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Follow the road from Louisburgh west along the strand to the land's tip, and you reach Roonagh Quay , where a boat leaves three times a day for CLARE ISLAND . (The bus from Westport runs at least twice a day and will drop you two miles away in Louisburgh.) The crossing takes 25 minutes; boats leave Roonagh at 11.00 am, 2.15pm and 6pm. The most reliable place to get information about the ferry is at the Bay View Hotel (tel 098/26307); fares are GBP10/?12.70 return. Although it's tiny - only fifteen or so square miles - Clare Island rises to a height of 1522ft in a massive shoulder of land that dominates everything around. There's not much here besides the hills, some ruins and some unfrequented sandy beaches, but there's plenty of walking, and you can go pony trekking, or water-ski, sailboard or fish . The island is famed above all as the stronghold of Grace O'Malley . Her massive castle is at the eastern end of the island. Also at the eastern end of the island, she - or a close relative - is buried in a tomb on the north side of the ruined thirteenth-century Cistercian abbey. You can stay overnight on Clare Island, at the Bay View Hotel (tel 098/26307; GBP55-70/?69.84-88.88), which also organizes local watersports and operates the ferry.
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