Islands of Ireland: A ballet of swallows swoops around Banbury's Island

But this is an island of 'no substance' — it's not possible to even set foot on it as it seems to be mostly a submerged reed bank
Islands of Ireland: A ballet of swallows swoops around Banbury's Island

Island of Ireland: Banbury's Island, Lough Derg, County Tipperary. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

This column has visited some unconventional islands for the series on our islands. There are those some would not consider islands at all... such as Valentia Island, County Kerry, or Omey Island, County Galway. 

In the former case, it is connected to the mainland by a bridge, and the latter can be driven to at low tide. 

However, these islands are either cut off at high tide or previously had an existence as an island prior to modern developments, so much of whatever informed the previous island state is still extant.

Other ‘dubious’ islands mentioned here include: 

  • St Brendan’s eponymous ‘island’ in the Atlantic which turned out to be the back of a whale
  • Buss Island ‘discovered’ by English explorer Frobisher in the 16th century to which Ireland could lay a ‘claim’ as it is on the edge of the Porcupine Bank
  • the famous Hy Brasil shimmering in a blaze of sunlight way off the coast of Galway.
  • Another ‘island’ to grace these pages is the one-time home of the famous chalice at Derrynaflan Island in County Tipperary, which is surrounded by a sea of bog.

This week’s choice is well met with the aforementioned islands in that it is an island of no substance. It was not possible to set foot on it on a recent kayak visit as it was characterised by a reed bank and nothing else. 

Some deep probing with the paddle failed to find the bottom where the reeds are rooted so they are at least three metres tall and the foundation of the island was at least two metres below the surface. 

Perhaps the top of the island is raised above the bed of the lough so, were the water removed, it would stand out as a hill. 

The water level on the lough was much higher than usual due to the abundant rain throughout the summer, so islands such as Banbury’s were literally inundated.

However, on the Ordnance Survey maps Banbury’s Island is a name and a name is all we need, (though the identity of Banbury remains a mystery for now). A graceful swan drifted by, alert to any interference to her nest on the island out of sight among the reeds.

Banbury’s Island is about 200 metres from County Clare lying at the very edge of the invisible Tipperary border and not far from the meeting point of Clare, Tipperary and Galway which lies in the centre of the lake a little further to the north. 

It is minute and comes in at a mere 16 perches in old money, or 30 square metres in modern and is easily one of the smallest islands in the country.

A swan and some ducks on a calm Lough Derg. Picture: Kieran Clancy
A swan and some ducks on a calm Lough Derg. Picture: Kieran Clancy

It is flanked to the east by the former islands of Cameron and Islandbrien which have since joined to the mainland through the build-up of reed banks; to the south by Buggane Island; and to the west by the comparatively enormous Illaunmore (reputed burial place of Brian Boru) which is not only the largest lake on Lough Derg, but one of the largest in the country.

And then, the pièce de résistance. As evening fell and dusk began to thicken the light, a mesmerising ballet of swallows developed all around Banbury’s Island of such staggering moment that it felt a deep privilege to be witness to it. 

From the stillness came hundreds of the darting birds in a galaxy of gerunds: swooping; sweeping; storming; playing; cavorting; diving; twisting and turning in every conceivable direction. 

At once charging the sinking sun and then slicing the water with their wings as they fed on insects or played with the other medium for the sheer hell of it.

One swallow does not a summer make, as Aristotle (though possibly Aesop) said, but 200 of them certainly do. And these birds, getting ready to migrate to warmer climes, were certainly enjoying the last of the summer.

To finish off an outstanding day’s paddling where nature put on an award-worthy performance, a solitary white-tailed sea eagle, on a foray from its nest elsewhere on the lough, glided overhead and rousted out some crows from the boughs of Illaunmore.

How to get there: Kayak from shore at townland of Luska about 8km northwest of Nenagh, County Tipperary.

Other: discoverireland.ie/tipperary/lough-derg-blueway-east

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