A lifetime of Islands: June 2017

Wednesday, 28 June 2017

Island 381 - Tawin/Tamhain, County Galway

Tawin Island (Tamhain in Irish) is linked at its eastern end by a bridge to the neighbouring island of Tawin East. Tawin East is in turn linked by another bridge/causeway to the mainland of County Galway. Tawin Island is located about 5 miles to the south west of the town of Oranmore. The whole island is very flat and largely treeless, although there are a few trees close to the only row of houses on the island. One of the 14 or so dwellings on the island is an attractive thatched house. When I visited on a grey blustery morning in mid May 2017 the island was being grazed by cattle and sheep. I didn't see any human residents but I did meet a friendly dog.

The main body of the island is just over a mile from east to west and just over half a mile from north to south. However there is what looks from aerial photographs to be spit/salt marsh extending for almost a mile in a south easterly direction from the middle of the south coast of the island.

Sir Roger Casement was a human right activist and Irish nationalist. He was hanged by the British in 1916 for his involvement in the Easter Rising. He visited Tawin Island in 1904 in support of parents on the island who had withdrawn their children from the island's national school in protest that they would not be taught in the Irish language. The islanders raised enough money from sympathisers to their cause to build their own school. The building was used during the summer holidays as a Gaelic college.

Eamon de Valera spent three summers on Tawin Island as the Director of the Gaelic League's Summer School from 1911-13. He was later a commander during the Easter Rising of 1916, a political leader in the War of Independence and of the anti-Treaty opposition during the Irish Civil War (1922–1923). After leaving Sinn Féin in 1926, he founded the political party Fianna Fáil. He was head of the Irish government from 1932 to 1948, 1951 to 1954, and 1957 to 1959. In 1959 he resigned after being elected as President of Ireland. In the summer of 1912 Eamon de Valera met Sir Roger Casement for the first time on Tawin Island when Casement visited the island to see how the school was doing.

Old School

Thatched house

Sheep and Trees on Tawin

Old King George V post box - no longer in use

End of the road

Sunday, 4 June 2017

Island 380 - Tawin East/Tamhain Thoir, County Galway

Tawin East (Tamhain Thoir in Irish) is a very flat island sandwiched between and linked by road causeways/bridges to Tawin Island to the west and the mainland of County Galway four miles to the south west of the town of Oranmore. I only saw one signpost to Tawin, so if you want to visit, bring a map. In fact you will need three Discovery Series Ordnance Survey maps (Sheets 46, 51 & 52), as the Tawin Islands are inconveniently on two separate sheets and the bit of the mainland to which they are linked is on a 3rd sheet, which makes it a bit difficult to navigate to them successfully. Tawin East is about a mile from east to west but only quarter of a mile from north to south.

When I visited Tawin East in mid May 2017 there were a few cattle and some sheep grazing in some of the fields. There are a couple of modern houses at the eastern end of the island and the only road runs along the south coast of the island.

As I drove back onto Tawin East from Tawin Island I saw an animal in the road. At first I thought it was a muntjac deer but then it moved and I realised it was a very large Irish hare. He nonchalantly hopped along the road for a few more metres and then jumped over a wall into a field.

North Coast of Tawin East

Tawin East - looking towards Tawin Island

Multi-coloured cows of Tawin East

Big new house on Tawin East

Bridge linking Tawin East to the Mainland

Modern house on Tawin East

Saturday, 3 June 2017

Island 379 - Calf Island/Oileán an Lao, County Galway

Calf Island (Oileán an Lao in Irish) is a small uninhabited tidal island joined at low tide by 100 metres of sandy beach to the mainland of County Galway a mile to the south west of the village of Ardmore. The island is no more than 90 metres in diameter and is covered in rough grass. When I visited in early May 2017 thrift, bird's foot trefoil, daisies and scurvy grass were all in flower on the island. There were a few faint paths, so the island is obviously visited by people on a reasonably regular basis. The sand I walked across was very soft but dry.

According to the Ordnance Survey map, the much larger Finish Island (Fínis in Irish) half a mile to the south west of Calf Island should be accessible across the sandy beach at low tide. However I timed my visit to coincide with a low spring tide and there was no dry route to it. One account of Finish Island I found online said it is only accessible on foot when the spring tides are exceptionally low and my spring tide was only average.

