A lifetime of Islands: Island 373 - Inishnee/Inis Ní, County Galway

Inishnee (Inis Ní in Irish) is linked by a bridge to the mainland of County Galway two miles to the north of the small town of Roundstone. It is low lying and is about 3 miles from north to south by a mile from east to west at its widest point.

Before the Great Famine of the 1850s the island had a population of 455. In 2011 the population was just 43. It is also home to lots of Irish hares but they were hiding from me, so I didn't see any.

In 2010 Monty Halls lived in a cottage on the island for six months while he was filming Monty Halls Great Irish Escape. You can stay in the same cottage, as it is rented as a self-catering holiday property. However it isn't the world's most exciting island, the road running down the west coast of the island is a bit narrow and the island doesn't have any amenities. It felt rather bleak to me even on a sunny evening in May.

About half way down the island there is a turning off the left down an even narrower lane, which leads to the ruined Chapel of St Matthew and an ancient graveyard. There are a couple of holy wells marked on the Ordnance Survey map but I didn't look for either of them.