Accessed out of Bunbeg, Gola is now uninhabited, though the houses show signs of being kept up, and an increasing number of summer homes have been built.

Gola is famed in song – Báidín Fheidhlimí, d’imigh go Gabhla was about a drowning tragedy involving a Gola boat on passage to Tory.

The modern concrete pier and sheltered beach on the east side is the main landing point for the island.

Walk to beautiful Magheranagall Bay, the deep indented bay on the west. Gola has excellent climbing on good granite, more developed than nearby Owey and very popular.

Robert Louis Stevenson came to honeymoon in Bunbeg in late 1880.

Captivated by the tales he was told of the Spanish Armada wrecks La Juliana (lost in Sligo Bay) and her sister ship Duquesa Santa Ana lost off Loughross Point) and their crews, he wrote a great work of fiction around them.

Just like La Juliana, the captain had a peg-leg, an eye patch, a crutch, and a parrot sat on his shoulder.

Long John Silver is a composite of two sailors, while Treasure Island is Gold Island (“Gola”).