Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
An uninhabited island and surrounding waters, located 1.5 km north of Howth, in County Dublin. The island is mainly rough grassland with steep sea cliffs on the north-east side. The island receives quite high numbers of visitors in the summer months given its proximity to Dublin.
Seabirds breeding in nationally important numbers include
Sula bassana (106 pairs, 1996),
Phalacrocorax carbo (217 pairs, 1994),
Rissa tridactyla (1,079 pairs, 1994),
Uria aalge (1,498 birds, 1994) and
Alca torda (428 birds, 1994).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Control and management of visitors to the island is important to ensure there is no disturbance to nesting seabirds. On the basis of its breeding seabirds, this site has been proposed as a Special Protection Area (Ireland's Eye, 90 ha) by NPW and should be designated in the near future.
National None
International None
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ireland's Eye (Ireland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/irelands-eye-iba-ireland on 23/12/2024.
