Islands of Ireland: One-legged, 80-year-old clan leader of Mayo isle sent to gallows in 1500s

The governor of Connaught Richard Bingham, appointed to the role by Queen Elizabeth in 1584, showed no mercy when claiming Castlehag Island

Castlehag Island, Lough Carra, Co Mayo with the ruins of a Bourke castle in the centre. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

A suspicion that human activity had preceded the arrival of this columnist began to grow on approach to this innocuous-looking island on Lough Carra, County Mayo. 

The usual presence of native tree specimens was augmented by a huge mound of lustrous ivy which has a predilection for limestone, the rock from which many of our castles are built.