Overview and name origin
Carbery’s Hundred Isles aren’t a hundred. The name is a line of poetry, not a census: Thomas Davis wrote ‘the summer sun is falling soft on Carbery’s hundred isles’ in his 1844 ballad The Sack of Baltimore, about the 1631 Algerian pirate raid that carried off much of the village, and the phrase stuck. The real count is around fifty, and most of those are bare skerries that disappear at high tide.
What’s left is a scatter of islands across Long Island Bay and Roaringwater Bay in County Cork, from inhabited places like Cape Clear, Sherkin and Long Island down to rocks fit only for grazing. The Gulf Stream keeps the climate mild, so pockets of lush growth sit oddly beside treeless, wind-scoured hillsides. The eastern islands, sheltered inside the estuary, have always been the greenest and most settled.
If you have time for one crossing, make it Cape Clear or Sherkin. Cape Clear is the biggest and rewards a full day; Sherkin is the easy option, thirty minutes from Baltimore, and does nicely for a half-day with children.
Island highlights and what to see
Each of the main islands has its own character:
- Cape Clear (Oileán Chléire): Ireland’s southernmost inhabited island and the largest of the isles. It is a working Gaeltacht community with a 5,000-year-old passage grave, 12th-century church ruins, a 14th-century castle and a heritage centre. Summer brings Irish-language courses and the Cape Clear Storytelling Festival in the first week of September.
- Sherkin (Inis Arcáin): the second-largest island and a former O’Driscoll stronghold. The ruins of Dun na Long (Fort of the Ships) stand by the pier, along with a 15th-century Franciscan friary, Slievemore Hill for the views, and three sandy beaches including Silver Strand and Trá Bán.
- Long Island (Inis Fada): a slender, quiet island nearly 5 km long but less than a kilometre wide. The eastern end holds Copper Point Beacon, marking the way into Schull Harbour, and the traces of 19th-century copper mining.
- Heir Island (Inis Uí Drisceoil): the ‘island of the O’Driscolls’, with a sailing school, seven sandy beaches and a central reed-bed marsh. The Island Cottage restaurant runs weekend cooking workshops built around local seafood.
- The Skeams and smaller islets: East and West Skeam are grazing islands with unspoilt beaches, ruined farmhouses and a modest campsite. The Calf Islands and Goat Island nearby are best seen from a boat.
Wildlife, nature and sea swimming
The sheltered waters of Roaringwater Bay hold seals, otters, dolphins and porpoises, and summer whale-watching trips go out for minke, fin and humpback. Cape Clear has a bird observatory, and the cliffs and grassy islets give nesting room to gulls, cormorants and wintering waders. A few kilometres east of Baltimore, Lough Hyne – a rare salt-water lake and nature reserve – is a fine spot for swimming and snorkelling, with scuba diving by permit only.
For a swim, Heir Island’s Reen strand is a sandy beach fringed by marsh, Sherkin’s Silver Strand and Trá Bán suit family dips, and Cape Clear’s North Harbour stays calm while the South Harbour is for stronger swimmers. All are walkable from the ferry piers.
Festivals and cultural events
The islands run a busy summer calendar of music, sailing and the Irish language:
- May: Baltimore Fiddle Fair and Wooden Boat Festival
- June: O’Driscoll Clan Gathering on Cape Clear
- July–August: Sherkin Family Regatta and Baltimore Regatta
- September: Cape Clear Storytelling Festival
Most are family-friendly, with local artisans, musicians and Irish-language sessions.
Getting there and ferry information
Baltimore and Schull are the mainland gateways, both with free public parking – though in high summer you want to arrive early. All the ferries take passengers, bicycles and small cargo where there is room; no cars go to the islands.
- Baltimore ↔ Cape Clear: West Cork Ferries, about 45 min, year-round (4–5 daily)
- Schull ↔ Cape Clear: Schull–Cape Clear Ferry, about 30 min, seasonal (June–Oct, 3–4 daily)
- Baltimore ↔ Sherkin: Sherkin Island Ferries, about 30 min, year-round (5–6 daily)
- Cunnamore ↔ Heir Island: Heir Island Boat Service, about 20 min, seasonal summer (3–4 daily)
- Schull ↔ Long Island: Long Island Boat Service, about 5 min, seasonal summer (6–8 daily)
Private charters and guided cruises run for wildlife-watching, night-kayak bioluminescence trips and general island-hopping.
Practical tips for visitors
- Timetables and weather: check schedules before you set out. Winter services thin right out, and a sudden change in the weather can delay or cancel a crossing – the single biggest thing to plan around.
- Bikes and gear: bikes and kayaks travel on most ferries for a small fee (around €2 an item); book space ahead where you can.
- Pets and signal: dogs are welcome on leads on the ferries and most islands. Mobile reception is patchy on the smaller islands, so download offline maps and carry cash.
- Clothes and supplies: pack layers and waterproof footwear, and bring water and snacks – the smaller islands have little or nothing in the way of shops.
- Getting around Cape Clear: an electric shuttle bus meets each ferry for a small charge; booking ahead is wise.
The whole trip lives or dies by the timetable and the forecast, so pin down your return crossing before you go out – being caught on Cape Clear overnight is charming in theory and awkward in practice.