Inishbofin (Inis Bo Finne which means Island of the White Cow), lies close to Cleggan's fishing village in Co Galway and can easily be reached by boat from there.
The Irish name comes from the legend which tells of two fishermen who lit a fire on the island to disperse the copious mist. Once the fire was lit, the mist began to disappear and the men saw an old woman driving a white cow with a stick. She drove the cow towards the lake where she struck it with her stick. The cow turned into a white stone. The men, who were angered by what they saw, grabbed the stick and struck the old woman. She too turned to stone.
Today, two white stones can still be seen beside the lake, but sadly they have been depleted by the elements and by tourists taking pieces as souvenirs.
Irish buccaneers
Over the centuries, religious zealots, English colonisers and Irish buccaneers have invaded and settled on the island. In AD 664, the Irish Bishop of Northumbria, St Colman came to Inishbofin with his followers after an argument with the Synod of England. They built a church and a small monastic settlement, which lasted many centuries, though only traces of its existence can still be seen.
During Elizabethan times, Bosco the Pirate fortified the island with the help of his great associate, Grace O'Malley (Granuaile). She, of course, was the fearless sea captain who inspired terror in those who met her along the entire west coast.
Bosco stretched chains across the harbour to protect their fleet and the castle they built together on Inishbofin was said to be spectacular. Later, it was besieged by Cromwell's soldiers, some of whom settled in the district.
During those times, many of the established families on the island fled to the mainland to avoid capture and imprisonment, which usually involved slave labour. The fortress built by the soldiers had 24 gun placements and small apartments built around the walls. They pilfered rocks from the old churches which meant that some of the island's more ancient monuments were destroyed.
At low tide, you can walk out to the remains of the fort, east of which lies the roofless 13th century chapel associated with St Colman's monastery.
Due to the varied history of the island, the surnames of its inhabitants are quite diverse. Though its population doubles in summertime, the people are closely meshed and everyone knows everyone else. Life is beautiful if you can live without your mobile phone (it may not work) and other urban props. The laws applying to the mainland do not pass muster here. Closing time is a nondescript thing which varies from night to night depending on the population in the pubs.
"For the love of God, please go home," was the plea from one barman, as he lay down exhausted on the pool table one Saturday morning at five o'clock. Road tax and car insurance are not always in evidence. Cars are just as likely to be used to carry sheep from one end of the island to the other as for humans. The unsurfaced roads are too narrow to drive on the left, so the general rule seems to be to drive down the middle to avoid going into the ditches. There are very few cars on the island anyway.
Walking haven
As Inishbofin is small and relatively flat, with no point reaching above 300 feet, it is ideal for walking. The only extras you will need are a good torch for night-time excursions to the pub (we encountered two donkeys mating on the road one night), a pair of good walking boots, and a raincoat.
If you go west from the main pier, the track leads you to Lough Bofin and the very large North Beach Bay. Another track leads to the Royal Oak Cave and Dun Mor, an Iron Age promontory fort, while further on, Cnoc Mor provides one of the best views of the island.
If you go east from the pier, you pass Church Lough and the sand dunes where another small track leads you to the cliffs. Best of all, you will notice as you walk that the wonderful Irish custom of waving at everyone and anything as they go by is still carried out with great enthusiasm.
But if people make a place, then a beautiful landscape perfects it. Some of the rocks on Inishbofin are over 600 million years old, mainly quartzites and schists, while the central part of the island is covered with a deep deposit of glacial loam which produces fertile soils and profitable farmland.
48 types of snail
The north and west seashores are very rocky as they are fully exposed to the open Atlantic. Several species of gulls and terns nest on the offshore rocks, while the multicoloured Stonechat can often be seen perching inland on rocks, trees and stone walls.
Lichen grows everywhere - on rocks, turf, fences, walls and on everything immobile. Almost 200 species have already been recorded. Snail enthusiasts will be happy to hear that there are over 48 terrestrial and freshwater species of snail, which represents one third of the Irish variety available, yet they are not available on any menu.
But even snail haters can find everything they need on this island: clean air and water, good food, but most important of all, few regulations. Time goes slower on Inishbofin so it becomes the perfect antidote to the stresses of urban life where everything has to be done yesterday.