The Top 15 Islands of Ireland

Marvel at the beautiful Clare Island lighthouse

At the mouth of Clew Bay, Clare Island is the birthplace of the feared and respected pirate queen Granuiale (Grace O’Malley in English), who ruled the waters of Clew Bay and Galway Bay for 30-odd years in the 16th century. The O’Malley family long owned the island, which features a tower house they built. There is also a church founded by the O’Malleys – the nearby O’Malley tombs are a possible burial site of Grace O’Malley. There is also an old lighthouse that has been refurbished into a guesthouse. There are daily ferries from Roonagh Pier near Louisburgh.

Listen to islanders spin yarns about the enigmatic Pirate Queen on an island hopping west coast adventure. 

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Achill Island is the largest island off Ireland’s coast and is accessible by bridge, unlike many of the others on this list. Today, it has a population of 250. Its history goes back to Neolithic times when the island had 500-1,000 inhabitants. Promontory forts and Megalithic tombs are scattered over the island.

Achill Island was once the terminus for the railway, which positively impacted the local economy. But – get ready for the goosebumps – it also fulfilled an old prophecy: that ‘carts on iron wheels’ would carry the souls of dead Achill Islanders during their first and last journey. In 1894, when the railway was about to open, the very first service carried the bodies of the victims of the Clew Bay Drowning who had been en route to meet an emigrant ship. Its final service in 1937 carried the bodies of the Kirkintilloch Fire, a terrible tragedy in which 10 Achill Islanders who had landed on the mainland were killed. The train service ended that day. So, the prophecy was fulfilled.

There are also the eerie ruins of 80 stone farmhouses on Achill – called the Deserted Village – which was abandoned en masse in 1845 due to the Irish Famine.

Experience Achill Island and other hidden gems on a cultural and historical tour of Ireland’s west coast.

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The smallest and only inland island on this list, the Isle of Innisfree is a small, uninhabited island in the Lough Gill, just outside Sligo town. Despite its size, the island has been made famous by Sligo’s most famous resident, W.B. Yeats, who was ‘suddenly inspired’ to write his poem about Innisfree, where he spent his childhood summers while walking down a London street (Read the whole poem here).

Though the island he romanticised is nothing more than a small isle, there are several other islands in Lough Gill worth exploring, such as Cottage Island (nicknamed Beezy’s Island for its famous residents) and Church Island, where a ruined church still stands. Read about the lakes of Ireland.

Explore the wilds of Sligo on a private cycling and yoga trip around Lough Gill. As this trip can be tailored to you, you may want to add a kayak activity on the lake. 

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Continuing with extremes, Rathlin Island is the northernmost part of Northern Ireland and the only inhabited island off the shores of Northern Ireland. Of prehistoric volcanic origin, Rathlin is today home to tens of thousands of seabirds – roughly thirty bird species- popular with birdwatchers. It has a bird sanctuary and is a great place to spot puffins.

For Viking fans, Rathlin was the site of the first Viking raid in Ireland in 795 (according to the Annals of Ulster). It was also home to a terrible massacre by a British king after a local chieftain dared stand up to the monarch, and Robert the Bruce once sought sanctuary on the island. Today’s population is about 125, though it was over a thousand people until about a hundred years ago. It is accessible by ferry via the port of Ballycastle.

Hike the unique geology of the Causeway Coast and the massive sea stacks of Rathlin Island (in season) for an unforgettable hiking adventure. 

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