Islands of Ireland: Manx shearwater puffins thrive on Cruagh Island but dogs haven't fared well there

Cruagh, County Galway is also popular with daytrippers from Cleggan

Cruagh Island, County Galway: a renowned site for the Manx shearwater which has been the subject of an in-depth study by UCC ornithologists

Here is a mini-archipelago that has attracted monks and poets and many others for more than 1,000 years. Even the occasional island hunter.

About 5km from Cleggan in Co Galway lie three islands of similar size that if seen from the mainland, as the sun sinks, just cry out to be visited.