The Blasket Islands

The islands

The Blasket Islands — the Great Blasket, or Bleasca Mór, and the smaller Little Blasket — lie off the south coast of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, a short boat ride from Derrynane. For most of the twentieth century they were home to a small community of fishermen and their families, and the story of that community is one of the great stories of modern Ireland.

The last of the islanders left in 1956, when the remaining families were evacuated to the mainland. The writer Diarmuid Ó Cúillinn, who grew up on the islands, told the story in his memoir, and it has kept the Blaskets in the national imagination ever since. The last resident, Tomás Ó Cúillinn, died in 1978. The islands are now a protected nature reserve, and part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

What is there now

What the islands are now is a bird place. The cliffs are covered in seabirds — gannets, puffins, razorbills, kittiwakes — and the colonies are among the largest in the country. There are seals in the water, and the light on a summer evening, when the sun goes down over the Atlantic and the islands glow, is one of the best things you will see on this coast.

There is a small visitor facility on the Great Blasket, and the islands are a short walk from the landing point. The path is rough in places, and the weather is quick, but the place is easy to visit in calm conditions.

When to go

The light is best in late summer, when the birds are nesting and the days are long. The islands are at their most dramatic in a winter gale, and the view from Derrynane on a clear day is a good one in its own right.

Practical

Visits are by boat only, from the mainland. The boat runs in suitable weather, and the schedule depends on the sea state; check the current service before you plan a trip. There are no facilities on the islands beyond the small visitor area, and the ground is rough. Allow a few hours for the visit.