White Island

White Island is famous for the row of stone figures set against the north wall of its ruined church. They are older than the church, which dates from about 1200 and has a late Romanesque south doorway rebuilt in 1928, the only one of its kind surviving in Northern Ireland. Most of the figures look like clerics: one holds a bell and crozier, another a scroll, one is a grinning Sheela-na-gig-like figure, and one was left uncarved, a sign that they were made on the spot. Sockets on top of several heads suggest they once held up a timber structure, perhaps a pulpit. They are now dated to the 9th or 10th century and read as Christian rather than pagan. Moor at the island jetty; outside the church walls the land is farmed. A seasonal ferry runs from Castle Archdale.