An Irish Galapagos

THE FLORA and fauna of Lambay were surveyed in 1905 and 1906. About 90 species of plants and animals were added to the Irish list. Invertebrates, previously unknown to science, were discovered.

If Lambay, in the Irish Sea, could produce such results, an island off the west coast, it was thought, might yield even more dramatic ones. So, in 1908, a meeting took place at the National Museum in Dublin, attended by the leading naturalists of the day, including Robert Lloyd Praeger, who had organised the Lambay study. Its aim was to select an island in the west for intensive examination.

Islands were all the rage among naturalists at that time. Although Darwin spent less than four weeks on the Galapagos, what he found there had transformed biology. Such was the impact of his work, that islands developed a mystique for scientists, which has remained with them ever since.

Organisms can change under environmental pressures on islands, without their newly-formed characteristics being neutralised and watered down by genes from outside. The problem for Praeger and his colleagues was to select a suitable island. Their choice was Clare Island, 5km off the Mayo coast.

At 16.6km², Clare is one of our larger islands. Knockmore, the summit of which is 462 metres above sea level, is the highest hill on any Irish island; during World War II, a Canadian flying boat crashed into its shoulder, killing all on board.

The island’s most conspicuous manmade feature is a fine loose stone wall, which encloses an area set aside as commonage by the Congested Districts Board. It took just 11 months to build the wall in 1890. Prior to the great famine of the 1840s, 1,700 souls lived on Clare. Nowadays, the winter population is around 145. The old abbey church, which is being restored, has murals thought to date from the 15th century. Tree sparrows, now very rare in Ireland, nest in holes in the church walls.

Not only were the rocks, plants and animals be studied during the Clare Island survey; archaeology history and folklore also featured and over 100 specialists contributed to the project. Fieldwork began in 1909 and continued until 1911.

The results were a milestone in Irish, and indeed European, natural history. More than 100 animals new to science were discovered and almost 600 plant species were added to the Irish list.

The island, invaded by celebrated naturalists both Irish and foreign in 1909, is used to celebrity. It had been, after all, the home base of one of the most famous Irish women ever to have lived. Grace O’Malley, known as Granuaile, whose tower house still stands above the pier at Clare, was a colourful character. At a time when women never indulged in such pursuits, Grace was an expert sailor who commanded a fleet of galleys, roughing it with the men and enduring the hardship, squalor and danger of 16th century shipboard life. According to Anne Chambers, who has written a fascinating biography of her, this female warlord and pirate had two husbands, took lovers, gave birth at sea, spent time in Limerick Jail and, famously, travelled to London to meet the most powerful woman of her time, Elizabeth I.

But the island celebrities were not all human; the gannet, our largest seabird, has also honoured Clare. Gannet eggs and young probably saved lives during famine times. Their numbers throughout the north Atlantic reached an all-time low during the 1890s as a result of exploitation. Then attitudes changed and the population began to recover. It is still increasing.

In 1977, there were three Irish colonies and the gannets, like Praeger and his committee, were prospecting for a new island. In 1978, a pair nested on a small stack under the cliffs towards the southwestern tip of Clare; Ireland’s fourth gannetry had been founded. It remains our smallest. Although I failed to see any nests from the cliffs overlooking the stack last month, the local fishermen assure me that nine pairs bred this year.

It had been 10 years since my last sojourn on Clare. It remains as magical a place as ever and there have been few major changes over the decade. The pier where the boats dock has been upgraded and tourist information signs have been erected. There are more vehicles now. Ironically, the locals seem to drive everywhere; the only people who walk are the health-conscious visitors. There are several guesthouses and cottages can be rented. For those of an indolent disposition, a taxi is available but Clare Island is a walker’s paradise. To fully explore the magnificent cliff scenery of the northwest coast, with its fulmars, kittiwakes and gannets, several excursions will be needed. Bicycles, available at €10 per day, will reduce the amount of walking to be done.

The island is fascinating on all levels; a geological fault crosses it, Arctic-alpine plants grow on the slopes of the hills and the hare population is thriving. Choughs screech noisily along the cliff-tops and, with luck, that rare little finch, the twite, may be found.

A new survey of Clare Island was initiated in 1991. Volumes on the cultural landscape, geology, marine inter-tidal ecology and the abbey, have appeared to date. Paperback versions, which cost €30, are for sale in the island shops or from the Royal Irish Academy: [e-mail]