Ireland’s Inishbofin Island, situated in the north-east Atlantic, is particularly exposed to climate change. Weather-dependent access and frequent isolation from the mainland necessitate continuous adaptation to erosion and extreme weather. Understanding how Islanders adapt is hindered by a lack of longitudinal studies and data on Irish islands. Developing and deploying an interdisciplinary ethnographic framework drawn from geography, anthropology and island studies, this research examines the interplay between culture, identities, and socio-ecological dynamics to enhance understanding of resilience and vulnerability in Inishbofin. Key objectives include understanding the significance of island identities for resilience; exploring the impacts of colonial legacies and post-colonial governance on climate resilience and vulnerability; assessing the exposure of island services, infrastructures, and livelihoods; and investigating the lived experiences of the island's weather, or weatherworld, and future implications. Identity is enmeshed within Inishbofin's distinct socio-ecological dynamics, particularly exchanges between land and ocean, and internal and external governance. Resilience emerges from memory (sometimes tragic) and experience of incremental and abrupt changes in society, weather and the sea, formed by continuous transformation of and attachment to place, with fluidity being a central characteristic of both islandness and resilience. Findings underscore the critical role of power relations and political narratives in shaping island resilience and vulnerability. Historical marginalisation, exemplified through suppression of the Irish language and theft of human remains for science, has impaired equitable planning and policy, contributing to vulnerability. Marginalisation persists through deferral of essential services and infrastructures, including electricity grid connection and an accessible deep-sea pier, available only in 1998. As Inishbofin’s non-Gaeltacht status precludes a secondary school, migration ensues from childhood. Tourism and proliferation of second home ownership mean that nearly half of its housing remains unoccupied for much of the year yet is inaccessible to locals. Water supply has faced suspensions due to elevated manganese levels, and primary livelihoods of fishing, farming and tourism are at risk from climate change. While islandness is a factor in determining the availability and exposure of services, infrastructures and livelihoods, national policy and external governance are a greater determinant. Adaptation is restrained by mainland projections of island stasis rather than its ongoing transformation. Implementing adaptation designed for the mainland, oblivious to island weatherworlds, leads to policy failures and destabilises political narratives. This dynamic, heightening tensions between island resilience and external pressures, results in an approaching tipping point whereby population decline may threaten the sustainability of island communities. By analysing geographical, cultural, social, historical, political, economic and psychological factors, the research provides a comprehensive view of the processes that generate resilience and vulnerability in Inishbofin. The findings are not unique to this island and call for a greater focus on justice, together with recognition and affirmation of islandness in responding to climate change in these distinctive, important places of land and ocean.