Dunseverick is a traditional fishing harbour that dates back to the days when the castle was inhabited, a safe place to launch and land a boat. At one time the harbour would have been home to up to ten Drontheim fishing boats that not only supported local families in work and food but also supplied fish to the wider community and region. It was one of several hubs for fishing along the north coast which have today dwindled to virtually none. I belong to a generation that have memories of going down to the harbour to buy fresh fish from the fishermen as they arrived back with their catch and then having it on my plate within a couple of hours of being caught. A way of life that has sadly been lost from our modern society.
There were many people who began their long journey of emigration from here during the 1800s, fishermen would row them out to join a passing schooner, at the same time as they took their barrels of fish to be shipped to the markets in Belfast, Londonderry and Glasgow. The emigrants would then take their a passage from one of these ports to Australia, New Zealand or the America. When collecting the barrels of fish the schooner would stop to load them but on the return the empty barrels were thrown over the side and the fishermen would row out to retrieve them. As a recreational sport the fishermen of Dunseverick crewed the famous ' Arrow of Portmoon ', a racing gig which they entered in local regattas. Along the path from the harbour to Porbraddan, you will pass old salt fields and kelp walls that have played a part in sustaining local families here for generations.