DALKEY ISLAND MARCH 2008

COLIEMORE 2008

Dalkey Island is an uninhabited island about 16 km (10 mi) south of Dublin, near the village of Dalkey, 3 km (2 mi) south of Dún Laoghaire harbour. Its name is a meld of the Irish deilg ("thorn") and the Old Norse ey ("island"). The Island had a population of 8 in 1841.

Dalkey Island, only 5 minutes by boat from Coliemore Harbour, is an important site of ancient and historic remains. Artefacts from the island, now housed in the National Museum in Dublin, provide evidence that the island's original occupants were from the Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age. Humans continued to use the site through the Neolithic, Iron Age and Early Christian period.

The Rocks to the east of the Island are known as "The Muglins" and are a different group or chain. These form a danger to shipping and have been fitted with a distinctive beacon.

Dalkey Island is home to a colony of seals which has greatly expanded in recent years. Black rabbits and herd of wild goats live on the island also. Birdwatch Ireland have established a colony of Roseate Terns on Maiden Rock just north of the Island and Ireland holds most of the European population.

These photographs are from March 2008.