Ирландия Көзі аралы: Тарихы мен табиғаты

Marine island in County Dublin, Ireland

Ireland's Eye Anciently called 'Adros' by Ptolomy, 'Adrea Deserta' by Pliny, and 'Andros' and 'Edria' by other early navigators. is a small long uninhabited island off the coast of County Dublin, Ireland. Situated directly north of Howth village and harbour, the island is easily reached by regular seasonal tourist boats, which both circumnavigate it and drop off day trippers. There is a yacht anchorage to the north of it, and kayakers also land. The island is formed from quartzite and greywackes, and some sandstone, and has soils based on glacial drift. It is home to nationally significant bird populations, notably of guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and cormorants, as well as gulls, and also including modest numbers of puffins and peregrine falcons. There is a colony of grey seals, and surrounding waters also host harbour seals and harbour porpoise, while on land there are rats and rabbits. There is a range of plants, including some rare species and some specific to vegetated cliffs. The island has been essentially uninhabited for centuries but holds the ruins of an early church, and a Martello tower. The Eye is the basis for both a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area, and is incorporated within the Howth Special Amenity Area, and the Dublin Bay Biosphere, among other designations. It is part of Fingal for administrative purposes, having been moved to County Dublin along with Howth, Sutton, Baldoyle and Kilbarrack, from the jurisdiction of Dublin. The island was for centuries a possession of the archdiocese of Dublin, and then a component of the Howth Estate. It was sold to the Tetrarch investment group as part of a deal finalised in 2019.

The name of the island is often assumed to be related to the eye, but has a quite different origin. According to Patrick Weston Joyce in Irish Local Names Explained (1870), the island was originally called Inis Ereann ("Éire's island"). Éire was both a female name and the Irish language name for Ireland. Joyce says that the Vikings translated this to Ireland's Ey, with ey being the Old Norse word for "island". The traditional Irish name of the island was Inis mac Nessan, now Inis Mac Neasáin, "island of the sons of Neasán". This was historically Anglicized as 'Inishmacnessan' and called in Latin Insula Filiorum Nessani. The island has also been known in the past as Inis Faithlenn, "the grassy island",

Ireland's Eye occupies a prominent site off Howth Head and is a feature of the Howth village and harbour area. It comprises the main island, a range of sea stacks and rocks and a grassy islet, (the) Thulla. The Eye lies 1,200–1,500 metres from Howth Harbour and around 13 km from Dublin city centre. The main island is roughly triangular, the points lying to the northwest, northeast and south, and around 600–700 metres along the edges. Closer to the Steer than the Stags on the northern coast is Seal's Cave, one of several sea caves. On the south southwestern face of the island is Carrigeen Bay, with a sandy beach, and above that a shingle beach. Sandstone is also present, and the sea stacks are primarily formed from quartzite and sandstone. In the exposed rocky areas near the cliffs, and on the cliff faces, there are also numbers of biting and English stonecrop. Near the beach are also found prickly saltwort and the rare and "near threatened" henbane, and in an area of coastal grassland, Portland spurge and the spring squill. In at least one shingle area is some lyme grass, and shingle areas also manifest sea mayweed, wild pansy and sea sandwort. The shingle areas are enriched by deposition of seaweed while having high soil salinity. Within the small area of sand dune, aside from the anchoring marram grass, there are examples of sea rocket, sea spurge, sea radish, curled dock and common stork's bill, and more, as well as the acidic indicator plant, mouse ear hawkweed. At the inner boundary of the sand and shingle areas is found a fairly rare plant, Campion hybrid.

The island as a whole, and especially the Steer sea stack, host a large variety of seabirds, some with nationally significant populations. As of the last published survey, ten species of seabird and at least twelve other species bred there, and a dozen more species were observed. The island is a protected area, and seasonal visitor numbers are modest, leaving the birds little disturbed. Between 2016 and the previous major survey the population of three species of seabird had increased sharply, and others modestly, a couple were stable, and two had declined a little. As of the most recent multi month study, in 2016, there are more than 4,000 guillemots and 1,000 razorbills, and hundreds of pairs of kittiwakes, cormorants and European herring gulls. Smaller numbers of fulmars, shag and great black backed gull are also found, as well as some lesser black backed gulls. There were observations of black guillemot and Manx shearwater, but these species have not been observed to breed on the island. Ireland's fifth gannet colony became established on the Stack around 1989, and there were subsequently more than 100 pairs breeding there each year. There are also up to a dozen breeding pairs of puffins, which used to be common; the Eye remains the best site to see these birds in Dublin. but they are not listed in modern bird surveys covering Ireland's Eye. It is believed that a colony of 270 to around 350 seals exists on and between the Eye and Lambay Island. Harbour seals are also seen, though in much smaller numbers. A study of areas of scientific interest in County Dublin recorded the presence of notable ant populations in western Ireland's Eye and Red Rock on Howth Head. Within these populations were, over decades, scientifically significant numbers of aberrant form red ants from at least one species, later renamed as Myrmica sabrinodis, and another sub species, in modern taxonomy placed under Myrmica rubra. The aberration involved confused body parts, with male ants with some female attributes, and vice versa. As these were the only known consistent aberrant occurrences in western Europe, further studies were recommended by scientists working for the local authority, though between 1973 and 1988, at least, no such studies were performed. The aberrant ants, not isolated individuals, but occurring in some numbers, were found near a pool, and were studied for signs of radioactivity, but the cause of the issues was not determined.

