The small island of Inishmurray is located off the coast of County Sligo in Northwest Ireland, four and a half miles from the nearest point on the mainland shore.

Inhabited for centuries, but now deserted by man Inishmurray today contains the most complete remains of an early Irish monastic settlement as well as the ruins of its nineteenth century houses.

Access to Inishmurray was always unpredictable. There was no enclosed harbour and all boats had to be taken out of the water and stowed safely on the rocks out of the sea's reach. As a result, the islanders used small boats of twenty-eight feet or less. In winter, contact with the mainland might be severed for up to six weeks. Even in summer, a week's isolation was not unusual. The one road on the island was built in the later part of the nineteenth century. It runs from the eastern to the western entrances of the peaty common which covers most of the island surface. The twelve remaining houses stand on the southern part of this road and face due south. The roofs were originally of thatch but subsequent rooms added to the original structures were slate-roofed. Due to the wet conditions and the use of straw as the thatching material the roofs were freshly thatched about every third year.

Inishmurray Island was for a long time famous for the making of mountain dew or whiskey as the inhabitants preferred to call it. The relative isolation of the Island facilitated the distillation of the pure native and greatly favoured the traffic upon which the Islanders lived. Connoisseurs of such beverages asserted that Inishmurray whiskey was of the purest and most delectable quality. As soon as the officers of the excise became aware of the extent of the illegal trafficking they set about applying a remedy.