A girl in work had told me about a trip she took over to Irelands Eye. It was never somewhere I ever thought about visiting but out of curiosity I hit Google to see what I could find out.
In 700 AD three holy men, who were the sons of Nessan a prince of the Royal House of Leinster, formed a church on Ireland’s Eye. The church was named “Cill Mac Nessan”. There they wrote a copy of the four Gospels named the Garland of Howth. It was similar to the Book of Kells and it is also in Trinity College Dublin.
I also found out that that there are regular day trips from the harbour in Howth over to Irelands Eye. Its €15 return and takes about 15 minutes to get there. The great thing is you can spend as like as you like on the island and the boats do regular trips over and back throughout the day. They will also tell you when the last boat for the day leaves so your not left stranded.
Harbour in Howth
Boat which took us over
I had a week off work with lots of time to myself and as luck would have the weather was great. Perfect for a boat trip to Irelands Eye. I headed to Howth jumped into the boat which had a mix of locals and tourists and off I went.
Inlet
The island itself is not actually that big, about 53 acres in total. The only signs of previous habitation are the Martello Tower and the ruins of the Church of the Three Sons of Nessan. The window of the tower is about 5 metres of the ground. There is a rope hanging out of it which you can climb if you fancy your chances.
View down to Martello Tower
As you can see from the pictures it was a cracker of a day to visit. There is even a great beach area that stretches along the shoreline. Perfect for a pack lunch and a beach towel.
Sun Worshipping
Irelands Eye is also known for its seabirds which include, guillemonts, razorbills and puffins. Be warned they make quite a racket. You will see plenty of seals in the waters off the island.
The Local Birds Gossiping
It’s also famous for the Kirwan Murder which happened in 1852. A husband and wife were taken to the island by a local boat so the husband could paint. Later when the boat returned the wife was found dead washed up on the rocks. He claims she got info difficulty swimming but was later charged with the murder.
The boat leaves you back at the harbour in Howth and I highly recommend that you finish the day off with some sea food from one of the many great restaurants in the village.
For details on boat trips you can vist the websites below.
http://www.boattripshowth.com/index.htm
http://www.islandferries.net/index.html