Inis Oileantraigh (Inishillintry) is a small uninhabited island living off the east coast of Cruit Island in the centre of the Cruit Sound.
Inis Oileantraigh comprises two separate islands joined together by a raised shingle sand bar beach. Between the islands at their northern end is a deep tidal channel with a nice vertical wall above deep water at high tide. Climbing with ropes and trad gear is best done at low to mid tide with as high a tide possible required for deep water soloing.
What Inis Oileantraigh provides is an outstanding deep water soloing venue on both of the crags on the island.
If the sea is bouncing in from the north-west Inishillintry is usually best avoided, Cruit island or Crohy head are both excellent alternative places to climb with both being unaffected by north-west motion.
Access to the island is by sea kayak from one of the public slipways and piers on both Cruit Island and Cionn Caslach on the Dún na nGall mainland. With the best landing place being the sandy spit at the south side of the island. This sand spit creates a very sheltered wee bay with a short walk to the channel at the north end of the spit. The crag in this channel is prone to bouncy sea in the north-west motion while the crag at the west of the island can have millpond conditions. Inishillintry is protected from the worst of the sea motion from all directions and usually lives in relatively calm seas compared the west side of Cruit Island.
