Innisfallen Island

Innisfallen is a small island in Lough Leane, about a 15-minute row from Ross Castle. It contains the ruins of a monastery established around 640 AD, including a Romanesque doorway from the twelfth century and the remains of a later oratory. The island is entirely wooded with ancient oaks and the ruins sit in clearings among the trees.

Boats to the island depart from Ross Castle jetty — a boatman rows you out and waits while you explore. The trip takes about an hour including the crossing. There is something genuinely atmospheric about arriving by rowing boat at a tree-covered island with a 1,300-year-old religious settlement in the middle of an Irish mountain lake.

things to do sight
A story
The Annals of Innisfallen, compiled by monks on the island from around 1092 onwards, constitute one of the most important primary sources for early medieval Irish history. They record events from the birth of Christ to 1320 and include entries written in Old and Middle Irish. Brian Boru, who became High King of Ireland in 1002, is thought to have been educated at the monastery here in the late tenth century.