purchased the island in 1967 for £1,700. Previously used by sailing ships for its stones, the island became a place of peace for Lennon and his family. After his divorce from wife Cynthia, the island went unused until Lennon invited "King of the Hippies" Sid Rawle and Timi Walsh to establish a commune on the island in 1970.[2] For the next two years, a group of roughly 25 hippies called Dorinish home, growing their own vegetables and raising children.[3][4] They called themselves 'the Diggers' and Rawle would later say "Dorinish was heaven and it was hell".[5]
In 1972 a fire burned down the island's supply tent and the commune disbanded. After Lennon's death, Yoko Ono sold the island for nearly £30,000 and donated the proceeds to an Irish orphanage. Dorinish is now used as a grazing site for livestock and is sometimes visited by enthusiastic Beatles fans. An artists' summer school "Aerial Blue" was held on the island in July 2011.[6]
Demographics
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| Source: Central Statistics Office. "CNA17: Population by Off Shore Island, Sex and Year". CSO.ie. Retrieved 12 October 2016. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also
References
- ^ "Dorinish". Residency Unlimited. Townlands.ie. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ Abrams, Philip; McCulloch, Andrew (August 1976). Communes, Sociology and Society. Cambridge University Press. p. 38.
- ^ "Working in the cabbage garden on Dorinish Island, August 1971". library.mayo.ie. 1 August 1971. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ "Home life on Dorinish Island, August 1971". library.mayo.ie. 1 August 1971. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ Ferriter, Diarmuid (2018). On the Edge Ireland’s Off-shore Islands: a Modern History.
- ^ "Aerial Blue Island Residency, Ireland (Deadline: June 2, 2011)". Residency Unlimited. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
External links
- Westport Residents Reject Hippie Way of Life 1971 - RTE Archives including interview with Sid Rawle
- Dorinish: Dot Jarlett archive - excerpts from Sunday Independent and George A. Birmingham on "Inishbawn"
- Information on Dorinish
- Further Information
