Roscommon's uninhabited — but not uninhabitable — Yellow Island is prone to flooding in bad weather

These Lough Ree islands have been a safe haven for stranded sailors over the years too

Islands of Ireland: Yellow Island Large, Lough Ree, County Roscommon

Just north of Athlone Town as the Shannon flows from Lough Ree to wend its way ever southwards, lies a cluster of islands. The motley group is divided by an invisible borderline which separates them into counties Roscommon to the west and Westmeath to the east. Further up the lake County Longford joins the party and offers the insatiable island hopper an enticing bunch known as the Black Islands which look like Pacific atolls with their narrow promontories festooned with trees.

Yellow Island Large and Yellow Island Little are in County Roscommon with the latter’s inclusion down to metres. East of the border is a cluster of other small islands: Carberry Island, Kids Island and Green Island. Further east lies the much larger Hare Island where wealthy guests (including Nobel prize winner Sean MacBride and German novelist Heinrich Boll) once whiled away their summers.

And while Lough Ree still attracts thousands of summer visitors annually to places such as Hodson Bay, there is always the chance of natural phenomena intervening. The dreadful floods to which the River Shannon is susceptible today are far from a recent phenomenon, and while much worse in recent years, they are not unique. As the river seeks a natural level reflective of the amount of rain which has fallen, it will flood virtually all-low-lying land to its heart's content. And the Shannon basin has a lot of low-lying land.

A 1912 report in the Belfast Newsletter captured the dramatic scenes when Mother Nature let rip: “Extraordinary scenes are being witnessed along the course of the Shannon in the neighbourhood of Athlone, where the floods are causing much distress. The Shannon is now over three miles [5km] across from the Golden Island district in Leinster to Summer Hill in Connaught.” The paper stated that in some dwellings the water is over four feet deep [1.5m] and in some districts the tops of houses could be seen standing out in a mile of water. It said the river steamers, some with draughts of six or seven feet [2m] were not following their regular courses but taking shortcuts across flooded fields and easily passing across.

The report read that at the southern part of the lough “the tops of the trees are the only indication of the Yellow Islands, and the condition of the inhabitants all over the district is pitiable”. For the Shannon to reach such a height must have been an awesome sight and was the worst for 30 years. The Irish Times reported that the islands were a very popular picnic spot.

The wonder that is Lough Ree on river Shannon. Looking north to Yellow island and Hare island. There for eldest son’s sailing but eye drawn to little islands, churches, ringforts etc. What a landscape! @LoughReeYC pic.twitter.com/0rnuWYry9J

— Ian Doyle (@IWDoyle) August 31, 2020

The Yellow Islands have probably always been uninhabited, though not uninhabitable, but if anyone was on the islands when this particular flood struck they would not have survived.

The three acres of Yellow Island Large, and the one of its little brother, have offered a safe haven for stranded sailors over the years. Others on the lough have too of course, but Yellow Island has been at the centre of several incidents over the years where people whose boats have overturned or started to take on water have gone in their hour of need.

One such incident in 1890 involved two bandsmen from the Royal Irish Fusiliers who had taken two young ladies out on the lake on a day trip. When a stiff breeze hit their small sailing boat it capsized and they were flung into the water.  James Duffy, a boatman from Athlone was recommended to the Royal Humane Society for a medal for his efforts in saving all.

Lough Ree is very popular for duck hunters and over the years landowners have put up notices stating no shooting on their lands. Yellow Island Large has been so included in this warning as poison is laid “to protect game, birds and control vermin”.

These Yellow Islands have a synonym on the Boyne River just west of Drogheda, County Louth, where an infamous battle was once fought and whose consequences are still being played out. More anon.

How to get there: How to get there: No ferries. Island is privately owned. Kayak from Coosan Point on southern Lough Ree. Yellow Island Large is 2km due west.

Other: Shannon Country: A River Journey Through Time, by Paul Clements; Belfast Newsletter 02/01/1912