Native name: Ardoileán | |
|---|---|
 Ardoileán early medieval ecclesiastical site | |
  High Island | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 53°32′47″N10°15′26″W / 53.5464°N 10.2572°W /53.5464; -10.2572 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | Galway |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Ardoileán orArd Oileán, known inEnglish asHigh Island (a translation of theIrish name), is a small island off the northwest coast ofConnemara inCounty Galway,Ireland. It was once the site of an early Irish monastic community.
It is one of thirty-odd islands off the west coast of Ireland, betweenInishtrahull andClear Island, which were settled by hermits and monastic communities in the early Christian period.[1] Other such islands in the direct vicinity of Ardoiléan includeClare Island,Chapel Island,Caher Island,Inishturk,Inishbofin andInishark.[1] Since (at least) the seventh century, Ardoiléan had been the site of an early monastery or hermitage, reputedly founded by StFéchín of Fore (d. 665).
Above the south landing-place, near the remains of the monastery, there is a Christian cross-slab dating perhaps to the seventh century.[2]
Between 1969 and 1998, the island was in the possession of Irish poetRichard Murphy, then a resident ofInishbofin. In personal memoirs published by Granta inThe Kick (2002), Murphy remembers the opportunity when the previous owner considered selling the island: "I got excited at the thought of buying this inaccessible holy island, restoring the beehive cells and oratory of its derelict hermitage and preserving the place from destruction either by tourists or by sheep."[3]
In February 2019, the island was put up for sale for €1.25 million by Spencer Auctioneers.[4]
Media related toArdoileán at Wikimedia Commons
