Tory Island, off the north coast of Co Donegal, was flooded with visitors on Thursday for the funeral of its king, Patsy Dan Rodgers.
Mr Rodgers was born in Dublin, but was adopted and brought to the island as a young child. He was asked to become King of Toraigh in the 1990s. He died at the age of 74 last Friday at a hospital in Dublin following an illness.
The musician and artist became the tiny settlement’s best-known resident, regularly greeting visitors off the ferry and campaigning on behalf of the island.
Flags on the island flew at half mast, while an extra ferry crossing was put on to accommodate the number of visitors travelling to attend the funeral.
Many alighted the boat carrying bouquets of flowers and musical instruments.
The visitors included Colonel Liam Condon, Aide de Camp to President Michael D Higgins.
There was a steady flow of people visiting Mr Rodgers’ distinctive house on the brow of a hill overlooking the main settlement on the island, where the gates read Teach An Ri, which translates as House of the King.
The funeral procession started from the house, led by one of his daughters carrying a cross ahead of her father’s coffin which was followed by more than 100 mourners for the short distance to St Colmcille’s Church.
Father Sean Gallagher led the celebration of Requiem Mass, which was conducted in Irish and included musical tributes.
Following the service, Mr Rodgers was buried in the church graveyard.
Among the visitors was Gerard Magee, from Antrim, who said it had felt strange to arrive at the island and not be greeted by Mr Rodgers. "Over the years , I got to know Patsy Dan very well," he said. "I first met him as a visitor coming off the boat, it was always a nice thing for visitors to be greeted by the king.
“Overall, he was a great ambassador for this island.”
Christy Keeney, from Letterkenny, paid tribute to Mr Rodgers as encouraging a generation and making Tory Island a haven for artists.
He described how Mr Rodgers had brought together a group of artists and brought out their skills, adding he was a loss to the world of art as well as to Tory Island. “It is the end of an era for Tory islanders,” he said. “He was a great promoter of the island, many came because they wanted to meet him.”