Islands of Ireland: Amounting to a hill of beans in West Cork

The notion of what constitutes an island again raises its head here

The Stack of Beans island, left, with the larger Rabbit Island between Castletownshend and Glandore, West Cork. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

Stack of Beans Island is just one of three in this series on which this columnist hasn’t alighted. At first glance, its imposing presence would seem to preclude a landing but ace island hopper David Walsh has of course set foot there.

The others to elude are the fiendishly difficult Little Skellig and the nearby Calf Island around which toil troubled seas. There are three others too, the imaginary Hy Brasil, St Brendan’s Isle, and Buss Island, but hope springs eternal.