Ethan Darragh Byrne - Joan Byrne ?10.Niamh Bolger -Martina Murphy ?10 Peter Kavanagh - Dermott & Aileen Kavanagh ?15Ethan Darragh Byrne -Joan Byrne ?12.00 for LibrarySmall Donations in memory of~Mirium Rebecca Jackson Beeausang Ben & Eoin Holly Niamh O' Donovan Benjamin Niall David Plummer Saoirse KelleherMarius ThomasIsabel, Erin &Elise O'Dowd NolanGeneral DonationsJohn & Julie O' Gorman ?100Graham Byrne ?50Anonymous ?50Mary Hughes ?50Gerard Cahill ?25Claire Mc Donnell ?100Nicola Warburton ?10Anne Durrant ?20Erika Casey ?50Sharon Reilly ?50Colin Kelly ?25Austin Joyce and the Castleknock Social Group ?50John & Julie O' Gorman ?100Fr. Robert Swinburne ?35Rev Eamonn Kelly ?10Emma White ?20Shirley O'Connell ?50Peter Walsh ?50Julie Hurley ?25Edel Hurley ?25Edel Flood ?30Caitriona Hand ?20Martina MacNamara ?38Michelle Branagan & Joey Prendergast ?50Mary Carolan ?50My Charity.ie website fundraising donations total fr om September ?2,079.00Jacqueline Flavin ?375.39 Munster Express Race Linda Chapman ?1,600.50 Amsterdam Marathon Paul Cunningham ?239.00 DonationOur thanks also to all who made donations with their Subscriptions for 2010Notice  om Carmichael Centre for Charities based there-Carmichael Centre will not receive cash at reception for any Charity based there.Th ank YouOur sincere thanks to everyone who made donations or organised fundraising events in aid of ISANDS.Your support is always needed, monies received is well used and greatly appreciated.Many thanks. Mary Ryan, National Fundraising Offi cer, ISANDSisands newsletter23

Oileán na MarbhOn a beautiful sunny afternoon in February we visited Oileán na Marbh (Island of the Dead) in Carrickfi nn, Donegal. We were met by local man Seamus Peter Boyle who explained the history of the island; where stillborn and unbaptised infants were buried by their families in the 19th and early 20th century. Several unidentifi ed adult bodies washed ashore from ship wrecks etc, during that time are also buried there. This piece of God's earth it would seem was created for the children to be laid to rest, separated from the main land and separated from those who loved them. It stands majestically in the ocean; on that day we visited the vast Atlantic Ocean settled in slumbers, resting, peaceful and calm, with the sun glistening on the waters.The next day we returned with the help of Anthony Sharkey who directed us down the long winding tracks to the edge where we waited. It was another beautiful sunny morning. We met with Seamus Peter again and local woman Mabel Boyd, whose Uncle owns the Island. This time the tide was out which exposed the sandy beach which connected the mainland to the island. Out across the beach we walked and climbed the rocks to reach the top of the Island. It was breathtakingly beautiful and hauntingly sad at the same time. The local community under the baton of Seamus Peter decided to fundraise and get together to erect a memorial on the Island and so the mammoth task began. You have no idea what this entailed. They had to work between tides as the whole job was done on site. A tractor was taken down on the beach with the equipment for cleaning, polishing and inscribing the stone.A beautiful celtic cross was erected on one of the largest granite boulders which was then inscribed to remember the children buried there and the adults who had been washed ashore many years ago. The pictures on the next and following pages show the cross, inscription and the Island itself but they can never capture the real presence you feel when you are there.I am involved with ISANDS for 17 years and it is one of the most incredible places I have been in relation to the work I do on behalf of ISANDS. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the community. As Seamus Peter himself said "we are probably the last generation to know the history of the Island and we wanted to do this before it is forgotten. Now the next generation know all about it and everyone who sees the cross from the main land or visits the Island will know what it is about and who it is remembering." The small grave that you see on the opposite page and the lady, Kathleen Hanlon, in the picture underneath are ... continued on page 24In all its beauty and magnifi cence we were overwhelmed by its immense sadness and loneliness..isands newsletter24