> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://rathkill-island-news.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Update: there are now 3 missing persons, not 2 - URL: https://rathkill-island-news.ghost.io/3-missing-persons-not-2/ - Published: 2026-01-01T07:03:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-07-20T07:09:50.000Z - Author: Orion Slade **The Tide Brings News… Island Newsletter Vol. XVI** **Local News:** It is with some administrative frustration that we must report the third disappearance this quarter. Colm Barra, age 52, was last seen on the road between the upper well and the pine copse on Thursday evening. His coat was found on the gatepost on Friday morning. His boots were inside the coat. There was a folded receipt in the left pocket. We will not say what the receipt was for. This is, as we noted, the third disappearance. ## Sign up for Rathkill Island News Welcome to Rathkill: a true escape from modern life. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. The other two: Lena Dowd in March (her dog returned on its own and is living with the Turpins now but barks strangely), and the man from the mainland who came to do the assessment of the community hall (his colleague remains and has made no comment about the absence; they are still measuring things). We wish to reassure all residents that the council is looking into this. The council would like everyone to know there is nothing connecting these three events. They have not looked into this. The community garden project has been paused. Máire from the garden committee says she is not pausing it because of the soil. She is pausing it to reassess the project scope. The soil, she adds in a second note sent the following day, is **completely normal soil** and she regrets mentioning it in the context of the first note. Ella’s B&B has reopened for the season. She is fully booked through August, which suggests that word of the island has continued to spread on the mainland, which is either heartening or a sign that something has gone wrong with the protective arrangements around the ferry crossing. Further review required. ## **Craft Corner: Monthly Talisman** In light of recent events, the newsletter team has asked Clíodhna to provide this month’s talisman recipe. She agreed immediately, which surprised us, as she normally takes two weeks to reply to anything. She sent it within the hour, which we also found notable. The recipe is as follows. ### **Return Ward — For the Safe Coming Back of People Who Have Gone** You will need: - a personal effect of the missing person (hair, a button, a letter, something worn close — if you have nothing, a name written in your own blood on cloth will do; a name written in ink will do less well but may do something) - a piece of iron — same as the protection charm, a nail is fine - fresh spring water or rain collected in an open vessel (not stored) - rosemary: fresh is best, dry is acceptable, it just takes longer **Timing:** During a waxing moon. Urgency changes the timing. If it is urgent, do it now. The moon understands. 1. Place the personal effect in the water. Let it sit for one full day and one full night. 2. Remove the effect. Do not wring it out. Let it drip. 3. Place the nail beside it, not touching. 4. Lay the rosemary across both. 5. Wait. Do not speak. Do not try to direct the working toward a specific outcome, only toward return. Specificity here is greedy. Return is enough. Return is everything. Repeat if required. Clíodhna notes: ***some people do not want to be found.*** She does not elaborate. We think about this note more than we print. ## **Herbarium Arcanum** Siobhán’s book has a new title. The original title, which we printed last month, has been changed at the request of legal. The new title is also not being shared at this time. We will tell you it is still about plants. ### **Plant: Old Man’s Beard (*Usnea antiqua pectoris*)** **— a correction and apology** This column previously described a lichen found on the grave markers in the old cemetery (the small one, pre-famine) as a benign decorative species. We have been informed by Siobhán that this was wrong and that we should not have described it as decorative, should not have described the grave markers as available for rubbing and should not have included the craft section on “grave lichen prints as beautiful home décor.” We apologise for this. The prints are very beautiful but they should be removed from your homes. Siobhán does not say why. She says to trust her. We do trust her. Please remove the prints. [For more plants](https://www.rathkill.net/herbarium-arcanum?ref=rathkill-island-news.ghost.io). ## **Local Weather** Dry. Warm for the season. The sea is dark blue in that way it only goes in a certain kind of summer, when summer is making an effort. Winds light and from the west. The ferns on the upper headland have gone to seed early, which the older residents say happens before a hard winter. The older residents say a lot of things. Most of them have been right. --- **Tips, hints, comments or suggestions? Email the editor, Orion Slade, at orionsladenews@gmail.com**