Why You Need to Visit the Beautiful Cape Clear Ireland

Cape Clear Ireland is actually an island.

And it isn’t really on the tourist trail.

While there isn’t much in the way of big sites on Cape Clear, there is something really special and unique about this little island.

Curious?

I thought so.

Let’s find out more about this wee piece of land.

 

Where is this little Irish island?

Cape Clear is located in southwest Ireland, specifically in County Cork.

It sits about 8 miles off the coast not far from the village of Baltimore.

The island is tiny — 3 miles by 1 mile.

And the only way to get there is by boat — from either Baltimore or Schull.

The ferries from Schull only operate in the summer so Baltimore is the better bet.

 

5 Reasons to visit Cape Clear Ireland

Even though this island is small, there are some good reasons to spend some time here — at least a full day.

Let’s dive into these reasons.

Because I think when you are finished reading them, you’ll be convinced to put Cape Clear on your list.

 

It’s a Gaeltacht area

A what?

Gaeltacht areas are designated places in Ireland where the Irish language is spoken first.

Once upon a time, Irish Gaelic was spoken throughout the island of Ireland.

But as the Irish were taken over by the British, they were forced to speak English.

So Irish Gaelic kind of died out.

In the early 1920’s as Ireland gained its independence from Britain (except for the 6 counties of Northern Ireland which remained part of the United Kingdom), the Irish language saw a bit of a revival.

These Gaeltacht districts were established and recognized as such.

Cape Clear Island is one of them as is the Dingle Peninsula among others.

So as you wander about this wee island, you will most likely hear the locals speaking Gaelic and see signs in Gaelic first then English.

No worries though as everyone speaks English.

But I find these areas of Ireland really fascinating.

 

Interesting ruins

There are some ruins on Cape Clear for those of you who like a little history

You’ll find some megalithic standing stones, a 5000 year-old passage grave, a 12th century church ruin and the 14th century O’Driscoll castle.

And you’ll also come across the ruins of the old lighthouse and signal station.

Now, I didn’t see most of these — just the signal station ruins.

I wish I had seen the standing stones and visited the castle ruins.

There is definitely an intriguing history on Cape Clear with some ties to St Ciarán, the island’s patron saint, who was born on the island.

So history buffs will enjoy this Irish island.

 

Wildlife

And those who love wildlife will also love Cape Clear.

First of all, on the boat ride over you may very well see dolphins, whales, leatherback turtles, sun fish and sharks in the waters.

Into birds?

Yup.

Cape Clear and the waters around it (and the smaller islands) are home to black and common guillemots, cormorants and storm petrels.

I’m quite sure I saw cormorants on my ferry ride over from Baltimore.

This wee island is a fabulous place to see some of Ireland’s wildlife — especially marine life and birds.

 

Gorgeous landscape and views

The landscape of Cape Clear is amazing.

It’s hilly and boggy with a cliff-lined, rugged coastline.

In spring the gorse bloom bright yellow with the heather following in summer, covering the hills in light purple.

Sheep, cows and horses graze the hillsides.

The views from the walk up to the signal tower are stunning!

You can see out to the sea and back to mainland Ireland with the West Cork coast off in the distance.

I highly recommend the trail up to the signal tower ruins so you can drink in these magnificent views and really see Cape Clear life.

 

Experiencing the real rural Ireland

I always say that to see the real, true Ireland you need to get out of Dublin and get out into the rural landscape.

Well, Cape Clear is a rural landscape that also happens to be an island.

It’s a different way of life for these folks.

The locals have to get on the ferry to the mainland to do their shopping — food, toiletries, household items.

School-aged children take the boat over to go to school.

Life is definitely different on a rural Irish island.

And it’s eye opening to see how the locals live.

There are only about 180 full time residents with some of these folks living on farms.

Others work in the few shops or fish the waters.

Still others will commute to the mainland to work.

Spending even half a day on Cape Clear will open your eyes to a different way of life — one that the locals are proud of and happy to live.

 

A bonus reason

There is now a Cape Clear Distillery.

It’s just become operational so, for now, there is just gin being distilled and sold.

But in a few years, they will have whiskey.

I’m unclear if the visitor center is open just yet as of the time of writing this post, but it looks like it will be soon.

One more reason to spend some time on this little Irish island!

 

Final thoughts on Cape Clear

I wish I would have had more time on this island to explore a bit more.

In fact, in retrospect, I think spending a night or 2 on Cape Clear would have been a fabulous treat.

There would have been time to see a bit more of the island, including the Heritage Center.

Watching the sun set would have been high on the list for sure.

And I could have gone to one of the pubs because — even on a tiny island — there are definitely a couple of pubs.

This is Ireland!

Cape Clear is one of those out of the way spots, that is worth the extra time to get to and to explore.

It’s definitely more about being in nature than spending time in a city or town.

But it’s a real piece of Ireland — and a very unique one at that.

Put it on your list!

 

Booking.com

 

Please note that Wander Your Way does not recommend travel at this time due to the current global health situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, many destinations and attractions found on this website will not be operating although some places are slowly opening up. Please stay up to date using official sources like the WHO and CDC. I do plan to continue to write about incredible destinations and to offer tips on travel to Europe, so that you will find some solace in these posts — so you dream about travel and learn about travel. This way when we can all travel again, you’ll be ready to go! For now, stay home, or close to home, and stay safe!

 

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