Week 28 - Have a pint on Clare Island

First of all I need to make an admission... when I wrote this card I thought Clare Island was actually Inishbofin. So not only did I get the island wrong but I got the entire county wrong too! I also did this last April and never blogged about it so here is the proof!

I'm not exactly sure what put this particular task into my head but I guess it was one of those excuses to get out and go somewhere I'd never been and it's pretty much on my doorstep in the West. As my lovely sister Aisling was home from across the water, we decided to make it a family outing and all head out to the island.

The ferry was packed as we had, in our wisdom, decided to pick the same weekend as the Clare Island Adventure Race! Thankfully the weather was spectacular as our typically Irish 'summer in April' appeared once again.

Listen up fact fans... the castle-like tower that greets you at the pier on Clare Island was built by the O'Malley family in the 16th century. When a ship from the Spanish Armada fleet was wrecked on the island, the O'Malley's could have invited them all in for tea and biscuits but instead they killed them all. The most famous resident in the tower was Gráinne O'Malley, the infamous bad-ass pirate queen, hence the tower became know as Grainuaile's Castle.

The rest of the island is spectacular and I'd highly recommend walking to the Lighthouse on the north of the island which was, as it happens, struck by lightning in 1834. It was decommissioned in 1965 but today you can actually stay there and there few other B&B views as spectacular.

So... to this pint. I am delighted to confirm that Sailor's Bar does a mean pint of Guinness! It was the reason we came out in the first place but in truth it was the kick in the ass we needed to go and explore one of the most spectacular parts of this country of ours.