Like a sleeping giant at the mouth of Clew Bay, guarding the western seaboard, Clare Island has a lively history which includes pirates, monks and more. Travelling by boat in choppy seas is as ancient a practice as making fire or eating by it (and just as romantic). The Clare Island experience begins at Roonagh Pier, just beyond Louisburgh where a ferry takes you to the island. The trip across satisfyingly long (20 minutes) and choppy enough to provide a sense of adventure from the outset, and if the wind is against you, gives the feeling of battling against the elements. Arriving in the quiet, slightly other-worldly harbour, swimmers may want to look no further than the golden sands blue of the flag beach nestled in the cove to the right of the pier.
On the left is Grainneuaile’s Castle, one of many strongholds dotted along the Mayo coastline, which protected and defended the Pirate Queen’s territory. Built in the 16th century, this 3-story tower house would have originally had a parapet over the entry from whence intruders were effectively attacked by dropping large objects on their heads--a far cry from today’s hospitality. By the 19th century, with its heyday past, the castle was converted to a police barracks in 1826 and some amendments were made to the building.
Walking from the harbour, there is a small hut, open, but unmanned, where you may rent or purchase a stick to walk the island with. A chat with a knowledgeable and friendly islander in the heritage centre just beyond the harbour offers insights into life on the island and adds to the growing feeling that you have arrived in a family home, such is the close-knit community. Displays of photographs and domestic paraphernalia make vivid what daily life here must have been like not so very long ago, before electricity and the internet.
There are several fairly easy walks. To see the island at a slightly faster speed, bikes are available for rent and horses for trekking outings. Bird enthusiasts might enjoy more slow-paced perambulations on any of the walking trails, or may join a group on a walking or bus tour.
A couple of kilometers to the southwest of the harbour, along a gently winding country road lined with wild flowers the sight of geese and sheep side by side on the slopes is not uncommon. En route to the small village of Kill you might meet an occasional car looking nearly as ancient as the 13th-century Cistercian Abbey and surrounding graveyard. Tucked away in the side of a hill looking out over the Atlantic, the views of Inishturk and Caher Islands are spectacular. Stepping inside this modest stone building with a nave and chancel divided by an arch, one can only imagine the monks who dwelled here, taking shelter from the winds and winter storms while living lives of strict obedience, poverty and chastity, sustaining themselves through the land.
Some of the most important examples of medieval wall-paintings in Ireland adorn the ceiling and walls here. Largely secular depictions, scenes include a knight in chain mail on a horse, musicians, dragons, griffins, a cattle raid and wolves attacking stags, these are the stories of life in a remote outlying spot. It is testimony to the gentle and informal style of life here that the key to this 900-year old abbey is picked up from the neighbouring cottage and left back on the windowsill upon departure. The ancient abbey is charmingly uninterpreted. An elaborate canopied tomb belonging to the O’Malley clan lies here and is said by some to hold the remains of Grace O’Malley (Grainneuaile).
In contrast to the eastern and southeastern coast of the island, the lighthouse, which established by the Marquis of Sligo in 1806, sits on the highest peak of the island with sheer cliffs overlooking the crashing surf. It’s life was foreshortened by a fire in 1813 and after 5 years using a temporary light a new permanent light once again illuminated the rock for a further 159 years until it was decommissioned in 1965. New life has been breathed into it in recent years as it has been lovingly if painstakingly restored for use as a stylish and comfortable B&B.
On the western point of the island stand ruins of a Napoleonic signal tower, one of a series which spanned the west coast of Ireland in the early 1800s. Built within sight of each other, so messages could be passed on in the event a much-feared invasion by the Frenchm, the next one to the north is on Achill Island. Other sites of interest include a Bronze-Age Promontory Fort, a 5000 year old megalithic tomb and a cooking pit, known as a Fulacht Fiadh from the Bronze-Age.
Clare Island has the nearly unique distinction of having had a biological survey conducted by naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger whose multidisciplinary approach investigated the islands’ geological, archaeological, botanical and zoological attributes. The renowned Clare Island Survey was the first of its kind and is still considered the premier survey of its kind in Ireland and Britain.
With a population now of only about 145, substantially lower than pre-famine population of 1700, the island cannot sustain a second level school. Once children finish primary school on the island they leave to go to school on the mainland. Usually they lodge with families during the week where they attend school in Louisburgh, returning only on the weekends and holidays.
The summer sees a surge in population, with the return of the teenagers along with their friends and visitors from near and far. Wet suits are donned and boats are fired up as the evenings stretch so far they sometimes feel like they’ll never end.