Lambay Island - Prehistory and History

Prehistory and History

The island was important in the Neolithic period in Ireland as a ground stone axe quarrying and production site. Two outcrops of andesite, or Lambay porphyry as it is more commonly known, were utilised. The quarry site is unusual in Ireland for being the only Neolithic stone axe quarry with evidence for all stages of production, from quarrying to final polishing.

The ancient Greek writers Pliny and Ptolemy knew about the island and referred to it as Limnus or Limni. Its Irish name, Reachra, was eventually joined by a Norse name based on the root word ey for island. The name Lambey probably originated with the practice of sending over ewes to the island in spring to lamb in a predator-free environment. The belief that the fore part of the name in Norse is from the word lamb makes perfect sense, but may be a later rationalisation for a name based on whatever the name of the island was at the time of Pliny and Ptolemy and the word ey. The Irish name for the nearby coastal area of Portrane, Port Reachrainn, originated from its position facing the island.

A number of Iron Age burials were discovered on the island in 1927 during works on the island's harbour. The finds included a number of Romano-British items, and the site has been interpreted as evidence for the arrival of a small group of refugees from Brigantia, fleeing the Romans from 71 to 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. 20th century surveying found remains of an enclosure to the south of the present church, and suggestions of a connected moated site (the present church dates from the early 20th century).

Sitric, a Danish King of Dublin, granted Lambay to Christ Church Cathedral, and in 1181 Prince John granted it to the Archbishops of Dublin. This was reconfirmed by King Edward in 1337 and by King Richard in 1394. A later Archbishop gave the rents of the island to the nuns of Grace Dieu for the upkeep of their monastery and school. He also gave the tithes of the Lambay rabbits to the nuns and at that time the rabbit taxes were worth 100 shillings a year.

In 1467, it was provided by statute that the Earl of Worcester, then Lord Deputy, be granted Lambay to build a fortress for England's protection against the Spaniards, French and Scots. Worcester paid the Archbishop of Dublin 40 shillings per annum and though he had a licence to build a castle on Lambay it is not certain that it was actually built.

During the reformation, Archbishop Brown granted the Island to John Challoner for a rent of £6.13.4. The conditions were that Challoner would within 6 years build a village, castle and harbour for the benefit of fishermen and as a protection against smugglers. He was to inhabit Lambay "with a colony of honest men". He was a very active man who worked four mines for silver and copper and bred falcons on the island's many cliffs.

Challoner still owned Lambay in Elizabethan times but in 1611 the island was granted to Sir William Ussher and his heirs. James Ussher, later the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh, lived on Lambay in 1626 but by 1650 he was resident in London. He was highly respected by Cromwell and to-day lies buried in Westminster Abbey. The Ussher family held the Island for 200 years.In the 17th C. there was some exploratory lead or copper mining.

During the Williamite war in Ireland, the island was used as an internment camp for Irish soldiers. More than one thousand of them were imprisoned there after the Battle of Aughrim in 1691 and some died of wounds and starvation.

In 1805, the leasehold of Lambay was inherited by Sir William Wolseley, and in 1814 it was acquired by the Talbot family of Malahide. In 1860 the existing farmers were removed and replaced with English and Scottish tenants.

Having sold nearby Portrane House, Count James Consedine bought Lambay in 1888, developing the island for hunting. In turn, the Baring family of banking fame bought Lambay Island in 1904 for 9,000 pounds. Cecil Baring hired Sir Edwin Lutyens to work on renovation of the island's main residence and surrounds. Cecil Baring became Lord Revelstoke in 1929 and died in 1934.

The island has claimed a number of shipwrecks, one of the most notable of which was RMS Tayleur. One of the largest merchant ships of her day, she struck the island on 21 January 1854 and sank with the loss of 380 lives.

Landing Site of the Winners of the 1921 Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race // Team Nationality: Swiss // Pilots: Capt. Armbruster (Pilot); Capt. Ansermier (2nd Pilot) // Takeoff: Brussels, Belgium // Distance: 756 kilometres // Maximum Altitude: 3600 Meters // Flight Duration: 27 Hours 23 Minutes // Landing: Lambay Island (Ireland), 6° West of Greenwich (England) // Latitude: 53.5°N // Distance form Mainland (Ireland): 8 km // Adjacent Village: Rush.