The chapter examines otherness through the relationships of culture, tradition, and identity. The work looks at how otherness is shaped by local contexts and historical processes. The localities under discussion will involve the islands—the Aran Islands, Blasket Islands, Skellig Island, Sherkin Island, and Tory Island—off the mainland of Ireland. These are all remote islands with a small local native population, considered to have maintained its authentic Irishness to the present. The social identities that represent these islands reflect the way individuals and groups internalise established social categories within their societies, such as their cultural (or ethnic) identities, gender identities, class identities, and so on. These social categories shape our ideas about who we think we are, how we want to be seen by others, and the groups to which we belong (Zevallos). The island mentality is a psychological state more than a geographic state of a person: a belief in a community’s or culture’s superiority, correctness, or specialness compared to other communities or cultures (Urban Dictionary). The study seeks to investigate how island mentality shapes and defines the social identities inherent in the island context past and present. According to George Herbert Mead’s classic text, “ Mind Self and Society ”, the social identities are created through our ongoing social interaction with other people and our subsequent self-reflection about who we think we are according to these social exchanges. The primary sources chosen for this research present examples for the island mentality and the interaction of the locals with outside influences and outsiders. The question of what defines the other and otherness depends on how the minority or powerful groups are positioned as inferior to dominant groups. Colonialism and patriarchy also shape who is considered other. The following literary and cinematic works will delve into the questions on otherness in the above-mentioned areas: a novel by Irish author, Audrey Magee, The Colony (2022), two feature films by R. Flaherty, The Man of Aran (1934), and Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). Secondary sources that refer to queries on otherness will include, among others, works by Zygmunt Bauman, Richard Jenkins, George Herbert Mead.