Islands of Ireland: No long face thanks to the inspirational beauty of Kerry's Horse Island

There are many Horse Islands in the country — prominent ones include those at Roaringwater Bay and at Ballinskelligs Bay — but this one near Valentia and Portmagee is just gorgeous

Horse Island, near Valentia Island, County Kerry. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

The passage between Valentia Island, County Kerry, and the mainland at Portmagee is a major strategic point offering safe passage to seafarers from the often mountainous seas towards calmer waters. The Irish for the island is Dairbhre, or ‘Oak Isle’ but the English name often causes confusion with the Spanish city — to which there is no connection. Cuan Bhéil Inse (Harbour Mouth of the Island) mutated to Ballentia before ultimately changing into Valentia. It is one of our largest islands, coming in in fifth place. Illaunloughan is the tiny island opposite with an early medieval church whose ecclesiastical remains has major echoes 12km out to sea at Skellig Michael.

At the mouth of the channel lie a few islands with uninspiring names but definitely with inspiring beauty: Horse, Long and Short, and a little further to the south, Lamb Island. Long Island (which previously appeared on this page) is the biggest of the quartet, with Short, a diminutive afterthought. Horse Island is the most northerly of the set, right at the mouth of the channel. While Long Island shows a burial ground on the archaeological record, nothing shows up for Horse Island. Long Island also has remnants of the Iron Age promontory forts which date from 500BC to 400AD. These are small islands with steep cliffs and grass on top and may once have provided enough resources for people to scrape an existence.