All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S09E10.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[und]

[narrator] A beautiful chateau
with an ugly past.

This castles glory
was born out of deceit

and treachery.

[narrator] A gloomy structure
that administered hope.

It was a remedy
to the racial injustices

that were going on.

[narrator]
And an out-of-this-world site

[narrator]
And an out-of-this-world site

built by sheer ingenuity.

A lot of resources were spent

to create these
beautiful spaces

hundreds of feet above ground.

[narrator] Decaying relics.

Ruins of lost worlds.

Sites haunted by the past.

Their secrets
waiting to be revealed.

In the heart
of France's Loire Valley

to the southwest of Paris

is a fairy tale structure
with a dramatic story to tell.

I feel like I've been set down

in the middle
of the Magic Kingdom.

[Rob] It's beautiful
and utterly captivating.

It's like this mix between
Angkor Wat and Disneyland.

It's like this mix between
Angkor Wat and Disneyland.

[narrator] This region
is known

for its sprawling chateaus,

but none looked like this...

It's not the standard version.

Most of them are very,
very symmetrical.

This one is fun.

It sits in the middle
of a lake, a deliberate lake,

and it makes the castle
look like it's floating.

It's a really clever
architectural trick.

[narrator] Yet this once
lavish sights,

[narrator] Yet this once
lavish sights,

days of grandeur
are now a distant memory.

The reefs gone and there's
vegetation crawling

its way through
all the windows

and along all the walls.

[Claire] But behind
this glorious chateau

is a tale of treachery
and deceit.

[Rob] Its owner
was labeled a traitor

by France's most
notorious king.

[narrator] But his fall
from grace

would be the making
of this fantastical place.

would be the making
of this fantastical place.

The Loire Valley is famed
for its extravagant castles.

Centuries
of aristocratic wealth

mean that opulence
is the norm here.

We're in the heart
of the French countryside

at the very tip
of the Loire Valley.

All the Great Kings
of France enjoyed coming here

to relax
in the fresh river air.

[narrator] When Romain Delaume
first came here in 2017,

he was instantly struck

by the majestic charm
of the rundown ruin.

[Romain] I fell in love
with the castle straight away.

What with the water,
the castle and nature?

We're experiencing
something special here.

You can really sense
some very strong emotions.

[narrator] Chateau
de la Mothe-Chandeniers

[narrator] Chateau
de la Mothe-Chandeniers

dates back
to the 13th century,

a time when powerful kings
and queens ruled the land,

long before bloody revolution

would sever their heads.

Here we are in the oldest
part of the estate.

You can see this big wall,
which was once a moat.

In fact, the main moat

which wrapped
around the castle of La Mothe

and in front of us,

you can see the oldest
section of the castle,

which were
the old medieval kitchens.

which were
the old medieval kitchens.

[narrator] Over the years,

the chateau has changed
hands many times

and so has its appearance,

and its most notorious owner

was Francois de Rochechouart.

He's one of the great nobles
of the 17th century in France,

quite close
to King Louis, XIII,

the father of Louis XIV,

and thick as thieves
with the ruling elite
in France at the time.

and thick as thieves
with the ruling elite
in France at the time.

Francois is captain
of the king's bodyguards,

so he's responsible
for the royal family's
safety and protection.

[narrator] But at the start
of 1643,

the sudden death of the king
sent shockwaves across France.

[Claire] The death
of Louis XIII

brings about
great political unrest.

They're in the middle
of the Franco-Spanish war,

and a change in leadership
at this moment

is absolutely catastrophic.

is absolutely catastrophic.

It turns politics
into turmoil.

[narrator] The new king,
Louis XIV

was just four years old,

so his mother and her
advisers took control.

They soon raised
taxes to cover

the escalating cost
of the ongoing war with Spain.

This provokes
an uprising in France

of the leading
noble families,

the merchant class

and even just ordinary people

in the big cities like
Paris against the regime

in the big cities like
Paris against the regime

rebelling against
these tax demands.

1648 marks
the start of a series

of small civil wars

collectively known
as the Fronde.

[Geoff] And during
The Fronde,

Rochechouart
falls under suspicion

of agitating
against Louis XIV,

and so he's imprisoned

by order of the king
for two years.

