Islands of Ireland: Gulls, seals — and maybe fairies — at County Cork's Sheelane Island
Sheelane Island, near Glengarriff, County Cork. Picture: Dan MacCarthy
On the road west from Glengarriff, County Cork, a view suddenly opens up that is the rival of any in the country. As the road bends to the north a spectacular view of Bantry Bay and the opposite peninsula of Sheep’s Head open up. And just before the road plunges, a couple of islands can be spotted far below the road which in turn is overshadowed by Sugarloaf mountain.
The westernmost is Garinish West island, not to be confused with the famous Garinish in Glengarriff Harbour a few kilometres to the west. It is also not to be confused with the not-so barren Sheelane Island, which lies a little to the east of it and a little further out in Bantry Bay.
Though extremely rocky, the dazzling pinks of its sea thrift and its yellow lichen brighten a dull day. Sheelane is easy to spot as it is almost always fringed with foam as a result of the choppy sea.
Beautiful Bantry Bay! Sea Pink & seagulls on Sheelane Island with Sugarloaf Mountain behind #Beara #WestCork #wildatlanticway pic.twitter.com/T6erjIzF58
— Glengarriff Woods NR (@GlengarriffWood) May 17, 2018
It is unpopulated of course, and 'unsheeped', to coin a term, but Sheelane has one manmade structure in the form of a stone navigation point. There is a second about 1km west on the islet of Illaunthieve. Presumably, boatmen would line these up as a safe entrance to Coolieragh Harbour.
At two acres in size, Sheelane Island is a monster compared to some of the recent entries here.
The island is roughly 100metres square and about 5metres high. Its sunken ledges running 300m east and 200m south along with deep channels have made it a popular spot for divers to explore. Part of the reef and islet complex are the Cowler Rocks along with the Boar and the Sow Rocks. These latter two echo the famous Bull, Cow, and Calf islands at Dursey Island at the tip of the peninsula.
“The attraction for divers is Sheelane Island about 800m offshore. At the western end of the island is a small outlying rock with a splendid open cave to explore. Beyond which the rocky bottom is covered with brittle and feather stars as it runs down into deeper water,” writes diving.ie
Sheelane Island has had multiple versions of its spelling including Sheelhane Island; Oileán Sioláin; Island of Sillan (a man's name); Shalaune Island; and Síodh-Oileán or Fairy-mound Island. The island has a distinct mound in the middle which explains part of that reference.
Fairies appear in many Irish placenames, not least Fairy Island itself in Lough Gill, County Sligo. Also there are Glenshelane Woods at Cappoquin, County Waterford, and Cnoc Sióg in County Kildare among others.
This part of the Beara Peninsula has a huge amount of Bronze Age and Iron Age monuments including standing stones, fulacht fiadh, and of course, ring forts or fairy forts. And a lot of folklore built up around them.
One story on the Dúchas website relates:
“There is an woman living in the village and she tells me lots of old fairy stories. This is one of her stories about how her mother was taken by the fairies. She said that she was taken one night, and every night there was an old witch put in her place instead of her mother… Her father stood by the end of the house the next evening and the horses passed by. His wife was on the last white horse, and he tried to grab her, but the life fell from his hands and legs and he went home without her.”
Apart from the nocturnal visits of the fairies, Sheelane Island and its reefs attract a plentiful contingent of cormorants which can often be seen drying their wings on a breezy day. They are also known for herring gulls; and an Arctic tern colony was known to live there.
However, the birds do not have it all to themselves, as the now-you-see-them, now-you-don’t harbour seals pop up above the surface of the water as regularly as clockwork.
: No ferry. Kayak from Zetland Pier, 10km west of Glengarriff. Even on calm days, there can be a noticeable swell on the reefs around Sheelane Island.
