Clare Island ( or Oileán Chliara), also historically Inishcleer, 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 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, 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 of Ireland.

Fauna and flora

Between 1909 and 1911, the Belfast 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. This is reputedly the only survey of its kind in Europe and is serving as a model for measuring the effects of climate change 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.

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 mode=packed>

File:Post Office, Clare Island c1900.jpg|Post office c. 1900

File:Clare Island - O'Malley's Castle - geograph.org.uk - 5221108.jpg|Granuaile's Castle

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, 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 pile to left of photo)

File:Clare Island views, Co Mayo 01.jpg|Peat banks on the island with the Mweelaun Islands beyond

Image:Clare Island views, Co Mayo 04.jpg|Lazy beds on the island

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See also

  • Caher Island, a much smaller, uninhabited island 8&nbsp;km to the south
  • Inishturk, a smaller island 9&nbsp;km to the south-west

References

  • 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