Home > Ireland > Mayo > Clare Island > Clare Island B&B

Clare Island B&B

Gordon's Cottage is a traditional B&B at home on Clare Island situated off the west coast of Mayo. Guarding the entrance to Clew Bay, Clare Island is the largest of the 365 islands within. Situated a mere 5 or so minute walk from the pier, Gordon's Cottage sits pleasantly by the roadside as the second home on the right in the Fán Glas area. With a wide open view from the cottage over the bay it offers a beautifully unrestricted view of Croagh Patrick and the rest of the mainland.

The island's complex history can be read through its landscape: from archaeological remains of the Neolithic and Bronze age, to rare medieval wall-paintings in the 14th century abbey, to the 'pirate queen' Grace O'Malley's (Grainneuaile) castle and burial place.

The island population is now around 140, yet everywhere there are traces of past generations, most significantly the 19th century population explosion and subsequent famine when the island's population of 1600 was reduced by half. Old potato ridges, or 'lazy beds' are everywhere: the evening sun reveals them jutting out from the land like the rib cages of some dying beast.

The island has been much studied, with the R.L. Praeger's The Clare Island Survey perhaps the most well known.

The island lies roughly four miles off the nearest mainland point and the ferry crossing takes approximately 20 minutes. The current permanent population of 140 increases substantially during the summer when there is a steady tourist season. The island has a number of B&B's, one hotel with a bar and one shop, which is also the post office.

Clare Island lies off the west coast of Ireland at the entrance to Clew Bay. The largest of the off-shore Mayo islands, it has a varied terrain: spectacular cliffs with large numbers of nesting sea birds and a rich 'inland' topography of hills and bogs and small pockets of woodland, making it ideal for hill-walking.

Please visit our website for a full list of details about the Cottage as well as further information on Clare Island and how to get here, I look forward to seeing you!!