Just as today, the seventeenth of April in 1949 was also Easter Sunday. On that day, 73 years ago, three young men – two brothers and a cousin, set off from Inishark (Inis Airc) to the the larger, neighbouring island of Inishbofin (Inis Bó Finne) for Mass. They rowed across in a curragh and, rather than row to the pier (which was further away), they pulled up their boat on White Strand. Around 5pm that evening, they set off home but never arrived. The weather had worsened, and their curragh capsized as they set off ¹. Brothers Martin Lacey and Michael Lacey were never found – their body of their cousin Peter was found near White Strand the following week. Their memorial stone overlooks White Strand and Inishark.
White Strand, Inishbofin and Inishark in the distance. The outline of the abandoned houses on Inishark are just visible (on the left). The island was evacuated in 1960. This newspaper article² (from the Daily Mirror in 1960) includes a quote from Thomas Lacey, the father of the 2 brothers.
¹Account of inquest in the Connacht Tribune, Saturday April 30th April 1949 (p 15)
² The Death of Inishark – http://www.inishbofin.com/death-of-inishark/