OPW admission to the island and its guided tour is free to everyone. The only way there is Scattery Island Tours' ferry from Kilrush Marina, a separate business whose return fare includes the OPW guided walk (fare shown when booking online; not covered by any membership); foreign-language audio guides €3.
No charge for anyone.
No cars on the island. Ferries leave Kilrush Marina on Merchants Quay, Kilrush; the operator says free parking is available at the marina for visitors joining the tour, with street parking next to it. The crossing of about 2.5 km takes 20 to 30 minutes through the marina's lock gates.
Driving pin: the Kilrush Marina car park beside the ferry pontoons, about 3 km north-east of the island's pier and visitor centre.
In the mouth of the Shannon off Kilrush, Scattery Island is where St Senan, in legend, banished the serpent Cathagh and founded a monastery in the early 6th century. Its round tower is one of only two in Ireland with a door at ground level, and around it stand a cathedral and several medieval churches, along with a lighthouse and a Napoleonic-era artillery battery at the southern tip. People lived here until 1978; along The Street, once home to the Shannon river pilots and the post office, OPW has restored four houses opposite the pier. The island passed to the state in 1991 and is a National Monument. There is no charge to visit, but the only way across is Scattery Island Tours' ferry from Kilrush Marina, which passes through the marina's lock gates and often meets grey seals and dolphins on the way, allowing about two and a half hours ashore. Numbers are capped each day to protect the island, which is a special area of conservation.
Open seasonally: in 2026 from 21 May to 23 September. Ferries run from Kilrush Marina with Scattery Island Tours, departure times varying with the tide and weather; the crossing takes 20 to 30 minutes, visitors have about 2.5 hours on the island, and every two weeks a longer stay of about 4 hours is offered. OPW guides meet the boat for a guided walk of the monastic sites, then visitors may follow an audio tour to the lighthouse and battery or walk round the island in about an hour and a half. Booking ahead is recommended; numbers are capped at 160 a day. OPW looks forward to welcoming visitors again in 2027. Recheck 1 May 2027.
No cafe or shop for food on the island: bring a packed lunch and take all rubbish home; drinking water and toilets at the visitor centre by the pier, a bookshop and exhibition. Paths are a mix of gravel and grass with uneven ground; wear strong walking shoes and a waterproof. Only guide and support dogs may land.
Photo: Scattery Island's round tower and the ruined cathedral across the island grassland, with the Shannon Estuary behind. Btevlin, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scattery_Island.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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After the guided tour, an audio-guided walk south past the Street to the lighthouse and the Napoleonic battery, with the option to walk the whole circumference of the island in about an extra hour and a half; grass and gravel paths, uneven ground; within the ferry visit only.