[narrator] On his release,
Francois,

now exiled from Louis
Royal Court in Paris,

now exiled from Louis
Royal Court in Paris,

retreats to his family's
dilapidated castle

here in the Loire Valley.

[Claire] Originally built
as a hunting lodge,

the fortress has been
pretty much disused
for centuries,

but he sets about
transforming it

into a renaissance palace.

And to make up for his
dramatic fall from grace,

he creates his own court
to overshadow the king's.

We're in the main courtyard
of La Mothe-Chandeniers.

You can imagine
Francois de Rochechouart

receiving his guests here.

It was the place
to be in France back then,

that is for those
who were against the monarchy.

It was truly
the venue of choice

for those coming from Paris.

[narrator] Extravagance
and indulgence

were the order of the day.

This is pretty much
the beating heart

of La Mothe-Chandeniers.

of La Mothe-Chandeniers.

When I say beating heart,

it's because Francois
loved to receive guests,

picture 30 servants
and up to 80 guests here.

That explains why
he needed such a big space

to entertain all the people
who chose to vacation here.

[Claire] Everything here
is designed for hosting.

Come, come
experience this place.

Here is your room.

Here's the ballroom.

Join us this evening
for this amazing party.

It's all about
building alliances

It's all about
building alliances

through hosting and fun.

[Rob] This was a very decadent
period for the nobility.

At the time, they'd certainly
never heard of the saying,

less is more.

[narrator] This life of luxury
had a high price,

one the out-of-favor
nobleman could ill afford.

The remains of the Chateaude
la Mothe-Chandeniers

sit floating atop
an overgrown lake

in France's Loire Valley.

In the 17th century,
its exiled owner,

Francois de Rochechouart,

threw everything he had
into creating a palace

that would rival
the French court in Paris.

that would rival
the French court in Paris.

He completely
remodeled the castle

and lived a lifestyle that was
actually way beyond his means.

In fact,
he was declared bankrupt

towards the end of his life,

and so eventually he had
to abandon the castle

because he couldn't afford
to live there anymore.

[Claire] Sadly, after
its initial moment of glory,

the castle moves through
different sets of hands

and gradually falls
into disrepair.

[narrator] And the chateau
was left to fester

for a further 140 years.

[Romain] During
the 19th century,

three great families came

one after the other
to live here
at La Mothe-Chandeniers.

[narrator] Inspired
by the romanticism

of the most beautiful
castles of the Loire,

they transformed
the chateau once again.

In the end, a tragic event led

to its ultimate destruction

from which
it would never recover.

[Claire] A devastating fire
in 1932 broke out

from a new boiler,

destroying huge parts
of the chateau.

[Romain] Obviously, in 1932,

firefighter resources were not
as developed as they are now,

and sadly,
the castle burned down.

[narrator] The next chapter
of the fairy tale castle

[narrator] The next chapter
of the fairy tale castle

is only just beginning.

When Roman first came here,

the ruin was scheduled
for demolition.

He had 80 days to save it.

[Romain] I'm the co-founder

of a startup
called Dartagnans,

which allows people
from all over the world

to collectively buy the castle
of La Mothe-Chandeniers.

[narrator] Forty thousand
people

from all over the world

invested
in the rescue project.

Now, the chateau doors
are open once again.

Now, the chateau doors
are open once again.

[Romain] Since our
first season
opened to tourists,

we've been lucky to have
more than 45,000 visitors.

[Rob] You can imagine Francois
will be pretty pleased

to know
there's that level of interest

in his pet project.

[narrator] In central Turkey
is a cliffside

with unnatural holes
on its face.

This place looks almost
like an alien landscape.

You have these towers of rock.

You have areas that look
almost like sand dunes

with holes in them.

It's a really bizarre,
otherworldly landscape.

[Sascha] When you get closer,
you realize

you can actually get
inside these caves.

They were put
there deliberately

and there's little signs
of civilization.

So, these caves
were intentionally built

So, these caves
were intentionally built

hundreds of feet
off the ground.

[narrator] Some caves carry
few clues to their purpose,

but others have their story
painted on the walls.

