IN 1987, following his record-breaking first transatlantic flight, Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson and his pilot Per Lindstrom crashed their hot-air balloon into the sea off Rathlin. They were fished from the water off Bull Point by boatman Tommy Cecil.
Branson donated £25,000 to the Rathlin Island Trust which was used to help turn part of the Manor House into a community centre.
Sadly, Tommy died in a diving accident in Church Bay a few years later.
The Call
The call came he was there
The challenge was great but would he dare
To cast aside all hesitations
To take his chance, no reservations
To seize and forge the dream he sought
Indifference around he fought and fought
To make his world a better place
To live content with God’s great grace
A man who faced all-conquering seas
Yet rose again to fortune seize
The battles fought his liberation
The prize achieved his jubilation
With mediocrity all around
A man like this can still astound
We grieve and remember him
And his almighty heart within
Mary Cecil
The Harsh Winds of Rathlin: Stories of Rathlin Shipwrecks by Tommy Cecil. ISBN 0-948154-65-9
Rathlin’s Rugged Story: from an Islander’s Perspective by Augustine McCurdy. ISBN 0-948154-54-6. Rathlinman’s books
A History of the Island of Rathlin by Mrs Gage. ISBN 0-948154-87-X
Flora of Rathlin Island by Margaret J Dickson
Rathlin: Its Island Story by Wallace Clark. ISBN 0-948154-76-4
Birds of Rathlin by Gerry Bond
Rathlin Island: As I Knew It by Alex Morrison. ISBN 0-948154-33-11-11
Rathlin Island and the Modern World (ebook) by W Forsythe
FICTION
The Friends of Rathlin Island by Stewart Dalby. ISBN 0-9780954423391
Turbulent Priests by Colin Bateman. ISBN: 0-9780006498018
