Blasket Islands

The Blasket Islands off the tip of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry were home until 1953 to a small Irish-speaking community whose isolated way of life produced a notable body of literature, with island writers such as Peig Sayers and Tomas O Criomhthain documenting a fishing and farming existence largely unchanged for centuries before the last residents were evacuated to the mainland. The main island, Great Blasket, is now uninhabited but open to day visitors arriving by boat from Dunquin, who can walk among the ruined stone cottages, visit a small seasonal cafe, and follow trails across the island's grassy spine with views back to the Dingle Peninsula and out to the open Atlantic. Seals haul out on the rocks along the shoreline and dolphins are occasionally spotted from the boat crossing. The Blasket Centre on the mainland at Dunquin, a visitor center dedicated to the islands' literary and social history, is worth visiting either before or after the boat trip for context. A visit to Great Blasket, including the boat crossing and a few hours walking the island, takes most of a day. Crossings depend on sea conditions and can be cancelled at short notice, so building flexibility into the schedule is advisable.