Lambay Island is situated off the coast of north county Dublin, Ireland, north of Ireland's Eye. It is located at 53°29′30″N, 6°01′00″W. County Dublin (Irish Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath), or more correctly the Dublin Region (Réigiúin Átha Cliath), is the area that contains the city of Dublin, the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland; and the modern counties of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin. ... A view from Howth Head of Irelands Eye, with Lambay Island in the background A mile off the coast of County Dublin, directly north of Howth Harbour, lies the extraordinary little island of Irelands Eye. ...

Physical description

The island extends to 2.5 square kilometres, and rises to 127 metres. There are steep cliffs on the northern, eastern and southern sides of the island, with a more low-lying western shore. The geology is dominated by igneous rocks, with shales and limestones. A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... metre or meter, see meter (disambiguation) The metre is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units. ... Volcanic rock on North America Plutonic rock on North America Igneous rocks are formed when molten rock (magma) cools and solidifies, with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive (plutonic) rocks or on the surface as extrusive (volcanic) rocks. ... Shale Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ...

Prehistory and history

Lambay was important in the Neolithic period in Ireland as a ground stone axe quarrying and production site. Two outcrops of porphyritic andesite, or Lambay porphyry as it is more commonly known, were utilised. The quarry site is unusual in the Ireland (or indeed in the British Isles) for being the only Neolithic stone axe quarry with evidence for all stages production, from quarrying to final polishing. The Neolithic (or New Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. ... This article may contain original research or unverified claims. ...

A number of Iron Age burials were discovered in 1927 on Lambay during works on the island's harbour. The finds included a number of Romano-British items, and the site has been interpreted as evidence for the arrival of a small group of refugees from Brigantia, fleeing the Romans from 71 to 74. Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... In Irish mythology, Brigid or Brighid (exalted one) was the daughter of Dagda (and therefore one of the Tuatha de Danaan) and wife of Bres of the Fomorians. ... The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ...

Ireland's Viking age began with a raid on a church on Lambay Island in 795. It is the largest island off the east coast of Ireland and is about 2.5 square kilometres in size. The name Viking is a loanword from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, the British Isles, and other parts of Europe from the late 8th century to the 11th century. ...

The ancient Greek writers Pliny and Ptolemy knew about the island and referred to it as Limnus or Limni. Its early Irish name, Reachra, was eventually replaced by the Danish Lambay, meaning Lamb Island. This name probably originated with the practice sending over ewes to the island in spring and allowing them to remain there until the autumn. Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... Claudius Ptolemaeus, given contemporary German styling, in a 16th century engraved book frontispiece. ... Species See text. ...

During the Williamite war in Ireland the island was used as an internment camp for Irish soldiers. More than one thousand of them were imprisoned there after the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. For the context of this war see Jacobitism and Glorious Revolution. ... The Battle of Aughrim was the decisive battle of the Williamite war in Ireland. ...

The island has claimed a number of shipwrecks, one of the most notable of which was RMS Tayleur. One of the largest merchant ships of her day, she struck the island on 21 January 1854 and sank with the loss of 380 lives. The RMS Tayleur was a fully-rigged iron clipper chartered by the White Star Line and her fate would be a black mark on that company for years to come. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Wildlife

Lambay Island supports one of the largest and most important seabird colonies in Ireland, with over 50,000 Common Guillemots, 5,000 Kittiwakes, 3,500 Razorbills, 2,500 pairs of Herring Gulls, as well as smaller numbers of Puffins, Manx Shearwaters, Fulmars and other species. Seabirds are birds that spend much of their lives, outside the breeding season at least, at sea. ... The Common Guillemot, known as the Common Murre in North America, Uria aalge, is a large alcid. ... Species Rissa tridactyla Rissa brevirostris The Kittiwakes (genus Rissa) are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae. ... Binomial name Alca torda Linnaeus, 1758 The Razorbill, Alca torda, is a large alcid, 38-43 cm in length, with a 60-69 cm wingspan. ... Binomial name Larus argentatus Pontopiddan, 1763 The herring gull, Larus argentatus, is a large gull which breeds across North America, Europe and Asia. ... Binomial name Fratercula arctica (Linnaeus, 1758) The Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is an auk with a brightly colored beak. ... Binomial name Puffinus puffinus (Brünnich, 1764) The Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. ... Species Fulmar (Linnaeus, 1761) Southern Fulmar (Smith,A, 1840) The two Fulmars are closely related seabirds occupying the same niche in different oceans. ...

Among the mammals of the island are Grey Seals (Ireland's only east-coast colony) and introduced fallow deer (a herd of about 200) and wallabies (whose ancestors were exiled to the island in the 1980s when Dublin Zoo became overcrowded). Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... Binomial name Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius,, 1791) The Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. ... Binomial name Dama dama (Linnaeus, 1758) The Fallow Deer (Dama dama) is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. ... Red-necked Wallaby A wallaby (sometimes spelled wallabee) is any of about 30 species of macropod (family macropodidae). ... Dublin Zoo, situated in the Phoenix Park, Dublin is the largest zoo in Ireland and one of Dublins most popular tourist attractions. ...

Current status

Now privately owned, Lambay is home to a medieval castle and an Edwin Lutyens-designed estate for the Baring family. The estate includes a distinctive open-air real tennis court. Due to its deep surrounding waters, the island is a particularly popular location for scuba-divers. The island is accessible only by prior permission from Rogerstown Harbour, 27 km north of Dublin in Rush. Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens OM (March 29, 1869 - January 1, 1944), was arguably the greatest British architect of the 20th century (some have said the greatest since Wren, others, simply, the greatest). ... Baron Revelstoke is a peerage title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. ... Real tennis is the original racket sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis, or tennis, is descended. ... Rush (Ros Eó in Irish, meaning peninsula of the yew trees) is a small seaside town in north County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, between Malahide and Skerries. ...

References

• Cooney, G. (1993). "Lambay: an island on the horizon." Archaeology Ireland, 7 (4), 24-8.
• MacAlister, R. A. S. (1929). "On some antiquities discovered upon Lambay island." Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 38c, 240-246.
• Rynne, E. (1976) "The La Tène and Roman Finds from Lambay, Co. Dublin: a re-assessment." Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 76c, 231-44.
• Stillman, C. (1994) "Lambay, an ancient volcanic island in Ireland." Geology Today, 62, 62-67.