Islands of Ireland: Sights set on fame and fortune — from Lough Arrow to Chile

Inishbeg in Sligo is the birthplace of Ambrosio O'Higgins whose son, Bernardo, became the first leader of independent Chile after it seceded from the Spanish Empire in 1810

Feral goats on Inishbeg, Lough Arrow, County Sligo. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

Not many islands have a link (perhaps tenuous, perhaps not) to the independence movement of another country. A country on the other side of the world in this case.

Lough Arrow, in the south of County Sligo has several large islands and several very small ones. A huge proportion of the lough is in County Sligo with only a sliver of the trout-rich lough included in County Roscommon. It has made one appearance here before with the pleasant semi-wooded island of Inishmore also known as Gildea’s Island [link below].