[Dominic] People clearly put
a vast amount

of time and skill

into beautifying
and decorating these places,

even though they really
are in the middle of nowhere.

[Michele] We're in modern-day
Turkey,

which has
an incredibly long history

but also a major impact
on the world.

[Sascha]
This is a parched land.

Very dry, very hot.

You have to be
really determined
if you want to live here.

[Mehmet]
I was in middle school,

about 11 or 12-years-old

when I first found out
about this place.

[narrator] Mehmet Ekiz
has been documenting

the history of this place
for more than 20 years.

the history of this place
for more than 20 years.

There used
to be gigantic rocks

like millstones
behind these carved spaces.

In times of danger,

they would roll
these large stones

in front of the cave entrances

to form a lock.

It was impossible
to enter from the outside

when these rocks
were in place.

Dwellings like these were
dug into the rock out of fear.

Dwellings like these were
dug into the rock out of fear.

[narrator] These caves
are simple.

Small shelves
provide places to sleep,

but the people
who dug these holes

built another room.

One dedicated
to a new religion.

[Mehmet] This is where
Christian believers worshiped.

It's a temple
and was used as a sanctuary.

[Michele] When
these structures were built,

they were part
of the enormous Roman Empire.

they were part
of the enormous Roman Empire.

[narrator]
In the second century,

the Roman Empire
stretched from Britain

to the Persian Gulf,

but the new religion
of Christianity

was outlawed.

If you were caught
by a Roman soldier

speaking about your God
and his son, Jesus,

you could be forced
upon pain of death

to renounce your religion.

You could be arrested.

We've all heard stories

about Christians
being fed to the lions.

about Christians
being fed to the lions.

[narrator]
This brutal treatment

chased the Christians
to the farthest reaches

of the Roman Empire,

but even there,
they wouldn't be safe.

[narrator] This is Cappadocia,

now in Turkey.

It was once a region
on the edge
of the Roman Empire

and a place
where Christians came
to escape execution.

Pagan belief
was still chasing after them

and Romans were oppressing
Christians.

and Romans were oppressing
Christians.

They tortured
and even killed them.

That's why this church

was built on higher ground.

[Sascha] If the Romans
had found a Christian church

like this
in the second century,

they would have razed
it to the ground

and they would have
had all the Christians
inside executed.

[narrator] But this particular
church

was built by none other

than the Romans themselves.

[Sascha] Christianity became
more and more mainstream.

By the fourth century,
for the first time,

a Roman emperor, Constantine

converted to Christianity.

[narrator] The legend says
that Constantine

was baptized
from his deathbed.

Soon after, Christianity
was legal

in the Roman Empire.

[Mehmet] This change
was great news

for the Christians

because up until that time,

Christians were
still being harassed.

[Sascha] Suddenly,
the Christians in Cappadocia

could come out of hiding.

They didn't have to worry

about the Roman soldiers
anymore.

They could rejoin
the rest of Roman society.

[narrator] But, Cappadocia
wasn't abandoned.

Instead, Roman Christians
dug further into the rock.

[Mehmet] This chapel
is actually the original part
of the church.

[Mehmet] This chapel
is actually the original part
of the church.

[narrator] Much of Cappadocia
has been damaged or looted,

but one church
has been preserved.

[Mehmet] These carved rocks,

we can also call them caves,

were covered
with bird feces or guano.

The layers of guano
that covered this place

provided great protection.

provided great protection.

[narrator] Guano formed
a hard armor

over elaborate frescoes,

preserving them

almost as they were more than
a thousand years ago.

[Sascha] You can see
that they spent

a lot of resources
on the church.

They used expensive
blue pigment in the painting
and even real gold.

After a couple of centuries
of oppression,

this was a golden age
for Christianity.

[narrator] But 300 years

after Rome made
peace with Christianity,

Cappadocia
was under attack again,

this time
from the other direction.

[Dominic] The new force
was the conquering
Muslim empire,

which had expanded
out of Arabia
in all directions.

[narrator]
For three centuries,

Cappadocia
was caught in a battle

between east and west.

[Sascha] During the invasion,
the Christians went
back underground.

[Sascha] During the invasion,
the Christians went
back underground.

