1/5/2024 0 Comments Map of clew bay islands![]() Where to stayĬlare Island has a wide variety of places to stay including self-catering holiday homes, guesthouses and B&B’s.īook Clare Island Accommodation Explore moreĬlare Island is surrounded by beautiful coastal towns. Journey time is approximately 20 minutes. The Clare Island Ferry provides several sailings daily between Roonagh Point and Clare Island. Getting to Clare Islandīy ferry or yacht. If witnessing island life at its simplest and most genuine is your thing, then Clare Island is for you. Old potato ridges, or ‘lazy beds’ are everywhere: the evening sun reveals them jutting out from the land like the rib cages of some great dying beast. The island population is now around 130, yet everywhere there are traces of past generations, most significantly the 19th century population explosion and subsequent famine, when the island’s population of 1600 was reduced by half. And, of course, Clare Island is the burial place of the infamous “pirate queen’ Grace O’Malley’s (Grainneuaile). The island’s complex history can be read through its landscape, from archaeological remains of the Neolithic and Bronze age, to rare medieval wall paintings in the 14th century abbey. Day trippers are advised to bring a packed lunch as there is nowhere to get food, other than one shop which closes on Sundays. Most places are closed outside the tourist season. The tourist infrastructure on Clare Island however, is very basic, with only a few bed and breakfasts, one hostel, and a bar in the Community Centre. The island’s current permanent population of 130 souls increases substantially during the summer tourist season. The island lies just four miles off Roonagh Point, and the ferry crossing takes approximately 20 minutes. As the largest of the Mayo islands, Clare Island has a delightfully varied terrain, with spectacular sea-cliffs, very large numbers of nesting sea birds, and a rich ‘inland’ topography of hills, bogs, and small pockets of woodland. ![]() Beautiful Clare Island lies off the west coast of Ireland at at the entrance to Clew Bay.
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