Magharee Islands

The Magharee Islands (Irish: Na Machairí), also known as "The Seven Hogs", are a group of uninhabited islands located off Rough Point at the northern tip of the Magharee Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The islands, which are part of the parish of Castlegregory, are well known as excellent diving and snorkelling destinations. The Magharees Sound separates the Seven Hogs from the mainland. Scraggane Pier is the nearest landing point on the mainland.

The Magharees were an important area of early monastic activity in Ireland, and the Illauntannig Monastic Site is designated as a National Monument with restricted access.

The islands have been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support breeding populations of several species of seabirds.^[1]

• Gurrig Island – Gorach
• Illaunboe – Oileán Bó
• Illaunimmil – Oileán Imill
• Illauntannig – Oileán tSeanaigh (this is the largest of the islands)
• Illaunturlogh – Oileán Traolaigh
• Inishtooskert – Inis Tuaisceart
• Mucklaghbeg Island – An Mhuclach Bheag

The islands were inhabited until the early 1980s but now serve only as summer grazing for the livestock of several local farmers. Up until recently, many farmers would swim their cattle and sheep across to the islands at low tide, rowing alongside them inside Currachs or other small boats. If an animal got into difficulty it was hauled aboard or tied to a boat, or simply left to drown. Nowadays, a modified cage with several flotation devices attached to it, is pulled behind a boat and the crossing is much less taxing on the animals and their owners. A farmhouse on Illauntannig (the only dwelling on the island) can be rented out on a weekly basis April - September.^[2]

52°19′N 10°02′W / 52.317°N 10.033°W / 52.317; -10.033