The effect the Cleggan disaster in 1927 had on Rossadillisk in County Galway.
In 1927 disaster struck a Connemara fishing community when an unexpected and severe storm resulted in the deaths of 45 local fishermen.
A fleet of currachs and rowing boats from Cleggan, Inishbofin, Inishkea, Rossadillisk and Lacken had departed for a night's fishing, and the weather was calm. The hurricane which suddenly descended meant that even experienced fishermen struggled to control their vessels.
Sixteen men from Rossadillisk perished, a loss of life which devastated the small village. John O’Toole’s father was among them,
The worst blow that could be got, wiped it out...there’s nobody in it now.
A relief fund was set up, and while the bereaved families received assistance, most of the younger people emigrated as soon as the opportunity arose. As John O’Toole recounts, none of the younger generation looked to fishing as a way of life after that,
Nobody in that village ever bothered the sea after that much, they all cleared away.
The bodies of many of the men from Rossadillisk were never found. Those whose remains were recovered were buried in a communal grave on nearby Omey Island.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 25 October 1977. The reporter is Jim Fahy.
