Caher Island

Caher

Native name: Cathair na Naomh
Looking towards Caher Island from Inishturk
Caher Caher Island (Ireland)
Geography
Location	Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates	53.°43.3′N 10°1.38′W / 53.7217°N 10.02300°W / 53.7217; -10.02300Coordinates: 53.°43.3′N 10°1.38′W / 53.7217°N 10.02300°W / 53.7217; -10.02300
Archipelago	Clew Bay
Total islands	117
Major islands	Clare Island, Inishturk, Inishbofin, Inishark, Achillbeg, Caher Island
Area	128 acres (52 ha)[1]
Highest elevation	61 m (200 ft)
Highest point	Unnamed Peak
Administration
Ireland
Province	Connacht
County	Mayo
Demographics
Population	0
Pop. density	0/km2 (0/sq mi)

Caher Island (Cathair na Naomh in Irish), an uninhabited island off the coast of County Mayo in Ireland, is situated between the larger Clare Island and Inishturk.

Etymology[]

Cathair na Naomh in Irish means the City of the Saints.

History[]

Islands off County Mayo
Click for larger view

An ancient centre for pilgrimage, it is still visited for this reason today.^[2] On 15 August each year, the Feast of the Assumption, there is a pilgrimage to the island.^{[citation needed]}

The island has an Early Christian monastery with the remains of a chapel in an enclosure and several carved slabs. The island appears to hold the remains of hermitages of seventh century monks.^{[citation needed]}

Access to the island[]

The island is accessed by boat from Inishturk. Caher can only be accessed reasonably safely by approaching with a small boat, such as a currach, from the east to the point marked as Portatemple on the charts. This is not a safe harbour, as heavy Atlantic swells can break through even on rare calm days. The comment on the chart for the area, "The entire area of irregular depths up to 4 miles offshore between Clew Bay and Killary harbour 10 miles further south, breaks in bad weather" reflects the fact that even in moderate swell conditions of less than 5 metres, peaks can rise and break unexpectedly.

References[]

See also[]

• Clare Island
• Inishturk

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caher island.

This article related to the geography of County Mayo, Ireland is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

• v
• t