Islands of Lough Ree

Island life has always held a fascination for writers, travellers and dreamers. Usually when we think about island life we think of our off-shore islands but given that Lough Ree is the third largest lake in Ireland it should come as no surprise to learn that many of the islands sustained small populations of inhabitants right up to modern times.

There is evidence of a ring fort on Inchmore but many of the islands experienced their initial habitation during the early Christian period when monasteries spung up islands Inchcleraun in the north of the lake to Hare Island in the south. Many of these monasteries survived (or were revived) in the early medieval period and continued to flourish until the time of Henry VIII.

The later period of habitation appears to have been linked to the land confiscations of the seventeenth century. In the aftermath of these confiscations the hapless Irish who had been deprived of their lands in the surrounding counties migrated towards the islands in search of new beginnings.

The island people of Lough Ree needed to be a hardy race. They eked out a living through fishing and farming. There was nothing romantic about life on the islands – the reality of island life was tough. These small communities were frequently cut off from the mainland for long stretches during the winter. They were cut off from shops and pubs; they were deprived of the services church and state and often were unable to get medical assistance. Their means of travel was an open boat with sprit-sail and oars and the transport of livestock was a precarious business.

Today only one island on Lough Ree remains inhabitated and a handful of holiday homes provides a small injection of life to the islands in the summer time. A few of the islands are still farmed though the owners now live on the mainland. The islands are natural sanctuaries, beautiful, unspoiled and steeped in tradition and history.