Some of them literally dug
an underground city,

but that's another story.

[narrator]
In the 11th century,

an army from a Muslim people
called The Seljuks

marched into Cappadocia.

[Dominic] When
the Muslim armies arrived,

there was tension
and conflict initially,

but the Christians
weren't wiped out,

and over time,

the two peoples grew
and live together
in this region.

Every Muslim army
converts Christian structures

in the countries they conquer.

Instead of doing
the same here,

they decided
to build a small mosque

next to this church.

This underlines
the Turks goodwill
towards Christians.

[narrator] For the next
800 years,

Christians and Muslims
lived here peacefully.

Christians and Muslims
lived here peacefully.

But in 1915,

Cappadocia and Christians
faced persecution once more.

In the early 20th century,

the Turkish government

undertook a murderous campaign

of eradication
against Christians.

Today, we call it
the Armenian Genocide.

It targeted
Greeks and Armenians,

both of which were largely
Christian groups.

Many, many thousands
of Greeks and Armenians

Many, many thousands
of Greeks and Armenians

were forcibly deported
from the area,

and most of them
were Christians.

There are also accounts
of up to three quarters
of a million people

being massacred,

but that has always
been denied
by the Turkish government.

[narrator] The Armenian
Genocide marked the end

of a 1600 year old story.

No Christians have
lived in the caves

of Cappadocia ever since.

Following the tragedy,
the caves gained
new residents.

[Sascha] These dwellings
were still in use

[Sascha] These dwellings
were still in use

several decades
into the 20th century.

But in the 1960s,
two people were killed
by falling rocks

and the rest of the residents
were moved.

[narrator] Today, Cappadocia
is a UNESCO heritage site.

600 churches have
now been documented,

with many more still
waiting to be discovered.

with many more still
waiting to be discovered.

In Kansas City, Missouri,

a stone building stands apart
from the metropolis.

[Alicia] This place sits just
on the outskirts of the city,

and you wouldn't necessarily

tell that something
important happened here.

[Michele] Most of the windows
are boarded up.

If you happen
to be able to look inside,
you see these stripped rooms.

If you happen
to be able to look inside,
you see these stripped rooms.

It's clearly
been abandoned for some time.

[narrator] Inside,
the building

has been scraped bare.

But there are some hints

at the history of this place.

[Alicia] Everything's
been emptied out.

There are places

where equipment used to be.

[Rob] The architecture
is very basic.

There are no frills here,

and usually that might suggest
a government building

or a place that was built
in a hurry
for a desperate need.

or a place that was built
in a hurry
for a desperate need.

[narrator]
Without this building,
many of the city's residents

would die unnecessarily.

Historian Gerry Sanders

has spent more than five years

piecing together
the puzzle of this place,

but hasn't been
able to enter it until now.

[Geraldyn] It's been closed
for 30 years.

I, I can't even express to you

how emotional I feel

about being inside this
building for the first time.

about being inside this
building for the first time.

But it just pains me
that there's just so much,

you know,
negativity on the walls.

It just says light it up,

like, somebody wanted
to burn down this place.

[birds chirping]

[narrator] This structure
was once

at the center of a community
called 18th & Vine.

It was known
as the black mecca.

[Michele] 18th and Vine
is this historic district

in Kansas City, Missouri.

in Kansas City, Missouri.

And... it's formed out of
black migration

from places in the South,
places in the Midwest

and by the early 1900s,

it has this
amazing music scene.

[Rob] It's a place
where jazz thrived

and drew more
African-Americans
into the community.

Then black culture
thrived and expanded there.

[Michele] In many cases,
places like 18th & Vine,

places like
the black section of

Kansas City really are

Kansas City really are

places where
black people can organize

and feel a little bit safer.

[narrator] By the 1920s,
more than 30,000

African-Americans
lived around 18th & Vine.

But even
Kansas City's black mecca

suffered under
the laws of Jim Crow.

It comes from an English

um, actor who used to
play to a song called
Jump Jim Crow,

and he would
act in blackface.

and he would
act in blackface.

And eventually, that became

the moniker for segregation.

African-Americans were not
allowed to integrate anything,

schools, churches
and my favorite, cemeteries.

