The Saltee Islands (Na Sailtí)
Two small islands off the Wexford coast, one of Ireland's great bird sanctuaries.
The Great and Little Saltee lie a few kilometres off Kilmore Quay and teem with gannets, puffins, razorbills and gulls in the breeding season. The Great Saltee is privately owned but open to day visitors.
At a glance
- Two islands off Kilmore Quay
- Major seabird breeding colony
- Great Saltee open to day visitors
In County Wexford
The Saltee Islands is in County Wexford, Loch Garman in Irish, which means “Garman's lake”.
More in Wexford
- Vinegar Hill (Cnoc Fhíodh na gCaor): The hill above Enniscorthy where the great battle of the 1798 Rebellion was fought.
- Hook Head (Rinn Duáin): Home to one of the oldest working lighthouses in the world.
- Enniscorthy (Inis Córthaidh): A Slaney-side town beneath a Norman castle, central to 1798.
Other places of this kind
- Aran Islands (Oileáin Árann): A group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay.
- Skellig Michael (Sceilg Mhichíl): A jagged island monastery off the Kerry coast, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a modern film location.
- Rathlin Island (Reachlainn): Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island, an L-shaped seabird haven off the Antrim coast.
- Achill Island (Acaill): Ireland's largest island, joined to Mayo by a bridge, with cliffs and blue-flag beaches.
- Devenish Island (Daimhinis): A serene monastic island on Lower Lough Erne, crowned by a perfect round tower.
- Boa Island (Inis Badhbha): A Lough Erne island famed for its enigmatic two-faced stone idol.
The Irish name
The Irish form of The Saltee Islands is Na Sailtí. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.