麻豆社

Is gn铆omha铆ocht 铆 an iascaireacht a chleachtann gl煤nta 茅ags煤la i bpobail Ghaeltachta, Machaire Rabhartaigh i dT铆r Chonaill san 谩ireamh. Obair chrua, mhaslach at谩 ann.

T谩 John O鈥橞rien ina scip茅ir ar an Handa Isle agus a mhac Se谩n mar dhuine den fhoireann. T谩 mac eile, Colm, ina scip茅ir ar an Aoibh 脕ine. T谩 luach na bport谩n ag titim agus t谩 br煤 orthu n铆os m贸 ama a chaitheamh ar an fharraige lena mbeatha a thabhairt i dt铆r.

Cuimhn铆tear ar an iascaireacht mar a bh铆odh agus b谩id ag malart煤 idir iascaireacht sh茅as煤rach brad谩n go dt铆 iascaireacht gliomach, port谩n, murlas agus iasc geal. An cosc ar iascaireacht brad谩n in 2007 a chuir t煤s leis an mheath agus cuireadh deireadh le saol a chuaigh siar na blianta.

Is doiligh a shamhl煤 go mairfidh an iascaireacht sna pobail seo ach is doiligh fosta stad den n贸s at谩 Go Domhain san Fhuil agus at谩 beo ar 茅igean san Aig茅an Atlantach.

In Magheraroarty, the O'Brien family fish for crab behind Tory Island and towards the Scottish coast. It's tough, unrelenting work.

John O'Brien skippers the Handa Isle, with a crew of three, including his son Se谩n. Another son Colm skippers the Aoibh 脕ine. With the price of crabs falling, the pressure is on to spend longer at sea just to remain in business.

The locals recall when seasonal fishing of salmon could switch to lobster, crab, mackerel and white fish. A ban on salmon fishing in 2007 was the beginning of the end for many communities and for a way of life that had lasted for generations.

It鈥檚 hard to imagine a future for fishing in this most marginal of communities. But it's hard to shake what's 'in the blood', the instinct to fish the Atlantic.