It is reputed that when Grace O'Malley, legendary pirate queen, spent a weekend in her castle on Clare Island, Co Mayo, she slept with a rope from her ship tied to her toe.
It can only be surmised as to what the formidable feminist might have to say about a recent music festival, named in her honour. This summer saw the first annual Pirate Queen Festival, which attracted more than 1,000 visitors over one weekend to the island.
Not since the island's population peaked at more than 1,600 inhabitants, according to the census of 1831, has there been such a mass gathering on Clare, which is just under five miles long by three miles wide.
Less than 20 years ago the island survived as a traditional farming and fishing community without all the plethora of technological trappings that have since radically changed its small community's way of life.
Nowadays, Clare Island is a thoroughly modern society which has adapted to distant decisions in Europe and Dublin that have effectively, in two decades, changed an ancient attitude to the resources of land and sea.
The Clare Island landscape is a natural famine-monument to the lazy-bed, the loy and the Connaught Lumpar potato. While the popular fare for the festival weekend could technically be construed as traditional, "praties" and fish were served in the guise of the deep-fried variety from a chip van.
Next weekend the second annual Feile na nOileain will be held on the island. Its programme celebrates traditional music, sean nos singing, music workshops, setdancing and island history and folklore.
By all accounts last year's feile proved extremely successful and was viewed positively by the community. However, as with all programmed events that are hosted on the island, a myriad of difficulties face the island's representative body, Clare Island Community Co-operative Ltd, from the outset.
Other than the Bayview Hotel, the recently built community centre is the only licensed premises on the island. The strictures of the club licence provide only for members and bona-fide guests to enter the bar, thereby precluding the majority of visitors from participating in much of the festivities.
"The lack of proper infrastructure is a serious problem," says Beth Moran, owner of the Ballytoughy Loom Craft Shop and secretary of the co-op. "It is natural that the B & B owners want to fill their beds and extend the season, which can be restricted anyway by weather conditions," she adds. An application by Ms Moran for funding to develop an art, crafts and personal development centre was recently rejected by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.