During the terrible years of his campaigns, Inishbofin was transformed into a penal colony for Catholic clerics, and terrible atrocities were wreaked on the islanders and on the unfortunate clergymen he rounded up. It is also home to the ruins of Cromwell’s barracks, constructed in 1652 at the entrance to the island’s harbour. In the year 668 Saint Colmán founded a monastery on Inishbofin, and it went on to survive until the 10th century. The island is divided into five townlands, West Quarter, Fawnmore, Middle Quarter, Cloonamore and Knock. The island measures only 5.7km by 4km and lies seven miles off Galway’s coast. The island’s English name “Inishbofin” is derived from the Irish Inis Bó Finne, or in plain language, the “Island of the White Cow”. The last permanent resident of the island, stuntman Pascal Whelan, died in February 2017 aged 75. The table below reports data on Omey Island’s population taken from Discover the Islands of Ireland (Alex Ritsema, Collins Press, 1999) and the Census of Ireland. Galway Tides (for Connemara add 5 minutes): Demographics It is however the main burial ground for this region, utilizing an ancient burial ground associated with St Brendan. It once supported a population of over four hundred souls. The island is now largely abandoned, with some part-time residents during the summer months. Feichin’s Holy Well can also be found to the west, just above a rocky inlet. The church was covered in sand until 1981 and it is surrounded by the remains of a semi-sunken village that was wiped out during the Famine. The ruins of Teampaill Féichín (Feichin’s Church), a medieval church built on a 7th century Christian settlement lie close to the north coast. Simply follow the direction poles in the sand that mark the way across, but be sure to check the tide timetable beforehand as you will be stranded if the tide comes in! Omey Island has a wealth of antiquities. Omey Island (Irish: Iomaidh) is a tidal island in Claddaghduff is accessible at low tide every day by crossing acres of firm sandy beach, either in a car or on foot.

Puffin corn