Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [371]
The island is also one of the dwindling number of places where you can find choughs (resembling blackbirds but with red beaks).
Sleeping & Eating
Facilities are limited; if you’re just going for the day, consider taking your own food.
If you want to stay overnight, for a real ‘ends-of-the-earth’ feeling, head to the windswept southwestern corner of the island, 5km from the harbour to Cois Abhainn ( 098-26216; Toremore; s/d €40/70; May-Oct), a cosy B&B with sensational views of Inishturk Island. Not all rooms have private bathrooms, though prices are the same for all. Evening meals (€20) can be arranged.
Getting There & Away
The nearest mainland point is Roonagh Quay, 8km west of Louisburgh. Clare Island Ferries ( 098-28288, 087 241 4653; www.clareislandferry.com) and O’Malley’s Ferries ( 098-25045, 086 600 0204; www.omalleyferries.com) make the 20-minute trip from Roonagh (adult/child return €15/8). There are around 10 sailings daily in July and August, and around two daily the rest of the year.
Getting Around
Enquire at the pier for taxis and bikes ( 098-25640; per day €10).
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INISHTURK ISLAND
pop 100
Still further off the beaten track is ruggedly beautiful Inishturk, which lies 12km off Mayo’s western coast. It’s sparsely populated and little visited, despite the two sandy beaches on its eastern side, impressive cliffs, wonderful flora & fauna, and a rugged, hilly landscape that’s ideal for walking. In fact, ambling along the island’s maze of country roads is a perfect way to adapt to the pace of life here. The island’s website (www.inishturkisland.com) is a good source of information.
If you want to stay, the scenically positioned Teach Abhainn ( 098-45510; d with/without bathroom €76/64; dinner €25; Apr-Oct), a working farm 1.5km west of the harbour, has mesmerising views, hearty home cooking and comfy rooms.
John Heanue operates a twice-daily ferry ( 098-45541, 086 202 9670; adult/child return €25/12.50) from Roonagh Quay, near Louisburgh; the crossing takes 45 minutes. There’s also less frequent service to Cleggan in County Galway.
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CROAGH PATRICK
Just 8km southwest of Westport, St Patrick couldn’t have picked a better spot for a pilgrimage than this conical mountain (also known as ‘the Reek’). On a clear day the tough two-hour climb rewards with stunning views over Clew Bay and its sandy islets.
It was on Croagh Patrick that Ireland’s patron saint fasted for 40 days and nights, and where he reputedly banished venomous snakes. Climbing the 765m holy mountain is an act of penance for thousands of pilgrims on the last Sunday of July (Reek Sunday). The truly contrite take the original 40km route from Ballintubber Abbey, Tóchar Phádraig (Patrick’s Causeway), and ascend the mountain barefoot.
The trail taken by less contrite folk begins in the village of Murrisk (Muraisc) beside a visitor centre ( 098-64114; www.croagh-patrick.com; 11am-5pm mid-Mar–Oct). Opposite the car park is the National Famine Memorial, a spine-chilling sculpture of a three-masted ghost ship wreathed in swirling skeletons, commemorating the lives lost on so-called ‘coffin ships’ employed to help people escape the Famine (1845–51). The path down past the memorial leads to the scant remains of Murrisk Abbey, founded by the O’Malleys in 1547.
Ruth and Myles O’Brien, proprietors of the raspberry-pink-painted pub The Tavern ( 098-64060; Murrisk; bar food €8.95-21.95, restaurant mains €15-30, set menu €27.50; bar food noon-9pm daily year-round, restaurant lunch Fri & Sat, dinner nightly May-Sep), reckon ‘the locals really own the place; we just pay the mortgage’, which explains the convivial atmosphere around its turf fires. The restaurant’s lobsters, cockles, prawns, mussels, scallops and oysters are delivered fresh from their fishermen next-door neighbours.
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