The March/April issue of GO magazine from AAA has an article Land’s End – Discover the Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara by L.A.Jackson.

It is about the islands off the west coast of Ireland. I saw them, but did not visit them.

- Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara – Ireland, A Different Visit - Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara – Ireland, A Different Visit

– Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara – Ireland, A Different Visit

The March/April issue of GO magazine from AAA has an article Land’s End – Discover the Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara by L.A.Jackson. - Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara – Ireland, A Different Visit

The March/April issue of GO magazine from AAA has an article Land’s End – Discover the Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara by L.A.Jackson.

“On the western edge of Ireland’s Connemara District, land gives way to the mighty Atlantic Ocean, but only begrudgingly, as there are islands dotting the coastline that continue to resist the incessant will of the waves. Three in particular, Inishbofin, Inishturk and Clare Island, are inhabited (although barely), and accessible only by ferries or private boats. These out-of-the-way parts of the Emerald Isle are a step back from the complications of modern life accentuated by the chance to explore the rugged western Irish coast.”

Land’s End – Discover the Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara
By L.A.Jackson
March/April issue of GO magazine from AAA

Road on the Island or Inishbofin Photo by Towel 401 - Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara – Ireland, A Different Visit

Road on the Island or Inishbofin
Photo by Towel 401

Inishbofin

About 180 people live on the island of Inishbofin.  It is part of County Galway, just off the coast of Connemara, across from Ballinakill Harbour and Cleggan Bay.  It is small, less than 3 ½ miles long and under 2 miles wide.

An uninhabited island, Inishark is just beside Inishbofin, separated by a channel.

The name of the island in Irish is Inis Bó Finne. That means Island of the White Cow after a legend of a cow that turned into a stone. Inishark means Shark island.

On the island of Inishbofin you can explore the ruins of a 13th-century church that was built at the site of a 7th century monastery; Dún Mór, a ring fort; Cromwell’s Barracks, a seal colony and more.

There used to be a light, like a lighthouse, but uninhabited. It washed away in 2014.

Community on Inishturk Photo by Towel 401 - Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara – Ireland, A Different Visit

Community on Inishturk
Photo by Towel 401

Inishturk

Only 58 people live on the island of Inishturk in two small communities. There are two other abandoned communities.

Inishturk Sheep Photo by Towel 401 - Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara – Ireland, A Different Visit

Inishturk Sheep
Photo by Towel 401

Inishturk has a Napoleon tower, one of the towers built as lookout and signal towers during the Napoleonic Wars of 1803 to 1815.

The rocky northern coast of Clare Island Photo by Keith Salvesen - Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara – Ireland, A Different Visit

The rocky northern coast of Clare Island
Photo by Keith Salvesen

Clare Island

Only 159 people still live on Clare Island. At the recorded peak, 1615 people lived on the island in 1841.

Clarre Island Harbour with Granuaile's Castle seen to the right Carrowmore Hill is on the mainland on the opposite shore with the mountains of Mayo beyond. Photo by Oliver Dixon - Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara – Ireland, A Different Visit

Clarre Island Harbour with Granuaile’s Castle seen to the right
Carrowmore Hill is on the mainland on the opposite shore with the mountains of Mayo beyond.
Photo by Oliver Dixon

Granuaile’s Castle on Clare Island was the stronghold of the 16th-century Pirate Queen Gráinne O’Malley, Ní Mháille. She was Lord of the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland. When her sons and her half-brother were taken prisoner by the English governor, she formally met with Queen Elizabeth I. The story says that the Queens guards removed a concealed dagger she carried. She refused to bow or recognize her as the Queen of Ireland.  Queen Elizabeth agreed to return the captives and stolen cattle and land and remove the governor if Ní Mháille would stay out of the Irish lords’ rebellions.  The governor was briefly removed, but then back and the property was not returned, so the Pirate Queen went back to supporting the Irish side in the Nine Years’ War.

Ferries at the pier of Inishbofin Photo by Andreas F. Borchert - Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara – Ireland, A Different Visit

Ferries at the pier of Inishbofin
Photo by Andreas F. Borchert

Getting There

“The Inishbofin ferry departs from the town of Cleggan in County Galway on the Irish mainland. Inishturk can be reached on ferries from either Cleggan or Roonagh pier just to the north of County Mayo. Clare Island is served by the Roonagh Quay. From Shannon International Airport, it is a little over two hours by car to the ferry ports.”

Land’s End – Discover the Islands of Ireland’s Western Connemara
By L.A.Jackson
March/April issue of GO magazine from AAA

Featured image at the top of the page is Inishbofin harbor, Port Island with Cromwell’s Barracks and the light on Gun Rock. A ship is leaving the harbor.
Photo by Drow 69