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Location:
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Cape Clear Island, County Cork
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Nearby Location:
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Calf Island East, Calf Island Middle, Calf Island West, Carrigmore, Crab Rock, Gascanane Sound, Sherkin Island |
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OSI Map Nbr:
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88
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Getting There:
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| 19/05/2004, Olivier Deme wrote: The island is accessible by boat from Baltimore or from Schull. The cruise should last less than an hour.
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Description:
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19/05/2004, Olivier Deme wrote: Cape Clear Island is one of these places in Ireland that leaves something special in the visitor's memory.
This place is mostly known because its inhabitants have kept the Irish language very much alive. This is clearly visible by the amount of young students who are sent there every summer to practice this language that is so much part of the Irish culture.
Clear Island is 3 miles long and 1 mile wide, and provides the visitor with beautiful views on impressive cliffs that fall directly in the Atlantic Ocean. It is also a unique place where many types of birds can be observed.
The island counts around 100 permanent residents, but the population increase significantly during the summer and school holidays.
On the island itself, there is only a tiny general store, a few craft shops, B&B's, youth hostels, and of course 3 pubs!
But what makes Cape Clear so special are the people who inhabit the island and their hospitality. It doesn't take long for the newcomer to realize how nice the islanders really are and how seclusion has created bounds that cannot be found in the more populated areas of the mainland.
I met this couple from England, who used to live in a major city. They bought an old youth hostel on the island and got rid of their old life style to move to this place that is so different than any other.
They explained to me how they had benefited in their life of what many consider important: a house, a car, money...
And yet, they felt like something was missing. Something that no material value can bring to a human being.
So they moved to an almost deserted island. far from their place of origin, in hope of finding what most people are looking for.
I was struck by their good spirit and how welcomed I felt in the hostel.
This story tells, I think, the main reason that makes Cape Clear a place to visit.
After a few days on the island, the sole visitor starts feeling this sensation of loneliness and isolation.
And coming back to the mainland feels like a relief and, at the same time, the understanding that a special experience has been lived.
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Resources:
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