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.