Islands of Ireland: Mud and a naming mystery at Cork's Marshy Islands

These islands could be considered eyots or ait or maybe you prefer bitmay or holm — or perhaps glasoileán is the best term

Islands of Ireland: Marshy Islands lie between Creagh and Inishbeg between Baltimore and Skibbereen, County Cork. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

Scarcely can there be an island wedged between two places of such historic interest but with so little to say for itself. Such is the distinction for a group of islands (archipelago is too fanciful a term in this case) in West Cork.

Just outside the village of Baltimore, where the sizeable island of Inishbeg nestles athwart the River Ilen in a magnificent rustic setting of dense woodland, meandering river, and even a chapel, to complement nature’s hand, lie the Marshy Islands.