Omey Island Looped Walk

A beautiful coastal trail, the Omey Island Looped Walk is an easy 9-mile trail that starts and ends in the village of Cleggan, County Galway, Ireland. A unique trail that combines an out-and-back section and a loop, takes in Omey Island, a tidal island off the coast of Claddaghduff, only accessible at low tide via a firm sandy causeway. An easy-going walk, it has a total elevation gain of 472 ft, leading walkers around the island’s circular route on a variety of farm track, grassy meadow, small roads and beach. The trail heads back across the tidal beach, offering scenic views of mountain peaks and ridgelines on the mainland and back to Cleggan, where there is a wide choice of cafes and restaurants in and around the harbour. Omey Island, once home to a monastery established by St Feichin in the 6th century, was later replaced by a medieval church, the remains discovered sunken in the sand, is now largely uninhabited except for periods during the summer. The island is now the region’s main burial ground, using an ancient burial ground connected to St Brendan, ‘the Navigator’ – an early Irish monastic saint, and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.