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

Clew Bay Clew Bay (; ga, Cuan Mó) is a natural ocean bay in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland. It contains Ireland's best example of sunken drumlins. The bay is overlooked by Croagh Patrick to the south and the Nephin Range mountains of North Mayo. Cla ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") 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 Conn ...

, Ireland. Historically part of the kingdom of

Umhaill Umhaill or Umhall (anglicized as Owill or Owel) was a Gaelic territory around Clew Bay in the west of what is now County Mayo, Ireland, comprising the baronies of Burrishoole (Lower Owel) and Murrisk (Upper Owel). By the 12th century, its ru ...

, it is famous as the home of the 15th century pirate queen

Gráinne O'Malley Grace O'Malley ( – c. 1603), also known as Gráinne O'Malley ( ga, Gráinne Ní Mháille, ), was the head of the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland, and the daughter of Eóghan Dubhdara Ó Máille. In Irish folklore she is commonly k ...

. The current population of the island is roughly 160. To the south-west lies

Inishturk Inishturk (''Inis Toirc'' in Irish, meaning ''Wild Boar Island'') is an inhabited island of County Mayo, in Ireland. Geography The island lies about off the coast; its highest point reaches above sea level. Between Inisturk and Clare Isl ...

(inhabited) and Caher Island (uninhabited), and to the north is

Achill Island Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Br ...

History

Through the

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

, 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 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

. The Abbey is known for its rare medieval roof paintings. In 1588, a ship from the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

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 lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

, 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. After 159 years of faithful service the lighthouse was taken out of service on 28 September 1965, replaced by the modern

Achillbeg Acaill Bheag (Achillbeg) is a small island in County Mayo, Ireland, just off the southern tip of Achill Island. Etymology Its name means ''Little Achill''. History Acaill Bheag was evacuated in 1965 and the inhabitants were settled on ...

Island lighthouse on the south side of

. 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 is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of Ireland.

Fauna and Flora

Between 1909 and 1911, the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

naturalist

Robert Lloyd Praeger Robert Lloyd Praeger (25 August 1865 – 5 May 1953) was an Irish naturalist, writer and librarian. Biography From a Unitarian background, he was born and raised in Holywood, County Down. He attended the school of the Reverend McAlister and t ...

led an exhaustive biological survey of the island, the

Clare Island Survey The Clare island Survey was a multidisciplinary (zoological, botanical, archaeological, and geological) survey of Clare Island an island off the West coast of Ireland. The survey which followed a similar survey of Lambay Island in 1905 and 190 ...

, 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 The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice ( glaciers), sea le ...

on environment.

Algae

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

Lemanea ''Lemanea'' is a genus of freshwater red algae, in the order Batrachospermales. Both species are considered to be widespread in the northern hemisphere. Although placed in the Rhodophyta (red algae) it in fact is green in colour. Description ' ...

fucina'' Bory.

Transportation and Infrastructure

Clare Island is accessible by daily ferry services from Roonagh Pier near

Louisburgh Louisburgh () is a small town on the southwest corner of Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. It is home to Sancta Maria College and the Gráinne O'Malley Interpretive Centre. Transport Road access Louisburgh is located on the R335 regional r ...

. The island has a hostel, a few

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

s and a

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...

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 The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in the Republic of Ireland including three number ones. Their first number one, "I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts ...

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:Granuaile castle.jpg, Granuaile's Castle File:Clare Island Lighthouse Optic at The World of Glass.jpg, The

optic Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

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 lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

now on permanent rotating display at The World of Glass gift shop, St. Helens, UK 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

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