I mean, like, what would
a dead black person

be able to do
to a dead white person?

[narrator] Another
segregated institution
was healthcare.

Kansas City had
only one hospital

for its entire population
of black people.

for its entire population
of black people.

It was called
General Hospital 2.

General Hospital 2

was quite literally

a hospital that had served
whites in Kansas City

and then was
left once white people

got a new hospital
that was built for them.

It's in effect
a cast-off building

and black people
received cast-off care.

[narrator] For every
10 beds for white people,

there were just
three for black people.

But by 1918,
attitudes within 18th & Vine

were changing.

Around 200,000
African-Americans

were drafted
and sent to fight in Europe.

Hundreds died defending
the United States.

[Geraldyn]
When the black soldiers
came back from World War I,

there was this new attitude

that they portrayed
and it was kind of

talked about as being
the new Negro.

talked about as being
the new Negro.

There was
a new awareness of how

people were being treated,

um, the injustices,

inequalities
that were going on.

[narrator] The new
Negro movement

called for political equality
and an end to segregation.

But in Kansas City,

black patients
were going untreated.

The solution to the problem
still stands on 18th & Vine.

Erika Brice is restoring
the 100-year-old building.

[Erika] You see a lot
of the original wooden here.

You see the newer beams
and original beams.

So, this is wood that
is so solid, like, literally

they do not make
buildings like this anymore.

The cost of a building
like this,
I can't even imagine.

[narrator] Kansas City,
had four hospitals for whites.

The only facility for its
African-American residents

was an abandoned
white hospital.

was an abandoned
white hospital.

One man decided

he was going to do
something about it.

His name was Dr. Edward Perry.

[Michele] Edward Perry,
is the son of former slaves,
he's born in Texas.

He excels academically.

He attends
Meharry Medical College

which is
a black medical college
in Nashville, Tennessee,

and he becomes
a medical doctor.

[narrator] Perry established
Wheatley Provident Hospital.

[Alicia] This hospital
was really

[Alicia] This hospital
was really

filling a void
for black residents

of Kansas City, Missouri,

and it was really just
a band-aid at first.

It was a single
two-storey building

that was
providing care to people

who may not have
received care at all

or who were receiving
substandard care.

[Erika] Um what,
as I understand,

a lot of these
were medical rooms,

either examination rooms
or rooms for patients.

And so this actually, despite

And so this actually, despite

the condition it looks in
right now,

this is the most solid part
of the building, or was.

[Rob] This was not
a cutting edge facility.

They were not operating
at the boundaries
of modern science.

But what they did offer
was a capable
and compassionate service

with a bit of dignity.

[narrator] Gerry Sanders
has collected stories

from former patients,

including one who was born
in Wheatley Provident.

[Geraldyn] He said that his
mother came from St. Louis

to give birth to him because

to give birth to him because

it was, kind of, looked
upon really badly

that she was
a young unwed mother.

So, Dr. Perry would accept
all patients,
regardless of color

and regardless of, uh,
ability to pay.

[narrator] The Wheatley
Provident Hospital

transformed
the standard of living

for the residents
of Kansas City,

but the city's
most needy patients

still weren't being treated.

In the mid-1920s,
in Kansas City,

the newly created
Wheatley Provident Hospital

wasn't big enough
to treat the city's most
vulnerable patients,

its children.

So, the hospital commissioned
the construction
of a second building.

Behind us
is the original building.

Behind us
is the original building.

Uh, that was
the hospital in 1918,

and we've now reentered
the side that, uh,
was built in 1924,

as part
of the model children's ward.

[Michele] In 1925, they built

a whole new wing
to take care of

children's needs,
a pediatric wing.

They called it the mercy ward

and the mercy ward was
a major game changer,

not only in terms of offering
pediatric care

but also training,
for nurses and doctors.

And so we have a few photos

where you'll see some ads

for some nurses where
they're looking for nurses

and you'll see some
children sitting on
some beds and whatnot

that was in this room.

And so I can kind of imagine
kind of like a nursing station
back here,

um, probably
some sinks or something
like that and beds.

[narrator] For 50 years,

Wheatley Provident Hospital

took care of children
and adults

in the African-American
community,

but it was reaching capacity.

