Porcellanite stone axes date from the Neolithic period (4000–2500 BC), when Ireland's first farmers began clearing land for crops and buildings. These axes were essential tools for felling trees and woodworking, but not all of them were purely functional. Some, made from highly polished porcellanite, became prestigious trade items exchanged across Ireland and even into Europe.

To obtain the porcellanite, Neolithic people used fire to weaken exposed outcrops, making it easier to quarry the rock. They shaped rough axe heads called ‘roughouts’ by chipping off flakes with a hammerstone. These were then ground with abrasive stones like sandstone and polished to a high shine. It's believed the final polish may have involved wet-sanding with a mix of horse hair and sand.

The Brockley axe was discovered by Eamon Green as a teenager while repairing a stone wall on his family farm, near the porcellanite quarry at Brockley, Rathlin. The axe head had been placed in the wall, likely by Eamon’s great uncle, Johnny McCurdy, who was known for finding such artefacts.

The Future Island-Island team has since 3D scanned the Brockley axe, produced a replica, and developed an Augmented Reality experience demonstrating how Neolithic axes were made.

Brockley Neolithic Axe

Kelp burning on Rathlin Island began in 1754 as a summer occupation. The industry thrived through the 18th and early 19th centuries, with kelp used in soap, glass, and dye production. Decline began around 1830, and despite brief revivals, the final kelp harvest on Rathlin took place in 1938.

Kelp House, built in the 18th century as a kelp storehouse and trading hub, now stands as a symbol of the island's economic reliance on seaweed harvesting

As awareness of sustainability and nutrition grows, seaweed is re-emerging as a valuable resource. Its rich nutrient content makes it highly desirable in the food, supplement, and skincare industries. Modern seaweed harvesting uses innovative grid systems to optimise both cultivation and collection. Floating grids allow seaweed to be grown in open waters, expanding the potential of aquaculture beyond coastal shallows.

In 2013, Kate Burns founded Islander Rathlin Kelp, a company that seeds, harvests, and processes kelp for food, with the aim of using kelp production to help regenerate coastal and island communities.

Natalia Mokras’ research highlights kelp’s value as a nutrient-dense, fast-growing seaweed with considerable environmental benefits. Kelp aquaculture not only supports the growing demand for healthy, eco-friendly products, but also sequesters significant amounts of carbon dioxide.

With its rich coastal waters and history of seaweed use, Rathlin Island is well placed to become a leader in the modern seaweed industry - supporting local jobs, fostering innovation, and contributing to environmental stewardship.

Reviving the Rathlin Kelp

Rathlin Island has made history by hosting its first official Repair Café – the first on any island in Ireland and only the second of its kind across the UK. Held at the Ebb & Flow Café on 5 April, the bustling event brought together island residents and skilled volunteers for an inspiring afternoon of fixing, learning, and community connection.

Over the course of the day, 32 items were brought in to be assessed; 23 were repaired on the day, 8 were fixable with more time or parts and only one item was beyond repair. Thanks to these efforts, 139kg of waste was saved from landfill, and an estimated 1,554kg of CO₂ emissions prevented.

Island Stories of Resilience and Self-Reliance

“Thatched rooves used to be bound and secured once with straw or rush wound by hand with twisters or ‘thrah-hooks’. The balls of rope were called 'cloos'. I was told of an island man who used to make the rope himself with his hands and without the use of any hook. He first of all up-ended the table on the kitchen floor. He began the rope on one leg; he then fed and twisted the roped as he fed it and moved round the table, the rope as it was being made encircling the legs. When sufficient had been made or when the legs were full of rope, he unbound it off and bound it into a ball or cloo.”

(Recorded by Michael J Murphy, Rathlin, June 1955, UCD National Folklore Collection)

“The tradesmen on the island are two or three tailors and shoemakers and a few boat builders, the people use their own wool and flax for woolen and linen clothing. They plait straw hats.”

(Marshall 1834 quoted in McCurdy, A. 2000 Rathlin’s Rugged Story from an Islander’s perspective. Impact Printing. P 41)

These stories were recorded by the Rathlin Island Oral History Group

Visual Minutes: Repair Café and Culture. Future Island-Island, More than Minutes, Rathlin Oral Histories Group, Northern Ireland Resource Network

3D Objects Courtesy of Rathlin Stickybeak, Object Library

Resilience and Repair

In the past on Rathlin Island, wool has long been part of daily life and island identity. With locals making their own woollen clothes and knitted stockings from fibre grown, spun, and stitched on the island with many recollections of fishermen knitted gansies with their sleeves cropped short to keep dry, and the “Tammy” caps.

The wool from Rathlin’s Blackface sheep is coarse and often dismissed as low-value waste, with higher costs for shearing and transportation due the island location. Researchers Alison Gault and Anna Duffy, through the Future Island-Island project, set out to change that by creating a fully traceable fibre using a codesigned place-based approach. Liaising with the farmers and the island’s all-female ‘woolgroup’, alongside the project partners, were able to coordinate the shearing, sorting, and grading sending the lower grade fleece for processing and scouring by British Wool and the finer grade to Donegal Yarns. 

The Rathlin wool was then spun oil on cone into yarn for knitting and weaving for textiles and a range of rope to be used by the kelp farm on the island, with the finest of the fibres manufactured into a “Rathlin Aran” and a range of naturally dyed yarns.

This story was recorded by the Rathlin Island Oral History Group

Images Courtesy of Alison Gault and Anna Duffy and Future Island-Island

3D Object Courtesy of Rathlin Stickybeak, Object Library

The Journey of Rathlin Wool

Welcome to Rathlin.
Wander along the shoreline and click on the objects to explore Rathlin’s rich coastal life and distinctive cultural legacy. 