The islands have been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support breeding populations of several species of seabirds.

[2] The islands were inhabited until the early 1980s but now serve only as summer grazing for the livestock of several local farmers.

Up until recently, many farmers would swim their cattle and sheep across to the islands at low tide, rowing alongside them inside Currachs or other small boats.

Nowadays, a modified cage with several flotation devices attached to it, is pulled behind a boat and the crossing is much less taxing on the animals and their owners.

A farmhouse on Illauntannig (the only dwelling on the island) can be rented out on a weekly basis April - September.