St MacDara's Island, Connemara

Overview

For most of the 1980s this island’s little oratory was in everyone’s pocket. The steep-roofed stone church on St MacDara’s Island appeared on a run of five Irish definitive postage stamps issued between 1982 and 1986, and it is still the reason to make the awkward crossing: it is one of the finest early Christian oratories left in Ireland. The island itself (Irish: Oileán Mhic Dara or Cruach na Cara) is about 60 acres of low granite, grass and fern near Carna in south Connemara, County Galway, rising to a modest 27 metres and long uninhabited. It lies roughly 2.5 km off Mace Head, or 6 km west-southwest of Carna, depending on where you push off.

The stone oratory

Saint MacDara founded a monastery here in the 6th century, most likely a wooden one. The saint’s name is itself a small puzzle: he was born Sionnach (‘fox’), but foxes were reckoned unlucky by Connacht fishermen, so his patronymic MacDara stuck instead, and some scholars hear síon, ‘stormy weather’, in it too.

The stone oratory that replaced the wooden church is usually dated to around the 10th century, though not everyone agrees – one reading puts it as late as the 12th. Either way it is a remarkable survival: a small rectangular church, roughly 4.8 by 3.6 metres, built of massive unmortared granite blocks, with a steep high-pitched roof and projecting antae (the wall-ends) cut to imitate the timber crucks and shingles of an even older kind of building. It was restored in the mid-1970s and is a National Monument. Inside there is a stone altar, a sundial and carved crosses; outside, three penitential stations and the remains of a later shepherd’s bothy.

One story the stones no longer tell: a wooden statue of the saint that once stood here was buried on the orders of the Archbishop of Tuam, sometime between 1631 and 1645, in a fit of anti-idol zeal. It has never been found.

The Feast of St MacDara (Lá Fhéile Mhic Dara)

The quiet breaks on 16 July. MacDara is patron of the fishermen of west Connacht, of the parish of Moyrus and, less predictably, of the new potatoes lifted in July. On his feast day, boats leave Carna’s Mace Pier, Roundstone and Mweenish Island loaded with families and fishermen, currachs and painted Galway Hookers among them. Mass is said in the open air beside the oratory and the boats are blessed, which the fishermen take seriously; as the fleet turns for home, skippers dip their sails three times to the saint, a custom recorded since the 1600s. The day carries on back in Carna with music and a céilí.

It is not a trip to take lightly. There is no pier – you wade ashore or land on the beach – and the whole thing turns on the weather. In 1907 a storm caught the pilgrimage and nine people drowned. Go on the feast day if you can, when the community organises the crossing together; otherwise you are negotiating with a local boat owner and watching the forecast.

Getting there and practical tips

There is no scheduled ferry. You reach the island by private boat, arranged with fishermen or charter skippers in Carna or Roundstone, with the fare agreed beforehand and everything contingent on sea state. The 16 July pilgrimage is much the easiest time to go, since the boats are laid on for the Mass. For any other day, ring around local boat owners well ahead and check the tides and forecast before you commit.

On the island, expect nothing laid on: no shop, no shelter, no toilets. Bring windproof layers, sturdy footwear for the uneven granite, and your own food and water. A short climb leads up to the oratory, where the wind is brisk in any season. Stay on the paths around the archaeological remains and carry your litter back off with you.

Nearby attractions

Roundstone, one of the departure points, is a working harbour village with galleries and places to eat. Just inland, Connemara National Park has walking trails through peat bog and mountain, while the Aran Islands are a ferry ride away if you are carrying on island-hopping.

Practical information

Whatever day you settle on, agree the return time with your skipper before you land. There is no other way off the island.