Ireland's Eye (635)
Ireland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Ireland's Eye
Central coordinates: Latitude: 53.4000, Longitude: -6.0667
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 69
Area of KBA (km2): 1.77712
Protected area coverage (%): 99.91
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: 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.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: 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).
Habitats
Land use: fisheries/aquaculture (50%) | tourism/recreation (50%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 20 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 30 | |
| Marine Neritic | 50 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: 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.