One of the strangest LGBTQ+ stories from the Cloich Cheann Fhaola area is the disappearance in 1933 from Inis Bó Finne, a small island between the mainland and Tory, of the American archaeologist Arthur Kingsley Porter.
Porter, born in 1883 – and who has been described as a ‘real-life Indiana Jones’, was a very distinguished scholar from Harvard University in the USA, an expert on medieval European art and architecture. He took a particular interest in the art of early Christian Ireland and in 1931 published the book The Crosses and Culture of Ireland.
He bought the Glenveagh estate and castle in 1929 and also restored a fisherman’s cottage on Inis Bó Finne. He was married but eventually, his wife Lucy became aware of his homosexuality and intimate relations with men. Amazingly, Lucy accepted the situation – living in a sort of ménage à trois.
On 8th July 1933, while visiting Inis Bó Finne, Porter went for a walk and disappeared. It has never been established whether he fell accidentally into the ocean, committed suicide in despair of his complicated life, or left the island and his wife secretly to live abroad with a male lover.
His wife sold Glenveagh in 1937 to the similarly homosexual Henry McIlhenny, who had been a student of Porter’s at Harvard. In her will, Lucy left the bulk of her wealth to Arthur’s brother but – hugely progressively for the time – asked him to devote some of it to pay a ‘first class scientist’ to help homosexual people ‘understand themselves’, and to help society understand homosexuality.
Text by Dr Brian Lacey.
To discover more about Henry McIlhenny and his legacy check out this RTÉ documentary.
Ar na heachtraí LADTA+ is aistí ó cheantar Chloich Cheann Fhaola tá an t-am a d’imigh an seandálaí Meireacánach Arthur Kingsley-Porter ar iarraidh go tobann, gan lorg ná rian a fhágáil ina dhiaidh, agus é ar Inis Bó Finne.
Rugadh Kingsley-Porter in 1883 agus cuireadh síos air mar “fhíor-Indiana Jones,” ach ba ollamh mór le rá ó Harvard é, saineolaí ar ealaíon agus ailtireacht mheán-aoiseach na hEorpa. Bhí suim ar leith aige i luath-ealaíon Chríostaí na hÉireann agus d’fhoilsigh sé an leabhar The Crosses and Culture of Ireland, in 1931.
Cheannaigh sé eastát Ghleann Bheatha in 1929 agus d’athchóirigh sé seanteachín iascaire ar Inis Bó Finne fosta. Fear pósta ab ea é ach, fá dheireadh, d’fhoghlaim a bhean chéile Lucy go raibh sé aerach agus go raibh dlúthchaidrimh aige le fir. Iontas na n-iontas, ghlac sí le gné seo a fir chéile, ag mairstint i gcineál ménage à trois.
Ach ar an 8 Iúil, 1933, agus é ar chuairt go hInis Bó Finne, chuaigh Kingsley-Porter ar shiúlóid agus char phill sé ariamh. Níl a fhios ag aonduine goidé a tharla dó. An é gur thit sé isteach san fharraige? Ar chuir sé lámh ina bhás féin de bharr chúinsí casta a shaoil? Nó ar éalaigh sé ón oileán agus óna bhean le mairstint thar lear le leannán fir?
Dhíol Lucy Gleann Bheatha in 1937 le fear aerach eile – Henry McIlhenny, iar-mhac léinn de chuid Kingsley-Porter. D’fhág sí an chuid is mó dá cuid maoine le deartháir Arthur ina hucht ach, go forásach go leor don am, d’iarr sí air cuid den airgead a úsáid le “eolaí den chéad scoth” a fhostú le cuidiú le daoine aerach “iad féin a thuigbheáil,” agus cuidiú leis an tsaol mhór daoine aeracha a thuigbheáil chomh maith.
Téacs leis an Dr Brian Lacey.
Le tuilleadh a fháil amach faoi Henry McIlhenny agus a oidhreacht féach ar an gclár faisnéise seo de chuid RTÉ.
