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Lambay Island is a small island, about 2.5 square kilometres in size, situated two miles off the coast of north county Dublin and approximately six miles north of Howth. Saltpan Bay, formerly Swallow Cove, is situated on the north side of the island close off the northwest point.

About Saltpan Bay

The extensive Saltpan Bay with its high protective sheer cliffs and excellent holding is perhaps one of the best anchorages on the east coast of Ireland.

You can anchor right up against the cliff face in deep water and listen to the raucous calls of the seabirds and observe them at close quarters both on the cliffs and on the surrounding water. Indeed you should pack a fishing rod and plan to join them hunting as there is good mackerel fishing here. You can almost bank on getting a fresh tea in Saltpan Bay.

It is a perfect secluded escape into a nature reserve, just a short sail from the hustling, bustling capital coast of Ireland. In addition, this island has a rich and interesting story to tell. Though small, 250 hectares in area and rising to Knockbane’s 127m high point, Lambay Island is both the largest island off Ireland’s east coast and the easternmost point in the Republic of Ireland.

Lambay ancient name was ‘Reachra’ in Irish meaning place of many shipwrecks – a feature tragically demonstrated in more modern times by the events surrounding the RMS ‘Tayleur’ described below. The early Irish name was eventually replaced by the Viking word Lambay, meaning Lamb Island. This most likely originated from a practice of sending ewes to the island for the summer grazing and returning them to the mainland in autumn at the time.

People have occupied Lambay from perhaps as early 7,000 B.C. to the present day. Lambay was important in the Neolithic period in Ireland as a ground stone axe quarrying and production site. Two outcrops of porphyritic andesite or Lambay porphyry as it is more commonly known were utilised. The quarry site is unusual in the British Isles for being the only Neolithic stone axe quarry with evidence for all stages of production, from quarrying to final polishing. A number of Iron Age burials were discovered in 1927 on Lambay during repair works on the islands harbour.

There is no evidence to say the Romans made it to the Irish mainland, but they did get to Lambay, traded with it, and called it Limnios. A number of Romano-British items have been found on the island and interpreted as evidence for the arrival of a small group of British refugees from Brigantia, fleeing the Roman conquest in A.D. 71-74.

St. Colmcille is said to have established a monastic settlement on Lambay ca. 530 A.D., and Ireland's Viking period began with a raid on this place in 795. After the Battle of the Boyne in 1691, a 15th Century castle was used as a concentration camp for the defeated Jacobite troops. More than one thousand were imprisoned there, some died of wounds and starvation. The castle was subsequently turned into a mansion around 1900, is now an occupied family home.

The saddest episode in Lambay’ history occurred on Saturday, 21st January 1854, just south west of ‘The Nose’ on the east side. On that fateful night, in thick weather the aforementioned RMS ‘Tayleur’ struck Lambay.

The ‘Tayleur’ was an ironclad clipper with a weight of 1979 tons. The vessel was the largest sailing merchantman built at that time in England and with masts 45m high the vessel was built for speed more than manoeuvrability. Two days earlier ‘Tayleur’ had departed ‘Mersey’ on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne. Aboard it had 579 emigrants, 80% of whom were Irish, bound for the Gold fields of Australia.

There were many contributing reasons for the ‘Tayleur’ tragedy. The vessel had not been turned fully cargo laden before it left the Mersey. The compass had been reacting to the vessels iron cladding and no one had yet worked out how to correct it. The ship was undermanned and the inexperienced crew, mostly Chinese, didn't understand the Captain's orders.

In shallow water, of what has come to be known as Tayleur Bay, the ship died slowly against the rocks. Some passengers scrambled ashore, others slid down a rope. Escape from the ship at this critical point favoured those with greater physical capability, so women and children featured disproportionately among the dead. The loss was a staggering total of 380 lives. Of the 579 emigrants aboard, there were 250 women and children, yet only 3 of these survived.

Today Lambay is home to the aforementioned privately owned medieval castle that receives summer guests. These are accommodated in the renovated coastguard houses and the White House. It supports one of the largest and most important seabird colonies in Ireland, with over 50,000 Common Guillemots, 5,000 Kittiwakes, 3,500 Razorbills, 2,500 pairs of Herring Gulls, as well as smaller numbers of Puffins, Manx Shearwaters, Fulmars and other species.

In addition to this Lambay has the largest concentration of grey seals on the East coast of Ireland and there are several caves in the cliffs much frequented for giving birth to their pups. A herd of about 200 fallow deer were introduced and oddly, wallabies (in the 1980s Dublin Zoo became overcrowded and some of their number were placed on the island). Seventeen wallabies at the last count, and increasing, exist today.

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