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  • Selected dates only

The Great Island Experience

Quick Details

  • Available on selected dates only (please view calendar)
  • 30-minute crossing (15 minutes to exit the Marina Locke gates and 15 minutes sailing time)
  • Between four and five hours on the island depending on the sailing selected
  • Guided walking tour around the monastic sites at a leisurely pace.
  • Audio tour of the battery and lighthouse area included.(please bring earphones with you)
  • Audio tours of monastic site available in French, German, Italian & Spanish at request-€3 (please bring ear phones with you).
  • Packed lunch for groups of 20 and more only, separate cost.

 

Adults

18 years and older

35

Teenager

13 to 17 year olds

23

Children

3 to 12 year olds

16

Infants

2 years and under. Infants must be included in bookings.

3.50

Students & OAPs

students/OAP's (age 66 up) [with ID]

27

Family Package

Includes 2 Adults & 2 Children [under 12]

90

Family Package

Includes 2 Adults & 3 Children [under 12]

99

3 Trip Ticket

65

Battery Lighthouse Audio Tour

Included

Guided Monastic walking tour

Included

Great Scattery Experience Itinerary

  • Tea/Coffee are now available in our office.  pre-orders available when booking your ticket).
  • Walking map with site information provided on arrival
  • Ample swimming and picnic areas
  • Toilet facilities available at Marina and on the Island

Scattery is guaranteed to leave a lasting impression on you. It is as if the land and the buildings are talking to you — a silent speech about its life and times and the great people who lived, loved, played, and died there. Its rich and varied history sweeps you away, and this tour allows you sufficient time to fully explore the island and learn in great detail the island’s history.

Your tour begins at Kilrush Marina. Enjoy the experience of the Marina’s Locke gates as we exit into the sheltered waters of the Shannon Estuary. Your short sailing to the island takes you past the picturesque village of Cappa and the smaller Hog Island. Laying just beyond this, Scattery’s round tower and cottages come into view on the horizon as we make our approach.

Once we arrive on the island, you are greeted by the OPW tour guides and commence your guided walking tour. Learn about St. Senan’s brave battle against the serpent Cathagh and his creation of the monastic settlement dating back to the early fifth century, and take in the fascinating history this little island holds from the early monastic times right through to the last of the islanders who inhabited Scattery.

On completion of your tour, visit the island exhibition at the visitor centre and soak up the pier-side views back to the mainland of Kerry and Clare as you enjoy your lunch at one of the available picnic tables.

After lunch, you begin your journey across to the southern end of the island, where you can find the lighthouse and battery. Your audio tour guides you by Old Street, where the last of the islanders lived, then onto the lighthouse, and finally the Napoleonic artillery battery, where you learn more about this chapter of the island’s past.

On completion of this audio tour, you have the option to walk the entire circumference of the island, which takes you an additional hour and a half and offers panoramic views of the estuary and Kerry. If you prefer, stroll back along the path you came from towards the visitor centre. Scattery offers fresh clean waters for swimming, and you can swim from the shoreline or off the pier if you wish.