Not everything on this list needs a boat. Gorumna sits at the core of the South Connemara Gaeltacht, reached by causeways and bridges rather than a ferry, and Derryclare Lough, whose single pine-crowned island turns up on half the postcards of Connemara, is a shore loop in the Inagh Valley between the Twelve Bens and the Maumturks. Claddaghduff is a village rather than an island, but when the tide drops a wide sandbar opens the walk out to Omey, its 7th-century church and holy well.
The crossings cluster in two places. The Aran Islands sit at the mouth of Galway Bay, with ferries from Rossaveal or Doolin; Inis Mór is the busiest and holds Dún Aonghasa on the lip of a 100 m cliff, Inis Oírr is small enough to cycle round in an afternoon, and Inis Meáin is the quiet one, with Synge’s cottage and Dún Chonchúir. Kilronan is where the boats land and the bikes are hired. Further north, off the Connemara coast, Inishbofin runs from Cleggan and is car-free, while its neighbour Inishark has stood empty since the last 23 residents left in October 1960; there is no regular ferry and the landing is dangerous.
Inland, the freshwater islands are a different sort of day. Inchagoill, the largest on Lough Corrib, is wooded and uninhabited since 1938, reached by boat from Oughterard or Cong. Sea crossings depend on the weather, and winter sailings thin out.
Three limestone islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, still Irish-speaking, with Dún Aonghasa perched on the lip of a 100 m cliff.
One of the few here you can drive to, joined by causeways, with a coastal loop through granite and bog toward views of Aran.
The mainland village where a receding tide opens a sandbar walk to Omey Island, its 7th-century stone church and holy well.
The Inagh Valley lake with the small pine-crowned island, set between the Twelve Bens and the Maumturks, with an easy shore loop.
The largest island on Lough Corrib, empty since 1938, holding a 6th-century pillar carved with what may be Ireland's oldest Christian inscription.
22 of 22 shown — tap a pin for the place.
galway
Three limestone islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, reached by ferry from Rossaveal or Doolin, where about 1,350 people still speak Irish day to day. The draw is Dún Aonghasa, a prehistoric fort on the lip of a 100 m cliff on Inis Mór, with the Plassey wreck from Father Ted and miles of stone-walled boreens to cycle.
South Connemara, galway
Gorumna sits at the core of the South Connemara Gaeltacht, reached by causeways and bridges rather than a boat. A small heritage centre holds a local historian's private collection, a coastal loop threads granite and bog toward views of the Aran Islands, and about three-quarters of residents speak Irish daily.
Claddaghduff, galway
Claddaghduff is a quiet coastal village best known as the mainland gateway to Omey Island. When the tide recedes, a wide sandbar opens a path to a 7th-century stone church and holy well, while the village itself carries the legacy of Connemara’s literary past and Famine history.
Derryclare Lough, galway
Derryclare Lough is the lake with the small pine-crowned island that turns up on half the postcards of Connemara. It sits in the Inagh Valley between the Twelve Bens and the Maumturks, with a fly-only fishery, a pocket of old oak woodland and an easy shore loop.
Inchagoill Island, galway
Inchagoill is the largest island on Lough Corrib – wooded, empty since its last caretaker left in 1938, and reached only by boat from Oughterard or Cong. Its draw is the Luguaedon Stone, a 6th-century pillar carved with what may be Ireland's oldest Christian inscription, alongside the Romanesque doorway of the 12th-century Teampall na Naoimh.
Inishark, galway
On 20 October 1960 the last 23 people left Inishark for good, and no one has lived there since. The Connemara island keeps its roofless cottages, a ruined church and Bronze-Age field walls, but there's no regular ferry and the landing is genuinely dangerous.
Inishbofin, galway
Inishbofin, the 'Island of the White Cow', is a car-free escape off the Connemara coast, reached by ferry from Cleggan. Hire a bike for the flat coastal loops, walk out to Cromwell's star-shaped barracks at low tide, and swim off Green Coast beaches.
Inisheer, galway
Inisheer is the smallest and most easterly of the Aran Islands, a low sheet of Burren limestone you can cycle around in an afternoon. Irish is the everyday language here. The circuit takes in a Blue Flag strand, a hilltop O'Brien tower house, sand-buried early churches and the rusted Plassey shipwreck that opens every episode of Father Ted.
Inishmaan, galway
Inishmaan is the middle and least-visited of the three Aran Islands, a place of bare limestone pavement, the drystone fort of Dún Chonchúir and Irish spoken as a first language. It's also where J.M. Synge spent his summers writing; his restored cottage and the cliff-edge Synge's Chair are both here.
Inishmore, galway
Inishmore is the largest and busiest of the three Aran Islands, built on karst limestone the same as the Burren and ringed by Iron Age forts. The clifftop fort of Dún Aonghasa is the reason most people come; a Blue Flag beach at Kilmurvey, a grey-seal colony and the Wormhole fill out a day.
Kilronan, galway
Kilronan is the main harbour and arrival point on Inishmore, where the Aran ferries dock and most visitors pick up a bike. It's a working Gaeltacht village of a few hundred people, with pubs, seafood and a small beach, and the start of the trails to the island's forts and cliffs.
Galway, galway
Stretching from Galway City to the foothills of Connemara, Lough Corrib shelters over a thousand islands, ancient Viking wrecks, and thriving salmon populations. Explore its waters by boat, kayak, or on foot along its scenic shoreline.
Inagh Valley, galway
Lough Derryclare, at the mouth of the Inagh Valley east of Clifden, holds one of Connemara's most photographed views: a single pine-covered island with the Twelve Bens rising behind it. Its shore protects a rare old oak wood, and anglers fish salmon and sea trout from fixed stands. Access and parking are free.
mayo
Lough Mask spreads over 22,000 acres of limestone water on the Mayo–Galway border – the fourth-largest lake in the Republic and one of its great wild brown-trout fisheries. Shallow, island-strewn eastern bays give way to deep western channels dropping to 58 metres. Cong, Ballintubber Abbey and the Lough Mask Distillery are all within easy reach.
Galway, galway
Nun's Island sits in the River Corrib below Galway Cathedral, named for the Poor Clare convent founded here in 1649. In the 1800s it was the city's industrial core, home to the Persse Distillery that sent 400,000 gallons of whiskey a year as far as the House of Commons. A rare surviving bottle later sold for £150,000.
Rossaveal, galway
Rossaveal is the main ferry port for the Aran Islands, a working Gaeltacht harbour on the Connemara coast where Irish is the everyday language. Colourful trawlers share the quay with the island boats, and the crossing to Inis Mór takes about 40 minutes.
Inis Mór, galway
Cleggan, galway
Galway, galway
Inisheer (Inis Oírr), galway
Lettermore, galway
Off the coast of Carna, galway
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