In Glengarriff I visited Garnish Island, a tiny island accessible by a short boat ride. The island has a nice garden and an old house, and it was the private island of a John Annan Bryce and his wife Violet, who bought it from the War Office in 1910. In 1953 their son bequeathed the island to the Irish nation.
I joined a tour of the home, which was small but neat, and full of old stuff. The man who designed and took care of the garden also lived here, and his room is full of botanical books.
The island has hosted writers like George Bernard Shaw and Agatha Christie. I can see the appeal, staying a few days on such a beautiful island, without any tourists when it was still a private island, was probably quite magical.