Islands off Ireland

The west coast of Ireland gets battered by the waves of the Atlantic, with nothing to break their onwards march once having left the American continent. Just take a look at the map of Ireland and its west coast and you will see a myriad of islands lying off the coast from Cork to Donegal. Compare this to the relatively sheltered East coast shoreline, where islands are few and far between. The islands are all  different; some have human inhabitants, some are populated by sheep and some are simply a resting place for birds. Some will have sandy beaches while others simply offer vertiginous drops to the ocean.

The Blasket islands
The Blasket islands

The picture above shows a ferry that plies the Dunquin – Blasket Islands route together with the fine sandy beach on Great Blasket. The island is no longer inhabited, the last of the residents leaving in 1953.  Behind this beach the island rises up into a marked steep sided ridge.  My Brother-in-law swam with the friendly seals off this beach while a short walk on the Island took in hares, a couple of donkeys and a cacophony of sea birds. Going to have to visit more of the islands.

8 thoughts on “Islands off Ireland

  1. Have you ever been to Achill Island off the Mayo coast? The light always seems other worldly there. You’re making me homesick, Mick!

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  2. Coming from Yorkshire, I thought I knew what cliffs were all about. The Western coastline of Ireland is in another league.

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