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Welcome to Clare Island, Co. Mayo
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Follow Clare Island’s signposted historical trail and learn about our fascinating history.
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Granuaile’s Castle: On a rocky headland at the harbour on Clare Island is the square tower which served as Grace O'Malley's castle. Clare Island was the stronghold of this remarkable 16th-centurypirate queen who lived by her family trade of piracy and plunder. So widely feared was "Granuaile" (as she was known), that she was received with full honours at the Tudor court of Elizabeth I. She maintained her dominance into old age, died in her seventies in 1603, and was buried in the abbey on Clare Island.
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Clare Island Abbey: A cell of the Cistercian Abbey in Abbeyknockmoy, Co. Galway, Clare Island's Abbey is said to date from the mid 13th Century, though it was rebuilt around 1460. It houses an O'Malley crest – the devices include a galley fepresenting the clan’s maritime tradition as does the motto underneath: TERRA MARIQ POTENS O’MALLEY: “O’Malley – powerful on land and sea". It also houses a canopied tomb which is reputed to be the burial site of Granuaile. On the ceiling and walls are the remains of paintings of animals, dragons, cattleherders, warriors which are among the finest examples of medieval wallpaintings in Europe. A must-see for all visitors to the Clare Island.
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Clare Island Lighthouse: The original tower was built on this site by the Marquis of Sligo in 1806 and was destroyed by a fire in 1816. The present structure and lightkeepers dwellings were completed in 1818. Unfortunately the location of the tower at a height of 341ft on the northern headland of Clare Island sometimes caused the light to be obscured by mist. And after much debate an alternative site for an unwatched light was obtained on nearby Achillbeg Island. Clare Island Light was extinguished for the last time on 29 September 1965 and the premises were sold on.
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Napoleonic Signal Tower: At the western point of Clare Island, at Tuar Mor, lie the ruins of a signal tower, built in 1804, as an answer to the impending threat of a Napoleonic invasion. The cost and effort involved in the construction of the tower must have been exorbitant in its day and belies the strategic importance of the West of Ireland as a gateway to invading the British empire. The Clare Island tower is one of a whole line of interlinked towers along the coast, the next one to the north is on Achill Island.
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The sea cliffs on Clare Island are among the most dramatic on Ireland’s north west coast. They provide suitable nesting sites for thousands of sea birds during the summer months. Fulmars, kittiwakes, guillemots & razorbills rest on the cliff ledges, while puffins nest in burrows on the steep grassy slopes. A small gannet colony of only 3 pairs exists on a sea stack on the north west of Clare Island. This is the most northerly of the 5 gannet colonies found in Ireland. Suitable habitat is also provided for the rare chough, which forms large flocks on Clare Island. Its distinctive high-pitched call and acrobatic flight distinguishes it from other crow species. The peregrine falcon’s piercing cry can also be heard as it patrols the cliffs in search of prey.
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Fulachta Fiadh were bronze age open air cooking sites used by the Clare Island inhabitants about 2,500 years ago. A hole in the ground was filled with water. Stones were heated on a fire and dropped into the water to bring it to boiling point. Then the meat, usually wrapped in straw, was lowered into the boiling water. Hot stones were continuously dropped into the water until the meat was cooked. As evidenced here, these sites are generally identifiable as grass-covered horseshoe-shaped mounds, located adjacent to a small spring. There are also generally burnt stones in the vicinity of the area. There are 53 identified Fulacht Fiadh on Clare Island.
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In use from the late Bronze Age up to medieval times, Promontory Forts were defensive living areas built on top of headlands and cliffs, as seen here. Their strategic location protected their inhabitants from sea invasion by the steep cliffs. A bank of earth and stones built on the landward side made attack difficult. There are at least five promontory fort sites on Clare Island, a number of which include the remains of dwellings used by the defending inhabitants. |
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This burial mound is one of a number of Court Tombs which were built along the West Coast by Neolithic farmers to bury their elite. Court tombs are so called because of the arrangement of stones which form an open-air court in front of the entrance to the tomb, reflecting perhaps the communal nature of the funerary rituals and ceremonies which took place. This court tomb establishes that there was a farming community on Clare Island some 5,500 years ago. Early field walls and traces of an ancient forest can be seen in the cutaway bog due north of this tomb. Excellent traces of the famine landscape can also been seen at this site. All around are the raised potato drills used by tenant farmers to grow their staple crop.
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O'Malley Ferries, Strake, Clare Island, Westport, Co.Mayo. Eire.
Tel: +353 98 25045 Fax: +353 98 26976
Mob: +353 86 6000204 / +353 86 8870814
Email: enquiry@omalleyferries.com |
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