There are five species of tern here, while Rockabill Island represent 80% of the roseate tern’s European numbers. It’s a conservation success story, says Dan MacCarthy

The violent Atlantic storms of last winter took their toll on Ireland’s seabirds with almost half of some species (41%) wiped out, a study has shown.

You could call them real-life Rockabillies. Two people are set to bag dream summer jobs monitoring seabirds on a remote rocky outcrop off the Irish coast.

AT this time of year terns gather on our local beach for their annual Árd Fheis.

WITH the current gloom and doom it’s a relief to have something positive to write about. Bank accounts may be empty and begging bowls back in vogue but there’s prosperity off the north Dublin coast; the tern colony on Rockabill has broken all records.

JUST two years old, Silver Beach is unexpectedly up for sale: it was its owners’ dream project.