The final action in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the naval Battle of Tory Island, took place in the sea just off the island. Recent history The first battleship the British lost during the First World War, the super-dreadnought (23,400 tons), was sunk off Tory Island on 27 October 1914 by a naval mine that had been laid by the armed German merchant-cruiser Berlin. The loss was kept an official secret in Britain until 14 November 1918 (three days after the end of the war). The sinking was witnessed and photographed by passengers on , the sister ship of . Since the 1950s, the island has been home to a small community of artists, and has its own art gallery. The English artist Derek Hill (d. 2000) was associated with the Tory artist community. In keeping with a long-standing tradition, a "king" is chosen by consensus of the islanders. The most recent "King of Tory" (in Irish, Rí Thoraí) was the painter Patsy Dan Rodgers (Patsaí Dan Mac Ruaidhrí), who held the post from the 1990s until his death on 19 October 2018. The king has no legal power, but has duties that include acting as a spokesperson for the island community and welcoming people to the island. Power is generated on the island today by three diesel electricity generators. These have a total capacity of 4 MW and burn through approximately 500 litres of fuel every day. In 2009, the island gained attention from local and international news outlets when a resident was awarded damages against a neighbour for demolition and removal of his house in 1993. The house had gradually disappeared over a nine-month period, while the owner worked in New Zealand. On his return, and with the house completely removed and replaced with a car park, his questions and the subsequent investigations by the police were reportedly met with a "wall of silence" from other residents. The story was featured in a book in 2012 and a BBC podcast in 2021, both titled "The House That Vanished". In 2015, the island's only café was destroyed by fire. Demographics The table below reports data on Tory Island's population, taken from Discover the Islands of Ireland (Alex Ritsema, Collins Press, 1999) and from the census of Ireland. Censuses in Ireland before 1841 are not considered complete or reliable. Tourism Tory Island has a number of sites connected with historical