Galway – Inis Bó Finne, Inisbofinby Pamela de Brí

The island of the white cow is situated 8km off the coast of Connemara, near Cleggan and has a population of 180 inhabitants. The island has been inhabited since the Iron Age. Colmán, patron saint of the island, founded a monastery there in the 6th century. Over the years the island was occupied by the O’Flaherty’s and the O’Malley’s before being taken over by Cromwell when it is said to have been turned into a prison for Catholic priests. In the 1930s when Thomas Mason visited the island there were over 800 inhabitants. A castle near the harbour, Bosco’s Castle, was said to have been owned by a Spanish pirate, who protected the harbour by a chain stretched across the entrance.