Copeland Islands

The Copeland Islands is a group of three islands in the north Irish Sea, north of Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland, consisting of Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island), Copeland Island (also known as Big Island) and Mew Island. They lie within the civil parish of Bangor.

Along with Lambay Island and Ireland's Eye off County Dublin, the islands are the only other one of the 258 sometime inhabited islands of Ireland which lie on the east coast.

Etymology

The Copeland Islands most likely derive their name from the de Coupland family, who settled in the Newtownards area, at the northern end of the Ards Peninsula, along with other Normans in the 12th century.

History

thumb|The old [[kirkyard (graveyard) on Copeland Island, also known as Big Island.]]

There are three islands included in the Copeland Islands: the Great Copeland Island (also known as Big Island or Copeland Island), the Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island), which does not have a lighthouse now, and Mew Island, which does have a lighthouse. Over a century ago, Lighthouse Island had a population of about 100, including a school master with 28 pupils.

In 1671, James Ross obtained a fee farm grant of the islands, and in 1770 David Kerr bought them from The 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil (by the second creation). As the islands were a danger to ships, a light beacon was made on Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island or Cross Island) in about 1715; it burned over 400 tons of coal every year. In 1796, the new British and Irish Lighthouse Board announced the erection of oil lamps and, in 1813, the new lighthouse was built. In 1884, a new lighthouse was built on Mew Island. In 1954, the Bird Observatory was established by Arnold Benington.

Hans Sloane visited the islands and noted how the sea wrens laid their eggs on the ground so thick that they had difficulty in passing along without treading on them while the birds screamed overhead.

Until the 20th century, the islands were used by smugglers who brought tobacco and spirits through the islands and into County Down.

Big Copeland supports the most diverse range of habitats of the three islands. Communities influenced by the sea are found around the shore with maritime cliff vegetation and pockets of salt marsh also present. The centre of the island is occupied by semi-improved wet grassland with frequent areas of marsh. Scots lovage (Ligusticum scoticum) and sea purslane (Halimione portulacoides). Lighthouse Island represents the southern limit for Scots lovage in Europe and the northern limit for sea purslane in Ireland. Other plants on the islands include Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Hyacinthoides hispanica, Dactylorhiza purpurella and Centaurium erythraea.

Lichens

Nineteen species of lichens were collected in 1984, the identifications were confirmed or corrected by Dr A Fletcher. As far as is known these are the only records of lichens from the Lighthouse Island.

Lecanora atra (Huds.) Ach.
Lecanora gangaleoides (Nyl.)
Ochrolechia parella (L.) Massel
Parmelia caperata (L.) Ach.
Ramalina siliquosa (Huds.) A.L.Sm.
Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th. Fr.
Anaptychia fusca (Huds.) Vainio
Diplotomma chlorophaeum (Hepp ex Mull.Argh.) Szat.
Lecanora ploytropa (Hoffm.) Rabenh.
Lecanora rupicola (L.) Zahlbr.
Lecidella subincongrua (Nyl.) Hertel and Luckert
Ochrolechia parella (L.) Massel
Parmelia sulcata Taylor
Polysporina simplex (Davies) Vezda
Rhizocarpon constrictum Malme
Rhizocarpon geographicum (L.) DC
Verrucaria ditmarsica Erichen
Verrucaria maura Wahlenb.

Fauna

The islands are internationally important sites for breeding populations of Manx shearwater and Arctic tern and nationally important sites for breeding Mediterranean gull, common gull and common eider. The Manx shearwater colony on Copeland Islands holds more than 1.7% of the world population. The colony is in excess of four thousand pairs. The rabbit populations on the islands play an important role in the breeding success of the Manx shearwater as the latter mainly nest in the rabbit burrows that honeycomb the islands. Grazing by rabbits maintains a short sward, which is desirable for the fledglings.

Lepidoptera have also been recorded. 19 species of butterflies, 31 species of macro-Lepidoptera and three species of micro-Lepidoptera.

A beetle new to Northern Ireland was recorded in 2013: Diplapion confluens (Kirby).

Lighthouses

thumb|[[Mew Island Lighthouse]]

A light station was established on Lighthouse Island in the early 18th century and a lighthouse built in 1815. It has been inactive since 1884, when the lighthouse was abandoned in favour of the Mew Island Lighthouse, but the ruined stump of the 16 m (52 ft) stone tower remains. The ruins of the keeper's house have been rebuilt to house a bird observatory. The island is now owned by the National Trust and operated by the volunteer members of the Copeland Bird Observatory.

The Mew Island Lighthouse is currently active, and was converted to automatic operation with the lighthouse keepers permanently withdrawn in 1996.

Princess Victoria ferry disaster

On 31 January 1953, , a British Transport Commission ferry sailing from Stranraer to Larne, sank off the Copeland Islands in a heavy storm with the loss of 135 lives.