Thirty years of Hare Krishna Island on the Erne

NESTLED among the many islands of the Erne is the pretty, wooded isle of Inish Rath, home to possibly Fermanagh’s smallest religious community. For the past 30 years, members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known to most simply as the Hare Krishnas, have called the island home. Since 1986, this group has been ever changing, attracting members from all over Ireland and far beyond. While there are currently only 12 full time residents at the settlement – which is made up of gardens, children’s play areas, grazing ground for cattle, allotments for growing food, a school, open fields, woodland walks, and, its the centre, a large Victorian house that hosts stunning altars to Lord Krishna – that number often grows up to 20, and often includes families and children.