The main employers in the village were the Burtonport Fishermen's Co-op and the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM; Irish Sea Fisheries Board) ice plant; but these have both since closed and their former premises were demolished in 2021 as part of a seafront environment upgrade scheme.

[3] Burtonport was developed by Marquess of Conyngham as a rival to another planned village on Rutland Island.

[4] A plaque in the village commemorates the brief landing on the nearby Rutland Island of a French military force led by James Napper Tandy in a failed attempt to assist rebels during the 1798 rebellion on 16 September 1798.

The commune, which came to be known as "The Screamers" for its practice of primal therapy, moved to the island of Inishfree in 1980.

[9] As the mainland port for both the Arranmore car ferry services, Burtonport receives some passing tourist traffic.