[Geraldyn] Wheatley Hospital
could no longer

[Geraldyn] Wheatley Hospital
could no longer

accommodate the number of
patients that were coming in.

So, in 1972, they built

Martin Luther King Jr.
Memorial Hospital.

[narrator] That same year,

Wheatley Provident Hospital
closed its doors for good.

[Rob] It may sound like a sad
ending of Wheatley Provident

after it did so much
for the community,

but it plastered over
a major social injustice.

And when that injustice
was corrected,

And when that injustice
was corrected,

Wheatley Provident
graciously retired.

[narrator] Erika Brice
is restoring

the Wheatley Provident
Hospital

and making it the center
of 18th & Vine once more.

[Erika] And we do have some,

some super strong visions
for what happens next,

um, but it's also critical to,

to us that this is also
an economic generator.

to us that this is also
an economic generator.

We don't want it to just be
pretty to look at.

Uh, we want it to continue
to be a functional resource.

[Michele] With the activism
done to dismantle segregation,

many of these institutions
were or became temporary,

but they served a crying need
and were game changers.

[narrator] Off the west coast
of Ireland,

a marooned outpost
bears traces

of a resolute people.

You can look out to the sea

and in the distance, you see
a rugged-looking island.

Out here, you were
completely alone

with nothing but your faith.

[narrator] Dilapidated
weather-worn buildings
hug the landscape.

[Dominic] Roofs and walls are
crumbling and collapsing in.

The slate and timber
all over the floor.

They're in complete disrepair

and surely have not been lived
in for many years.

and surely have not been lived
in for many years.

[narrator] There's few clues

as to what went on
at this desolate site.

[Katherine] This small,
defunct pier

shows us some of the things

that the people must have done
in their daily lives,

but it's out there
with the ocean

and showing that everyday
dangers

that they must have faced
as well.

[narrator] But something
much more
mystical lingers here.

[Dominic] If you look beneath
the crumbling rocks,

you'll see centuries
of history revealed.

[Sascha]
But what was this place?

[Sascha]
But what was this place?

Was it an ancient
Roman mining town?

Was it the remote fortress
of some band of knights?

Was it the kingdom of some
obscure Irish prince?

[narrator] What tragedy
left this tiny settlement
deserted?

[narrator] Five miles out
in the Atlantic Ocean,

this windswept rock
is Inishark.

[Tommy speaking]

[Tommy speaking]

[narrator] Local archeologist,
Tommy Burke,

has been fascinated by
the island's ghostly houses

since he first came here
as a child.

[Tommy speaking]

[narrator] Tommy knew that
a hardened community

[narrator] Tommy knew that
a hardened community

still lived here
in the first half
of the 20th century.

So, he set about searching
for former residents.

A 75-year-old Martin Murray

was born and raised
on Inishark.

He remembers
a frugal childhood
in his family home.

[Martin speaking]

[narrator]
But what drew families
like Martin's to these shores?

[narrtaor] This island's
isolation has attracted

[narrtaor] This island's
isolation has attracted

religious pilgrims for
more than a thousand years.

[Sascha] The land was both
a humble sanctuary

and a cultural vanguard

that attracted people
from around the world.

Holy men who came here

felt that they were closer
to God

than those at the center
of civilization.

[narrator] Archeologists
like Tommy

believe a Christian community
came here

as early as the 6th century

with the aim
of devoting their time

to contemplation and prayer
in tiny stone built cells

known as Clochans.

[Tommy speaking]

Clochan Liath, as it's known,

would once have had

would once have had

a special conical stone roof

kind of beehive shaped.

It was a secluded oratory
for private devotions.

[narrator] This is
all that remains

of the Clochans of Inishark,

but it was clearly part of
a larger religious ceremony.

Clochan Liath is believed
to be the last

in a 14-station pilgrimage
on the island,

representing Jesus' last walk.

[Tommy speaking]

[narrator] Following
in the pilgrims footsteps,

Tommy finds further evidence

of their life of devotion
and faith.

Another station
is a bullaun stone,

a common feature
of Irish monastic sites.

