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Tory Island
Tory Island
June 23, 2026
© Eric Luke,Toraigh – Tory Island
Tory Island (or Toraigh in the Irish language) is Ireland’s most remote inhabited island, with a Gaelic-speaking community of around 160 inhabitants. Located nine miles off the County Donegal coast, it is characterised by a stark, rugged beauty – a wind-swept isle at the mercy of the surrounding sea.
Irish photographer Eric Luke first visited Toraigh in the 1970s, when the only way to reach it was to hitch a ride on a fishing or cargo boat. In the five decades that followed, he returned countless times – documenting the island’s dramatic landscape, tight-knit community, and unique way of life. The remarkable long-term project has now been consolidated into a photo book, published by Hi Tone Books.
With this monograph, the former Irish Times photographer (whose numerous awards include the World Press Photo News Award and PPAI Photographer of the Year) has “seared the Tory Island subjects, beautifully and skilfully, for posterity,” as Diarmaid Ferriter writes in the book’s foreword. Many of the children he photographed on his earliest visits reappear in these pages as parents and grandparents – offering a rare portrait of continuity and change across generations.
To this day, Eric Luke mostly shoots analogue, working with either a Leica M6 or Leica MP with one (35 or 50mm) prime lens – a setup that allows him to “travel light and unencumbered.” While his career has taken him on assignments worldwide, the photographer has built up a compelling personal archive dedicated to his home country.
The book launch starts at 6 p.m. with an introduction by William Fagan, Chairman of the Board of Photo Museum Ireland and President of the Leica Society International (LSI). This will be followed by a talk from Eric Luke about the making of the book and his photographic practice, as well as a book signing with the artist.
Katrin UllmannIrish photographer Eric Luke first visited Toraigh in the 1970s, when the only way to reach it was to hitch a ride on a fishing or cargo boat. In the five decades that followed, he returned countless times – documenting the island’s dramatic landscape, tight-knit community, and unique way of life. The remarkable long-term project has now been consolidated into a photo book, published by Hi Tone Books.
With this monograph, the former Irish Times photographer (whose numerous awards include the World Press Photo News Award and PPAI Photographer of the Year) has “seared the Tory Island subjects, beautifully and skilfully, for posterity,” as Diarmaid Ferriter writes in the book’s foreword. Many of the children he photographed on his earliest visits reappear in these pages as parents and grandparents – offering a rare portrait of continuity and change across generations.
To this day, Eric Luke mostly shoots analogue, working with either a Leica M6 or Leica MP with one (35 or 50mm) prime lens – a setup that allows him to “travel light and unencumbered.” While his career has taken him on assignments worldwide, the photographer has built up a compelling personal archive dedicated to his home country.
The book launch starts at 6 p.m. with an introduction by William Fagan, Chairman of the Board of Photo Museum Ireland and President of the Leica Society International (LSI). This will be followed by a talk from Eric Luke about the making of the book and his photographic practice, as well as a book signing with the artist.
© Eric Luke,Toraigh – Tory Island
© Eric Luke,Toraigh – Tory Island
© Eric Luke,Toraigh – Tory Island
© Eric Luke,Toraigh – Tory Island
© Eric Luke,Toraigh – Tory Island
© Eric Luke,Toraigh – Tory Island
© Eric Luke