Creative Communications

In winter time on Scattery Island, lamps were used by the Islanders as a form of communicating news to each other from various places on the island. Morsing skills were commonplace on Scattery. Any lamps morsing were always responded to from others on the island.

Island pilots who were returning from duty aboard ships bound for Limerick docks, often had to hitch lifts back from Limerick to Scattery Island. Sometimes this was easy and pilots would meet mail trucks and get quick lifts back to Kilrush, but sometimes it could take hours to get home.

Once in Cappa, the nearest village to the island, the pilots would sometimes light papers at the back of the pier to send light signals to the island telling their people they were near home and needing a lift over! This would result in a canoe being launched from the island to bring the returning pilots, or seafarers home to Scattery Island again.