Cruit Island (Irish: An Chruit or Oileán na Cruite) is a small inhabited island in the Rosses district in the west of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It is linked to the mainland by a bridge.

Cruit Island has a strong musical heritage. Seán McBride (Irish: Seán Mac Giolla Bhride), a native of Cruit who spent most of his life both living in and working as a teacher in St. Johnston in East Donegal, wrote the Irish ballad The Homes of Donegal in 1955. The song Thíos Cois na Trá Domh originates from the island and remains a popular song in the Donegal Gaeltacht to this day.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1841 258 —     1851 252 −2.3% 1861 260 +3.2% 1871 273 +5.0% 1881 286 +4.8% 1891 252 −11.9% 1901 245 −2.8% 1911 255 +4.1% 1926 237 −7.1%	Year Pop. ±% 1936 279 +17.7% 1946 172 −38.4% 1951 151 −12.2% 1956 135 −10.6% 1961 107 −20.7% 1966 86 −19.6% 1971 69 −19.8% 1979 84 +21.7% 1981 83 −1.2%	Year Pop. ±% 1986 89 +7.2% 1991 77 −13.5% 1996 70 −9.1% 2002 61 −12.9% 2006 53 −13.1% 2011 85 +60.4% 2016 60 −29.4% 2022 92 +53.3%
Source: Central Statistics Office. "CNA17: Population by Off Shore Island, Sex and Year". CSO.ie. Retrieved 12 October 2016.

Media related to Cruit Island at Wikimedia Commons