The island has been populated for only a limited span over the last 1400 years, primarily by religious figures over a few centuries. Some signs of farming have been found and ploughing revealed Roman coinage, but there is no record of there ever having been a residential farm there. In the 19th century, a small number of horses were noted as present. Some scholars believe that a monastic settlement might have developed around the church, and farmed both the island and parts of Howth. The church was at least partly rebuilt by the 12th century. In some accounts, it is said to have been founded by a "St Nessan" but later scholars showed that this was based on misinterpretation, and confusion of two men with this name, St Nessan being a figure from another part of Ireland with no connection to Ireland's Eye. It eventually became an element of the Howth estate, held by the St Lawrence family since the invasion of Ireland. In 1833 the island was occupied at least some of the time by a single water guard, and had a considerable population of foxes; it had been rented by a local for potential farming but abandoned as it was too difficult to cultivate. As of 1834 the island was described as holding considerable pasturage, and in 1846 the island held a large population of rabbits, and medicinal plants grew there. Matthias McDonnell Bodkin claimed in Famous Irish Trials that no murder had taken place, and that Sarah Kirwan had instead drowned accidentally as a result of a fit.

A major wildfire occurred in the summer of 1975, burning for two days and causing serious damage to the island's ecosystem, with about 80% of the surface affected. An ecological team from Ireland's national heritage trust, An Taisce, studied the island afterwards and recommended rectification actions. For a period in the late 20th century, lasting into the 1990s, the island was leased to and managed by An Taisce. An archaeological study in the 21st century identified further potential promontory fort presence. In October 2018, the Gaisford St. Lawrence family, heirs to the Lords of Howth, agreed to sell Howth Castle and demesne, including Ireland's Eye, to the Tetrarch investment group, as part of a multi million euro deal, and on the 28 May 2019, for the first time in centuries, the freehold of the island passed outside the family. Tetrarch confirmed that the island would remain open to visitors, and stated their commitment to maintaining its beauty and accessibility.

The ruins of an 8th century church (the Church of the Three Sons of Nessan) and a Martello tower are the only signs of previous habitation.

In 1837 the remains of the church of the sons of Nessan were prominent on the south west side of the island.

The Martello tower, built in 1803 or 1804, was one of three constructed in the Howth area, and 26 in northern County Dublin, on the instructions of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany to repel a possible invasion by Napoleon. Hosting two 24 pound guns, it was one of the larger Martello towers. It was constructed on a rocky area in the northwestern corner of the island, allowing it to limit access to Howth Harbour, and to observe and partly control usage of the anchorage area northwest of the Eye. The tower is built of rubble coated with rendering, with some brickwork, at least in the domed roof area, and a few pieces of cut limestone. It features both a plinth and a machicolation, a single entrance on its southern face, and three other small openings. The interior was, and largely remains, lime washed. There was a wooden floor at the first floor level, to which the raised door gave access; this has subsequently been removed. The undercroft is divided in three by rubble walls, and there is an iron storage chest there. The tower originally occupied a designated section of the island, with boundary marking stones, and was sited near the island's spring. as part of a transfer encompassing Howth, Sutton, Baldoyle and Kilbarrack, and, explicitly, Ireland's Eye, and having in turn previously moved from the county administration. It is a townland in its own right, with a registered area of , in turn within the civil parish of Howth, and the barony of Coolock.

The island, its rocks and the islet of Thulla, and the surrounding waters, form both a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), based on two qualifying interests (perennial vegetation of stony banks and vegetated sea cliffs of the Atlantic and Baltic coasts), and a Special Protection Area (SPA). Ireland's Eye and its surrounding rocks and sea are incorporated within the Howth Special Amenity Area, which places some limitations on permitted development, and is overseen by a management committee with local authority and community representatives. Ireland's Eye is also within the Dublin Bay Biosphere Reserve. The ruined Church of the Sons of Nessan and the Martello tower are designated National Monuments, another is Island Ferries. Services generally run in the summer months, and in the daytime, though evening services have also been offered. The two companies named held exclusive licences from the Howth Estate for landing of passengers, as of 2018, and operated four boats between them. Aids to navigation include two buoys on the Rowan Rocks on the eastern side of Ireland's Eye, as well as the Howth buoy and the modern Howth light tower, which replaced the now disused Howth Lighthouse. Waters to the north and east are 8 metres or more in depth 0.1 kilometres out from the island, while in Howth Sound reach only a little over 2.5 metres even a couple of hundred metres out. At least 28 routes have been recorded since the 1940s, though it seems that climbers have operated on the island since the 1910s or before, with some routes – a ridge and the "inner stack", facing the Steer – believed to have been plotted by Conor O'Brien and other members of the Arts Club. Periods of greater activity were noted in 1942–1944, with the "old" Irish Mountaineering Club (IMC), from 1948, with the "new" IMC, and from 1978. The most prolific routes were developed on the Steer (the "outer stack"), the "inner stack" facing it, and an isolated pinnacle SW of the Steer, as well as the principal cliff area. Some routes are no longer accessible due to shifts in the rock formations, guano build up and bird population growth, notably on the Steer. Climbing during the seabird nesting season of April to July is discouraged.