Islands of Ireland: The stories of Glanmore Lake

This lake near the Cork and Kerry border contains at least four small islands.

Illaunatee on Glanmore Lake, Co Kerry. Once home to a poitín maker who was hanged. It was also the hideaway for the IRB leader James Stephens in the 1860s on the run from English soldiers. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

Of all the improbable dwellings on Irish islands the one on Illaunatee, Co Kerry, is the most surprising. 

Firstly, from the vantage of the lakeside, the island is so small that it appears impossible to possess a dwelling, let alone what was once a substantial house. Secondly, that anyone would have bothered in the first place to construct a house in an area that did not already have a high population density.

The island lies becalmed in the centre of Glanmore Lake near the Co Cork and Co Kerry border on the Beara Peninsula. Becalmed, of course, on an amenable day, this lake can be fairly wild in stormy conditions. However, on a recent visit, the lake had attained such a pitch of perfection as to render this visitor speechless. And that can’t often be said.

It was so peaceful that you could almost hear the beat of a dragonflies’ wings, as the late evening sunlight filtered through the forest on the far shore created a dazzling spectacle. The magnificent azure of the lough’s surface reflected the surrounding brown hills in a mirror image. On second thoughts, it’s not hard to see why someone went to the effort of building a house on Illaunatee.

Dan McCarthy: 'It is a hilly little island with a lovely path winding up from the lake surface. A pity Yeats didn’t find it.'

Glanmore Lake will be familiar to anyone who has driven the awe-inspiring road from the village of Adrigole on the southern side, to Lauragh on the northside via the Healy Pass. From this position, the vistas compete with each other to overwhelm the viewer, north to the Iveragh Peninsula and south to Sheep’s Head.

The county border passes through the acme of the pass from the southwest direction of Hungry Hill to the northeast, splitting this part of the peninsula as it winds over mountainous territory. Far below lies the bejewelled, aquamarine treasure, with wooded islands dotted evenly about like an afterthought.

Illaunatee derives from Oileán an Tí, or Island of the House, and it is certainly an appropriate name. Apart from a few trees, the now roofless house, reputedly built as a fishing and shooting lodge by a landlord several hundred years ago, dominates the scene. It is a hilly little island with a lovely path winding up from the lake surface. A pity Yeats didn’t find it.

The treasure trove of history that is Dúchas, records an interview with a woman or girl called Mary Healy in 1936 who says she had heard the following story from her mother about the island. “A man lived in the house 200 years before that time called Orrogúl. He was a contemporary of the famous Beara character Morty Óg.

He had a talent for poitín-making (in common with many islands, especially in Connemara) and the house was adapted to allow out the fumes from the distillation by means of a pipe extending through the gable. The fumes were gathered in an outdoor tank called a linny.

Orrogúl had a small boat and would row to the shore 50m distant to do with his contraband as he would.

However, the authorities got to hear about his venture and demanded the payment of tax. Revenue officers were despatched but the poitín-maker refused to pay up. He was captured and brought back to shore. On a rock overlooking the lake, poor Orrogúl was hanged.

“The rock is to be seen to this day with a red streak through the centre which tradition has it was Orrogúl’s blood and it is called Carrig an Orrogúl,” stated the Dúchas interviewee. There is a certain veracity to the story. The house does appear to be around 300 years old. Its cornerstones easily hold up the four walls and two chimney stacks. And there is an outside tank.

A later story attributes the house as a refuge for the IRB leader James Stephens in the 1860s on the run from English soldiers. The lough has three other named islands: Crane, Cormorant and Bush. It also has several other sizeable islands without names, begging the question as to why they are nameless. It can’t be for a shortage of inspiring elements in this paradise.

How to get there: Kayak would appear to be your only man. No ferry service is available.