The Saltee Islands (Irish: Oileán an tSalainn; Old Norse: Salt ey [1]) are a pair of small islands lying 5 kilometres off the southern coast of County Wexford in Ireland. The two islands are Great Saltee (89 hectares) and Little Saltee (37 hectares). They have been largely unoccupied since the early 20th century and have been privately owned by the Neale family since 1943. Together, the islands cover an area of 1.2 square kilometres.
Native name: Oileán an tSalainn | |
|---|---|
 Great Saltee, the larger of the two islands | |
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Total islands | 2 |
| Major islands | Great Saltee, Little Saltee |
| Area | 1.2 km2 (0.46 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
| County | Wexford |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 2 (2011)[a] |
Protected status
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The islands are a breeding ground for fulmar, gannet, shag, kittiwake, guillemot, razorbill, puffin and grey seal. An area surrounding both islands and extending approximately 500 m (1,600 ft) offshore was granted the status of a Special Protection Area to protect the bird habitat.[2] The islands are also at the centre of a related Special Area of Conservation, named after them,[3] which extends to the mainland coastline east of Kilmore Quay.
The conservation area specifically addresses: the mud and sand flats on the mainland coastline as well as those surrounding the mainland facing sides of Little Saltee; large shallow inlets and bays to the west of an imaginary line joining Kilmore Quay and Great Saltee; reefs throughout the entire area; the vegetated sea cliffs which surround both islands; sea caves along the south coast of Great Saltee and the entire area as a grey seal habitat with specific reference to both islands as important sites, including for breeding, along with some areas further out also of interest as moult and resting haul-out sites.[4]
Important Bird Area
editThe islands have been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support breeding populations of several species of seabirds.[5]
Geology and geography
editThe islands are based on Pre-Cambrian bedrock between 600 million and 2 billion years old.[6] The highest point in the Saltees is South Summit on Great Saltee at 198 feet (60 metres). The waters around the islands can be treacherous, hence the area is known as the "Graveyard of a Thousand Ships and the islands their tombstones".[citation needed]
History
editThe name saltee comes from the Ostmen, or Danish Vikings who settled in the baronies of Forth and Bargy sometime in the 9th and 10th centuries, meaning in the original old Norse, "salt islands". So called, not due to the presence of any minerals on the islands but after the salt sprays that cover the entire islands during winter storms. The Irish name for the islands was later adopted in the same vein. While there may have been earlier occupation on Great Saltee, and an Ogham stone is recorded as being found on the island,[7][8] the first written record of the island dates to c. 1177, when Hervey de Montmorency is recorded as granting the islands to Christchurch, Canterbury.[9] The islands were subsequently granted to the monks of Tintern Abbey and the "two islands of Salteye" are mentioned in Tintern charters dated to 1245.[9] The northeastern point of Great Saltee (closest to the mainland) was historically known known as "Abbey Point" and ruined buildings close to it sometimes associated with a "religious house".[10] A nearby field is marked in some maps as "Abbey Field".[11]
By the 16th century, the islands had been leased by John Isham of Bryanstown.[9] They were subsequently acquired by the Grogan-Morgan family of Johnstown Castle.[11] Following the Battle of New Ross in 1798, the United Irishman commander, Bagenal Harvey, fled to Great Saltee. However, he was betrayed and arrested and executed in Wexford town.[12] The Grogan-Morgans, who were in possession of the islands as of 1837,[10] leased the islands to several families associated with nearby Kilmore Quay.[11] According to A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, published by Samuel Lewis in 1837, there were then approximately 20 inhabitants on Great Saltee and Little Saltee was "inhabited by a family consisting of three persons".[10] The islands, which were largely abandoned by the early 20th century, contain a number of (mainly 19th century) ruins.[11]
Michael Neale, originally of Kilmore Quay, purchased Great Saltee in the 1940s.[13] The Neale family, who still own the island,[14] built a number of small commemorative structures on Great Saltee.[15][16] While the Neale family are periodically in residence on Great Saltee, it is otherwise largely unoccupied.[13]
Demographics
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| Sources: "CNA17: Population by Off Shore Island, Sex and Year". Retrieved 12 October 2016. / "CNA35: Population of Offshore Islands since 1841". Retrieved 8 July 2024. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Popular culture
edit- The Saltee Islands are the setting for Eoin Colfer's book Airman as a powerful sovereign state based around diamond industry.[citation needed] However, the book is a work of fiction, and no significant natural resources have been found.[6]
Further reading
edit- Deane, C.D. (7 December 1974), "On the wild island kingdom of Great Saltee", Belfast News Letter
- Moran, J. (1980), "Kings of the Great Saltee", The Countryman, vol. Winter 1979/80, Vol 84, pp. 85–91
References
editNotes
edit- ^ At the time of the 2011 census (Sunday 10 April 2011), the return for "Saltee Little (ED 111 Kilmore), Co Wexford" indicates that there were 2 people on the island.[17]
Sources
edit- ^ Sheehan, John; Hansen, Steffen Stummann; ó Corráin, Donnchadh (2001). "A Viking Age Maritime Haven: A Reassessment of the Island Settlement at Beginish, Co. Kerry". The Journal of Irish Archaeology. 10: 93–119. JSTOR 30001672. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Saltee Islands SPA". National Parks & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "Saltee Islands SAC". National Parks & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "Conservation Objectives: Saltee Islands SAC 000707 and Saltee Islands SPA 004002. Version 1.0" (PDF). National Parks & Wildlife Service. 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ "Saltee Islands". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ a b Wyse Jackson, Patrick; Simms, Mike (eds.). County Geology of Ireland: Wexford (PDF). geoschol.com (Report). Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ "Ogham stone, Saltee Island Great, County Wexford (WX051A010----)". Sites and Monuments Record (SMR), Ireland. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "Miscellanea - Ogham Stone on Saltee Islands". Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 6. 15 (2): 138. December 1925. JSTOR 25513373.
In the summer of 1925 Mr Standish Mason found an ogham stone on the Greater Saltee Island, off the coast of Wexford
- ^ a b c Hore, H. F. (1901). History of the Town and County of Wexford (Volume 2). pp. 27, 32, 40, 74, 89, 93.
- ^ a b c Lewis, Samuel, ed. (1837). "Saltee Islands". A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. Lewis.
- ^ a b c d Roche, Richard; Merne, Oscar J., eds. (1977). Saltees: island of birds and legends. Dublin: O'Brien Press. p. 49, 51-5, 90. ISBN 9780905140360.
- ^ Grattan Flood, William H. (June 1905). "Glascarrig Priory, County Wexford". Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 5. 35 (2): 170. JSTOR 25507432.
As is well known, this B. B. Harvey, an unwilling hero of '98, was captured in a cave in the Saltee Islands, and was executed at Wexford
- ^ a b "The Islands of Ireland: A taste of the Saltees". Irish Examiner. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "Why a trip to the Saltee Islands in Wexford is one of Ireland's best day trips". Irish Examiner. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "Saltee Island Great, Wexford (Obelisk)". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "Saltee Island Great, Wexford (Folly)". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "CNA35 - Population of Offshore Islands since 1841". data.gov.ie. Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
Saltee Little (ED 111 Kilmore), Co Wexford [..] Islands by Electoral Division [..] 2011 [..] Both sexes: 2
External links
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