| Native name: Cléire | |
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Roaring-water Bay |
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Cape Clear Island (Ireland)
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| Geography | |
| Location | Carbery's Hundred Isles |
| Area | 6.7 km2 (2.59 sq mi) |
| Length | 5.2 km (3.23 mi) |
| Width | 2.4 km (1.49 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 160 m (520 ft) |
| Highest point | Cnoicín an tSeabhaic |
| Country | |
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Ireland
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| Province | Munster |
| County | Cork |
| Barony | Carbery West |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 125 (as of 2006) |
| Density | 18.6 /km2 (48.2 /sq mi) |
| Additional information | |
| The island is a Gaeltacht | |
Clear Island or Cape Clear Island (officially known by its Irish name: Cléire, and sometimes also called Oileán Chléire) lies south west of County Cork in Ireland. It is the southernmost inhabited part of Ireland and has a population of over 100 people. Officially it is a Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) and most inhabitants speak Irish and English. Its nearest neighbour is Sherkin Island, 2 km east of the island. The island is divided into east and west halves by an isthmus. Ferries sail from the North Harbour to Schull and Baltimore on the mainland. The South Harbour is a popular berth for yachts.
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The island is known as the birthplace of Saint Ciarán, for the Dún an Óir fort, and for its birdlife, including Black and Common Guillemots, Cormorants and storm petrels. The island had a population of over 1,052 before the Famine, and the population of Cape Clear is currently less than 1 eighth that figure. The island has a primary school which was built in 1897. In 1998 Irish President Mary McAleese visited it. Every first weekend of September, Cape hosts the Cape Clear Island International Storytelling Festival, which has been running annually since 1994. The festival features professional international storytellers from all over the world.
Seals, basking sharks and dolphins are found in the surrounding water, while sea pinks and honeysuckle are common plants on the land. Cape Clear is home to a lighthouse and a bird observatory. Cape Clear is a prime bird watching destination and in certain times of the year is home to hundreds of species of migratory birds which are attracted to its climate, which is much milder than mainland Ireland's. [1]
The townlands of the island include: