ilnacullin garinish island

It was purchased in 1910 from the War Office by John Annan Bryce (1874-1924), a Belfast businessman and Scottish MP. Bryce commissioned the English architect and horticulturists Harold Peto (1854-1933) to design a garden on the island.

Peto's use of Italian Renaissance architecture and his adaption of the picturesque formal style of gardening, made popular by the famous Lutyens and Jekyll partnership, proved to be brilliantly successful in this island setting although it was nearly a generation later before his work would be fully appreciated. Boats brining visitors to sample the delights of Ilnacullin pass basking seals on the journey and arrive at the north side of the island. The route from here up to the Italian gardens winds past some outstanding plants.

Without warning the visitor suddenly arrives in the wisteria-covered colonnades of the Italian Garden Casita.

A broad flight of steps leads up to the Martello tower, built in 1805 on the highest point of the island ; here one has a delightful panorama of the whole garden and landscape beyond. There is no tea house on the island, so visitors should come with a plentiful picnic and be prepared to spend much of the day in this enchanted place. it should be noted that the exorbitant boat fares to the island do not include admission charges into the garden, which are modest.