Islands of Ireland: Ronayne’s Island in County Kerry —  once overrun by aristocrats — is in a pristine state

Juniper thrives on this island which is surrounded by water lilies, and a sika deer and calf were spotted here recently

Islands of Ireland: Ronayne's Island, Upper Lake, Killarney in County Kerry. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

Killarney’s Upper Lake has eight named islands and a few others of smaller proportions which are not named.

Mind you, a couple of the smaller named ones are actually minute and owe their naming to the eccentric 19th-century habit of people paying a fee to have themselves immortalised. In Killarney’s case it was a Fr Murphy who facilitated the naming of many of the islands according to the antiquarian, Crofton Croker.