Sandy beach near Calf Island covered in small round colourful shells

Sea radish? on Calf Island

Smoothed rocks on Calf Island

Thrift on Calf Island looking north west towards the mainland

Thrift on Calf Island - looking south west towards Finish Island

Rockpool on Calf Island

Island 378 - Mweenish Island/Mainís, County Galway

Mweenish Island (Mainís in Irish) is linked to the mainland of County Galway a mile to the south of the village of Carna via three road causeways firstly to Rusheenacholla and then another one to Carra Island and a 3rd to Mweenish. In 2011 Mweenish Island had a population of 145. In 1841 before the Great Famine of the 1850s the population was 649.

There is a primary school on the island, which is low lying and approximately 3 km from north to south by 2 km from east to west at its widest points. There are a couple of bed and breakfasts but no shop. There are three small loughs/lochs on the island. I saw a donkey and a few cattle grazing in some of the fields.

Primary School

Ruined house on the north east coast

Ruined house

Ruined house looking north towards Carna

Beach on north east coast

Ruined cottage by causeway

Boat and slipway near causeway

Island 377 - Carra Island/Oilean na Cara, County Galway

Carra Island (Oilean na Cara in Irish) is a small uninhabited low lying island linked by road causeways to the larger islands of Rusheenacholla and Mweenish a mile to the south of the village of Carna in County Galway. It is about 200 metres in diameter and is covered in rough grass. When I visited in May 2017 thrift, bird's-foot trefoil and yellow irises were in flower.

Rusheenacholla from Carra Island

Causeway to Rusheenacholla from Carra Island

Yellow iris on Carra Island

Stegosaurus wall on Carra Island

Island 376 - Rusheenacholla/Roisin an Chalaidh, County Galway

Rusheenacholla is linked to the mainland of County Galway by a causeway a mile to the south of the village of Carna. It is also linked by another causeway to the small island of Carra, which is in turn linked to Mweenish Island. Rusheenacholla is low lying and approximately 900 metres from north to south and 800 metres from east to west at its widest point. There are 6 or 7 houses on the island and in 2011 the population was 10, although I think a couple of the houses have been built since then, so the population may now be slightly higher.

A couple of the houses have healthy looking palm trees growing outside them. There was a wind shaped elder tree growing by the roadside and a few stunted sycamore, hawthorn and rowan trees.

Ti Jackie, Rusheenacholla

New house

Elder tree shaped by the wind

Palm tree and Cottage

Gorse bushes outside cottage

Stack of Peat

Thursday, 1 June 2017

Island 375 - Omey/Iomaí Island, County Galway

Omey Island (Iomaí in Irish) is a tidal island located 600 metres west of the coast of County Galway near the village of Claddaghduff. It is just over a mile from north to south and a bit more from east to west at its widest point. It is publicised to visitors as an interesting walk to do and when I visited on a warm sunny morning there were a few dozen people crossing the causeway or on the island. The causeway is just a beach of solid silver sand and you can drive your car across to the island and then over to the west coast where there is an informal car park. I chose to leave my car in the more formal car park by the start of the waymarked causeway.

In 1841 before the Great Famine, Omey Island was home to 397 people. Today there are several habitable houses but since the death of Pascal Whelan (a well known former stuntman) in February 2017 the island has no permanent residents at the moment. The island is still farmed: there were several fields of cows on the island, mainly around Fahy Lough, which is a large lake in the middle of the island, which presumably provides drinking water for the cattle.

The island is very sandy and the west coast is machair grassland, which was covered in buttercups, daisies, primroses, violets, thrift, bird's-foot trefoil, orchids, kidney vetch, cuckoo flower, sea holly and milkwort. I heard a cuckoo and several skylarks and saw a curlew. I also thought I heard a chough. The boggy parts of the island have extensive patches of yellow irises and some of the hedges lining the island's only road are mainly fuchsia bushes, although it was too early in the year for them to be in flower. There are a few scrubby elder trees in the sheltered south east corner of the island.

St Féichín founded a monastery on Omey Island in the 7th century. A medieval church (Teampaill Féichín), which is thought to stand on the site of St Féichín's Monastery, was excavated from the sand in 1981 and the ruins can still be seen on the north west side of the island. I can't have been far from them but didn't notice them. There is also a holy well dedicated to St Féichín but I didn't notice this either. I think it is on the north side of the bay on the west coast of Omey. There are also several shell middens on the island. On the east coast of Omey there is a very large cemetery that looks to still be in use.