Wender·Vista
Rotten Island
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileIreland
at the mouth of Killybegs harbour, in Donegal Bay

Rotten Island

— — the small light at the edge of the fleet.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A small uninhabited island at the entrance to Killybegs harbour on the south coast of County Donegal. The white lighthouse on its eastern side has guided the fishing fleet in and out since 1838, when George Halpin built it for the Commissioners of Irish Lights. The boats go past it for the mackerel grounds in the Atlantic and come back through it at first light. The name is older than the lighthouse and harder to translate cleanly.

from the studio
Rotten Island
— bring it home

Rotten Island, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Rotten Island

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Rotten Island is a small uninhabited island in Donegal Bay on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal, Ireland, lying at the seaward entrance to Killybegs harbour. The island is best known for its white-painted lighthouse, established by the Commissioners of Irish Lights and first lit in 1838. The tower was designed under George Halpin, the engineer responsible for many of the lighthouses on the Irish coast in the first half of the nineteenth century. The light was electrified and automated in 1959.

— the water

Killybegs is the largest fishing port in Ireland by tonnage landed, and Rotten Island sits across its threshold. The fleet works the mackerel, herring, and blue whiting grounds of the north-east Atlantic, with the largest pelagic trawlers moored at the deep-water quay built out into the harbour in the 1990s. The waters here are deep close to shore — over twenty metres within a few hundred metres of the island — which is part of what made Killybegs the fleet's natural home.

— the visit

The lighthouse is not open to the public; the island is a working aid to navigation managed by Irish Lights. The classic view is from the cliff walk above Killybegs town, from the Slieve League road as it climbs west, or from one of the boat tours that run out of Killybegs in the summer to Slieve League's sea cliffs — among the highest in Europe at 601 metres. The Wild Atlantic Way coastal route passes through Killybegs as it traces the Donegal coastline.

— where
Ireland · County Donegal
— position
54.6175° N · 8.4806° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
2 km N
Killybegs
fishing port
15 km W
Slieve League
sea cliffs
8 km E
St John's Point
headland and lighthouse
28 km E
Donegal Town
market town
N
Rotten Island
Killybegs
Slieve League
St John's Point
Donegal Town
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Rotten Island — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Rotten Island is a small uninhabited island at the mouth of Killybegs harbour, on the south coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It lies in the outer reach of Donegal Bay on the Atlantic seaboard.

The lighthouse was first lit in 1838 by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. It was built under the direction of George Halpin, the engineer behind many of the lighthouses around the Irish coast in the early nineteenth century.

Yes. The light remains an active aid to navigation, managed by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. It was electrified and automated in 1959, so there are no resident lighthouse keepers on the island today.

The island is closed to the public as a working navigation site. The lighthouse is best seen from the cliff walks above Killybegs, from the Slieve League road, or from summer boat tours running out of Killybegs harbour.

Killybegs is the largest fishing port in Ireland by tonnage landed, and the home port of the country's main pelagic trawler fleet. It works the mackerel, herring, and blue whiting grounds of the north-east Atlantic.

About fifteen kilometres east, along the Donegal coast. Slieve League's sea cliffs rise to 601 metres above the Atlantic, making them among the highest in Europe and the headline coastal site of southern Donegal.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The lighthouse is the first thing the fleet sees coming in and the last going out, and anyone who has worked the boats or grown up in the town knows the silhouette. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note travels well.

The piece sits well in coastal-modern, Irish-cottage, and warm minimalist interiors. The Atlantic blues and lighthouse whites read as calm against pale walls, oak, and unbleached linen.

Yes. Coastal-modern leans on one strong sea-light anchor against a soft, undecorated room, and a working lighthouse at a fishing-port mouth carries that anchor without the seashell-decor cliché.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads cleanly. Above a longer console or for a feature wall, a four-tile Mural opens the image up. A nine-tile Mural is the full installation.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and shower-safe. The Glossy finish is best kept for framed wall pieces away from steam.

A microfibre cloth with water is enough. No abrasives, no alcohol, no ammonia. The colour lives inside the ceramic surface, so it does not lift with cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio. There is no licensing, no stock imagery, and no third-party artist. Reid Wender curates the atlas and the studio finishes each tile in-house.

— if this one stayed with you

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