The circular depression
at the top

is often said to be
the imprint of a saint's body,

and the islanders believed

that the water
that collected there

that the water
that collected there

could cure all manner
of minor ailments.

[narrator] Over the centuries,

pilgrims came and went,

and in time
the settlement grew,

but it was only
a matter of time

before the unforgiving
Atlantic Ocean
staked its claim.

[narrator]
In the early 20th century

in the Atlantic Ocean
of Ireland's West Coast,

the people of Inishark

still followed
a centuries' old
religious way of life.

Life here was
incredibly tough.

You were really exposed
to the elements,

so, the people
and the livestock

would have had to face
the harsh, unceasing winds

would have had to face
the harsh, unceasing winds

and the driving rain
that came in
on the Atlantic storms.

[narrator] So, what happened
to the God-fearing souls

who once lived here?

[Tommy speaking]

[Katherine]
They worked very hard.

Uh, many of them were fishers,

and they were well known
as being these great rowers.

Sometimes they would even
row out seven miles,

uh, to some
better fishing grounds.

uh, to some
better fishing grounds.

[Tommy speaking]

[Sascha] A chapel
was built here in 1894

and a school in 1898.

And for this isolated,
sparsely populated area,

this was a real building boom.

[narrator] But despite
the growth in infrastructure,

many goods still had to be
rowed across

from the neighboring island
of Boffin,

including one important
resource,

a priest.

[Sascha] Once a month,

a priest would be rowed
across the water to Inishark.

[narrator] Resident
Martin Murray

recalls his time in Inishark's
quirky chapel.

[Martin speaking]

[Sascha] As you look at
the chapel,

though, it feels as if
there's something missing

though, it feels as if
there's something missing

and it's not just the roof.

For a place of worship,
there's nowhere to sit.

The women would have had to
bring their own wooden,

three legged stools

while the men would have
just lined up

against the walls.

[narrator] But the priest
only came monthly,

so, Inishark's more devout
residents

made the perilous boat journey
to Boffin

for weekly worship.

Eventually, the treacherous
seas

that swirl around Inishark
took their toll.

[Dominic] On Easter Sunday
1949,

the weather was severe.

A gale was blowing
and the currents were strong.

Most residents decided
it was too dangerous

to cross to the next island
to go to church,

but two brothers and a cousin
decided they would have a go.

[narrator] The three men
successfully made it
to Boffin,

but the storm had worsened
by the time they returned.

[Katherine] As they were
leaving and coming back,

the ocean got them.

[Martin speaking]

[Martin speaking]

[narrator] This awful event
struck fear

into the isolated people
of Inishark.

There was no local doctor.

There was no priest.

And the government
even refused to install

a telephone line.

[narrator] It wasn't long
before tragedy struck again
in 1958.

One man fell drastically ill
when the weather was
too bad to launch the boats.

Cut off and with no telephone,

the islanders lit a bonfire
to alert their neighbors

on the island of Boffin
that they needed help,

but their signal went
unnoticed.

[narrator] Trapped
on Inishark,

the man's chances
looked bleak.

[Martin speaking]

[Katherine] No doctors
could get to him

and worse in the minds
of many of the people
of Inishark,

no priest could get to him
to give him his last rites,

and this was
a kind of final straw

for many of the people
of Inishark.

[narrator] The island's
population swiftly dwindled,

and two years later,
the government relocated

the remaining 23 inhabitants
to the mainland.

[Sascha] And the entire
remaining population

of Inishark departed,
with one exception.

of Inishark departed,
with one exception.

Thomas Lacy, the father
of two of the three boys

that had drowned in 1949,
refused to leave.

[Katherine] And Thomas
sets his table

for one last dinner

and he sets out three plates,

one for himself

and one each for
his missing boys.

He has his dinner.

He prays.

And the next morning,
when the priest comes,

Thomas gets on the boat
and leaves Inishark for good.

Thomas gets on the boat
and leaves Inishark for good.

[narrator] The Rocky Isle
will always hold

pride of place
in Ireland's history.

[Tommy speaking]

[Katherine]
The Island of Inishark

symbolizes joy,
symbolizes tragedy,

symbolizes joy,
symbolizes tragedy,

uh, but fits itself

in this great Museum
of Ireland.