Ireland's Eye is a scenic, small island off Dublin Bay located directly north of Howth Harbour and accessible by regular seasonal tourist boats that circumnavigate, it and has a yacht berth on its northern side and its surface is made up of grovacca, quartzite and sandstone with also soil based on glacial drift.

The island is part of the Special Area of Conservation lying at approximately 1,0 Kilometre north of the harbour of Lambay Island 5,0 kilometres further to the north.

The view of that island both from the coast and while sailing appears as mystical, mysterious, transmitting deep messages, a typical site part of the traditional Irish legends and narrations highlighted by hidden treasures or that there is always something to discover with a frame composed by  fascinating, unique landscapes.

This site was anciently called "Adros" by Ptolemy, "Adrea Deserta" by Pliny, "Andros" and "Edria" by other early navigators who reached that Irish island and Inis Mac Neasáin by the local Celtic tribes.

There are several assumptions about the name of Ireland's Eye, the first being related to the eye but according to Patrick Weston Joyce in the Irish Local Names, written in 1870 the island was originally called in Gaelic Inis Ereann or island of Éire considered a female name that in Irish means Ireland.

Weston Joyce also said that the Vikings called it Ey, which in Old Norse means island, while the native Celts called it Inis Mac Neasáin, which translated means island of the sons of Neasán.

This name was historically translated into Latin as Insula Filiorum Nessani and then anglicized with the name Inishmacnessan but also known with a sort of nickname as Inis Faithlenn which in translation is synonymous of grassy island.

Once you disembark, you will find yourself in front of various informal paths, although in 2017 a circular path was developed with the intention of avoiding nesting birds.

You can reach the ruins of an ancient Monastery which was once inhabited by monks whose legacy is memorialised in the ruins of St. Nessan’s Church, a Religious Order which abandoned that site because it was often attacked by pirates becoming a very unsafe place.

Around those ruins you can breathe something magical, you can feel it in the air and in a while you know that Ireland has this distinctive, special fascination.

Ireland´s Eye is considered a relevant bird sanctuary. That place is a very popular bird watching, many species of volatiles can be seen regularly such as razorbills, guillemots, linnets, yellowhammers, skylarks, peregrine falcons, buzzards and kestrels among others.

Wildlife lovers can also see spot seals playing near the coast, another great attraction which since a long time ago calling many people to see those marine mammals which in some occasions are very numerous.

A Martello tower exists in the island which was part of the network of defencive constructions elevated in the 19th century as former checkpoints of a system developed to stop the many attempts of the French troops invasions led in that period by Napoleon Bonaparte when Ireland was part of Great Britain.

An activity that became quite trendy on the island is rock climbing since the 40s, although some records reveal that rock climbing began 30 years earlier.

IMC, the old Irish Mountaineering Club, opened several routes from 1948 and from 1978 with the new IMC others were developed, including the one on the Steer, the stack.

There are 28 climbing routes, the most well-known being the ridge and the inner lighthouse routes, which are said to have been laid out by Conor O'Brien and other active members of the Arts Club.

Some of the old routes are no longer accessible due to the shifting of the rock formations, the growth of the bird population particularly on the Steer, and the accumulation of guano and it is highly discouraged to attempt climbing from April to July, the nesting season of seabirds.

Don't miss a walk along Carrigeen Bay which has a magnificent sandy beach named Carrigean Beach flanked by a line of sloping rocks with fantastic views on the other islets, islands and Dublin Bay.

 That is an ideal place to capture magnificent pictures, admire the wonderful horizons towards the beautiful Irish coast that has always bewitched anyone at first sight for its unique charm, Ireland is that in all its distinctive and magic essence.

 

Link : https://dublin.ie/live/stories/island-dublin-irelands-eye/