[8] Tory has no airport, but it has regular ferry connections from mainland County Donegal.

During the winter months, ferry crossings may not be possible on some days due to rough seas.

However, between November and March a four-seater helicopter operates every other Thursday between Falcarragh and Tory.

[citation needed] In the apocryphal history of Ireland, Lebor Gabála Érenn, Tory Island was the site of Conand's Tower, the stronghold of the Fomorians, before they were defeated by the Nemedians in a great battle on the island.

The monastery dominated life on the island until 1595, when it was plundered and destroyed by English troops, who were waging a war of suppression against local chieftains.

)[citation needed] In 1608, in what is known as the Siege of Tory Island (one of the final incidents of O'Doherty's Rebellion), a group of the surviving rebels took shelter in the castle on the island, but began killing each other in hopes of securing a pardon.

The first battleship the British lost during the First World War, the super-dreadnought HMS Audacious (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.

[14] In 2009, the island gained attention from several news outlets when a resident was awarded damages against a neighbour for demolition and removal of his house in 1993.

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.

[25] Algae found locally include: Fucus vesiculosus, Fucus nodosus, Himanthalia lorea, Laminaria digitata, Rhodomenia laciniata, Plocamium coccineum, Ptilota plumosa, Conferva rupestrus, Codium tomentosum, Codium adhaerens det Dr Harvey.