Bull Island

North Bull creation story – The Myth of Wall which came before the Island

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It is long accepted in Dublin that Bull Island did not exist until the building of the North Bull Wall – which was built in an effort to reduce the silt ending up in Dublin Port and as a result this silt was diverted elsewhere to North Bull. In 1871 the island was estimated at around 2km long, and now in 2020 it is about 5km long and 1km wide.

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Islands in the Irish Sea

This might seem like a boring old post, but there are many islands here that I never previously heard about. In Ireland we are so focused on islands in the Atlantic that we ignore completely what is on the east coast. Many people in Dublin struggle to place Bull Island and it is only 7km from the City Centre. Lambay is even more exotic – but the vast majority of my fellow citizens would not know much about even Anglesey or the Isle of Man – even if they have already visited.

Ireland’s Eye from Wiki

And the yet, to my own embarrassment, the third placed Holy Island is one I have not known anything – not even its name.  Clare Island is better known and it is only 15 km squared – and Holy Island is even bigger than Inishmore which is just under 31 km square.  And yet incredibly, Holyhead sits on Holy Island and not on Anglesey. How come I do not know this – well until now anyhow. Okay, yes you can debate – just like Achill – that this is barely an island – but that still doesn’t take away from the fact that this large piece of land is as close to Dublin as is Athlone – and I have never heard about it!

Wikipedia lists all the islands in the Irish Sea which are above 1km squared

Name Area (km²) Rank (area) Permanent Population[1] Rank (pop.) Country
Anglesey 714 01 69,000 02 Wales
Isle of Man 572 02 80,056 01 Isle of Man
Holy Island 39 03 13,579 03 Wales
Walney Island 13 04 11,388 04 England
Lambay Island 5.54 05 <10 08 Republic of Ireland
Bull Island 3 06 <20 07 Republic of Ireland
Ramsey Island 2.58 07 0 Wales
Bardsey Island 2.58 08 <5 10 Wales
Calf of Man 2.50 09 0 Isle of Man
Piel Island 0.20 <5 10 England
Ynys Gored Goch 0.004 <5 10 Wales
Barrow Island Unknown 2,616 05 England
Roa Island Unknown 100 06 England
Ynys Gaint Unknown <10 08 Wales
Ynys Castell Unknown <5 10 Wales

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_Ireland

Just to highlight my own ignorance here is an image of a 120 km radius from Dublin. I also know very little about the Isle of Man.  This is where borders become walls to learning.