Scattery Island sits in the Shannon Estuary about two kilometres west of Kilrush marina, and the short ferry crossing transports you to one of the most atmospherically abandoned monastic sites in the west of Ireland. The island was inhabited until 1978, when the last few families were evacuated to the mainland, and the sense of recent desertion — cottages with roofs still intact, vegetable patches gone to seed — adds to the strange quiet of the place.
The monastery founded by Saint Senan in the 6th century grew into a major ecclesiastical centre and was repeatedly raided by Vikings. What remains today is remarkable: six ruined churches spread across the island, a well-preserved round tower with its unusual ground-level doorway, and a cathedral ruin that still shows traces of Romanesque stonework. The island has no permanent resident and the ferry runs seasonally from Kilrush marina — ring ahead to confirm times as the schedule depends on demand and tides.