Clare Island stay an experience not to be forgotten

Around 80 islands are scattered off Ireland's 3000-kilometre-long coastline, most of them uninhabited.

One that isn't, Clare Island off the coast of County Mayo, is home to around 160 people, most of them O'Malley's.

For centuries islanders clung to life on storm-battered Clare Island - a megalithic tomb suggests a farming community about 5,500 years ago.

At times wild Atlantic breakers lash the coast - there is nothing from here to Newfoundland.

But all is snug inside Clare Island Lighthouse, perched high on a craggy cliff on the island's northern tip.

For almost two centuries this ancient beacon guarded the entrance to Clew Bay and its 365 islands, of which Clare Island is the largest. Just six islands in the bay, including Clare Island, are inhabited year-round.

Once a safe haven for seafarers, this historic property, decommissioned in 1965, now offers sanctuary of a different kind.

The heritage-listed lighthouse buildings, built from 1806 by the Marquis of Sligo, have been restored and now feature upmarket accommodation.

From Roonagh Pier on mainland County Mayo, 280km north-west of Dublin, we catch O'Malley's passenger ferry for the 20-minute journey across Clew Bay to Clare Island, once home to pirate queen Grace O'Malley.

Grace was born in 1530, and her stone tower castle is the first building you see when the ferry approaches the island's picturesque harbour and village called The Quay, made up of a scattering of houses and a pub.

From here local taxi driver Humphrey O'Leary drives us along a narrow, rutted road to the lighthouse.

Humphrey, who also sometimes skippers the ferry, was born on the island. His wife Brigid drives the school bus, and the couple also run island tours.

Growing potatoes, fishing, cutting turf to keep warm over the long winter months, and brawny oarmanship and sailboats the only way access the mainland, was the reality of life here for centuries, said Humphrey as we bounce along the track.

"The weather always has been, and still is, the main topic of conversation," he said.

This region is known for ferocious storms; a few days before we arrived, gales had hit 125 kilometres-per-hour and horizontal rains lashed the 1,600-hectare island.

Humphrey pulls up before a cluster of white stone buildings, and we meet Clare Island Lighthouse co-owner Roie McCann, who shows us our room.

Cliff Corner, one of five rooms on offer, is just that, perched literally on the edge of a dramatic cliff with a dizzying sheer vertical drop to the churning ocean crashing onto jagged rocks below.

Our charming chamber has stone-flagged floors, a peat-burning stove, a big comfy bed, and a door to a private grassed terrace with incredible views of the ocean and cliffs, alive with seabirds.

During the warmer months, thousands of seabirds including fulmars, kittiwakes, guillemots and razorbills rest on the cliff ledges, while puffins nest in burrows on steep grassy slopes.

Roie shows us around the complex, including the lighthouse tower, which has walls four feet thick. "It was built to last," she said.

From the top of the lighthouse tower we have 360-degree views of the ocean and plunging sea cliffs, and can see neighbouring Achill Island.

As the sun sets, pre-dinner drinks are served in the lounge, followed by dinner in the dining room. Here we dine on minted pea soup, goat's cheese tart, tender local lamb, and a rich chocolate pudding. A good wine list features some New Zealand vintages.

Clare Island Lighthouse is so remote that guests who have enjoyed its isolation have included anyone from rock stars to business tycoons.

We wake to seabirds squawking overhead and, after breakfast, Humphrey arrives to take us for an island tour.

Across the island, a web of dry-stone walls sweep over hills and dip into valleys where black-faced sheep graze in lush green pastures.

The walls were built by tenants who were in arrears of rent during the famine, explained Humphrey.

We explore sapphire-coloured bays, sandy beaches, silent moorlands, Bronze Age mounds, a Napoleonic tower, and a megalithic tomb dating from around 3,000 BCE.

At the village of Kille, on the south coast, we drop into O'Malleys store. Over the road is St Bridget's Abbey, established by the O'Malleys in 1224.

This small abbey is said to be the burial place of Grace O'Malley, and features ancient frescos depicting knights, dragons and griffins, and a plaque with the O'Malley coat of arms.

From Kille we can see the island of Inishturk, population 58, in the distance.

Back at The Quay we head for the Sailor's Bar, a welcoming pub with dazzling views across Clew Bay to Crough Patrick on the mainland.

The epicentre of the island, aside from the nearby Community Centre, Sailor's Bar is open during the summer months,

On the menu is a hearty seafood chowder, and fresh Clew Bay mussels.

As a place to get away from it all, it doesn't get much better than this isolated isle and its splendid lighthouse - standing at the stone walls surrounding the lighthouse, you feel like you're standing on the edge of the world.

An accommodation package at Clare Island Lighthouse goes for around $1,810 per double for two nights, including breakfasts and four-course dinners. For more information click HERE.

Clare Island Lighthouse is also currently offering "Storm Watching" packages in October, November, early December, mid-March and April, from $2,185 per double all-inclusive, including tours.

Clare Island Lighthouse is part of Great Lighthouses of Ireland, 12 lighthouses where you can stay in former lightkeepers' cottages. For more information click HERE.