Ireland's Eye
| Ireland's Eye | ||
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| Waters | Atlantic Ocean | |
| Geographical location | 53 ° 24 '19 " N , 6 ° 3' 49" W | |
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| surface | 23.9 ha | |
| Highest elevation | 69 m | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
Ireland's Eye ( Irish : Inis Mac Neasáin ) is a small, uninhabited island north of Howth in County Fingal . It can be reached by boat. The island is currently part of County Fingal but was once part of Dublin City .
history
The ruins of a Martello tower and a church from the 8th century are the only signs of earlier settlement. The entrance to the tower is a window that is five meters above the ground and can only be reached via a rope. The church served as Howth's parish church until the last few centuries, but was replaced by a church in the village, as you had to take a boat to the island for every service.
The Celts called it the Eria Island. Eria was a female name that changed to Erin over time, which was derived from Éireann , the Irish word for Ireland. The Vikings replaced the word island with Ey , the Norwegian translation, which is why the island was henceforth called Erins Ey and finally Ireland's Eye .
Structure and fauna
Ireland's Eye includes the main island, a series of rocks and a small island called Thulla. The main feature of the island is the huge, free-standing rock "the Stack" in the northeast of the island, which provides breeding grounds for many birds, including guillemots , razorbills , fulmars and gulls . The Stack became Ireland's fifth largest gannet colony in the 1980s, and there are now a few hundred breeding pairs every year. A large colony of cormorants has settled on the main island and puffins are occasionally sighted.
today
The island has a registered area of approximately 0.21 km². Two small boat companies head for Howth Harbor during the summer months.
Web links
- History of the island and pictures on mun.ca (English)
- Ireland's Eye on BirdWatch Ireland (English)