Clare Island ( or ''Oileán Chliara''), also historically Inishcleer, is a mountainous island guarding the entrance to

Clew Bay Clew Bay (; ) is a large ocean bay on the Atlantic coast of County Mayo, Ireland. It is roughly rectangular and has more than a hundred small islands on its landward side; Ireland's best example of sunken drumlins. The larger Clare Island guar ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

, Ireland. Historically part of the kingdom of Umhaill, it is famous as the home of the 16th century pirate queen Gráinne O'Malley. The population of the island is 138 according to the 2022 census. To the south-west lies Inishturk (inhabited) and Caher Island (uninhabited), and to the north is Achill Island.

History

Through the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Clare Island was part of the lands of the O'Malley family. The ruins of an O'Malley tower-house, known as

Granuaile's Castle Granuaile's Castle is a tower house and National Monument located in Clare Island, Ireland. Location Granuaile's Castle is located on the east coast of Clare Island. History Granuaile's Castle was built in the 16th century by the Ó Mái ...

because of its most famous resident, are close to the pier at the eastern edge of the island. Clare Island Abbey near the south coast of the island was founded by the O'Malleys and contains the O'Malley Tomb, a possible burial site of Gráinne O'Malley. The Abbey is known for its rare medieval roof paintings. In 1588, a ship from the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

was wrecked on Clare Island and its men were killed by the O'Malleys. A very prominent landmark of the island is the Clare Island

Lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

, established by John Denis Browne, the 1st Marquess of Sligo, in 1806. On 29 September 1813 a fire, caused by careless disposal of the oil-lamp wicks, destroyed part of the tower and the lantern. The rebuilt light was ready in 1818. In 1834, the tower was struck by lightning. The lighthouse was decommissioned on 28 September 1965, replaced by the modern Achillbeg Island lighthouse on the south side of Achill Island. Clare Island Lighthouse has been refurbished and is now an upmarket guesthouse, while its optic is on permanent rotating display at the World of Glass museum and visitor centre in North West England.

Demographics

The table below reports data on Clare Island's population taken from ''Discover the Islands of Ireland'' (Alex Ritsema, Collins Press, 1999) and the

Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of Ireland.

Fauna and flora

Between 1909 and 1911, the

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger led an exhaustive biological survey of the island, the Clare Island Survey, which was unprecedented at the time and served as a template for future studies. A new study of the Island was made in 1990 to 2005 and the results were published in six volumes, the last of which was published in 2007.''Ed''. Guiry, M.D., John, D.M., Rindi, F. and McCarthy, T. K. New Survey of Clare Island Volume 6: The Freshwater and Terrestrial Algae. Royal Irish Academy This is reputedly the only survey of its kind in Europe and is serving as a model for measuring the

effects of climate change Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an Instrumental temperature record, overall warming trend, Effects of climate change on the ...

on environment.

Algae

Three species of freshwater red algae have been recorded from Clare Island: ''Batrachospermum atrum'' (Hudson) Harvey, ''B. turfosum'' Bory and '' Lemanea fucina'' Bory.

Transportation and infrastructure

Clare Island is accessible by daily ferry services from Roonagh Pier near Louisburgh. The island has a hostel, a few

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

s and a

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

and meditation centre. The island also has a bicycle rental facility. The island has its own primary school and a post office. Children go to the mainland for secondary school education. The harbour, located on the SE of the island, offers good shelter in all winds with West in them, but is completely open to easterly winds. The piers are not suitable for yachts to come alongside but in the summer Mayo county council maintains a number of moorings for visiting yachts. The inner harbour dries out with a sandy bottom.

Culture

The island features in the song "Clare Island" by the Irish folk-rock band, the Saw Doctors from their 1996 album, '' Same Oul' Town''. In the song, the island is described as a haven from hectic city life. It is also mentioned in the lyrics of the song " The Green and Red of Mayo". Clare Island is the setting for Bob Quinn's film ''Budawanny'' (1987). He also shot a documentary on Clare Island, titled ''The Island'', in 1966. Clare Island is the setting for the Michael Morpurgo book ''The Ghost of Grania O'Malley''. The Clare Island Film Festival has been run annually since 2014.

Gallery

File:Post Office, Clare Island c1900.jpg, Post office c. 1900 File:Clare Island - O'Malley's Castle - geograph.org.uk - 5221108.jpg,

File:Clare Island Abbey NE 1997 09 10.jpg, Clare Island Abbey File:Clare Island Lighthouse Optic at The World of Glass.jpg, The optic from the Clare Island

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

, now on permanent rotating display at the World of Glass museum in St Helens, England File:MayoIslands.PNG, Islands off County Mayo File:Clareisland1.jpg, Visiting Clare Island File:Clareisland2.jpg, Visiting Clare Island File:Inishturk clare island.jpg , Clare Island as seen from Inishturk File:Clare Island lighthouse 04.jpg, Looking across to Achillbeg from a height on Clare Island File:Clare Island lighthouse under renovation 02.jpg, Clare Island lighthouse under renovation in 1994 File:Clare Island, County Mayo, Ireland in summer 1994 06.jpg, Cliffs on the northern side of the island File:Clare Island, County Mayo, Ireland in summer 1994 03.jpg, The beach during calm weather File:Clare Island, County Mayo, Ireland in summer 1994 05.jpg, Looking towards the pier in 1994 (Note:

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

pile to left of photo) File:Clare Island views, Co Mayo 01.jpg,

Peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

banks on the island with the Mweelaun Islands beyond Image:Clare Island views, Co Mayo 04.jpg,

Lazy bed Lazy bed ( or ; ; Faroese language, Faroese: ''letivelta'') is a traditional method of arable cultivation, often used for potatoes. Rather like cord rig cultivation, parallel banks of ridge and furrow are dug by spade although lazy beds have ...

s on the island Image:

References

External links

Information site on Clare Island, updated regularly with news and events

Another information site on Clare Island, maintained by an islander

In this series of podcasts
on Mayo's Heritage, an excerpt can be heard from Ger Reidy's visit to Clare Island as part of his Heritage Tour of Clew Bay {{Authority control Islands of County Mayo