Harman Patil (Editor)

The Skerries, Northern Ireland

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Population
  
(2001)

County
  
County Antrim

Sovereign state
  
United Kingdom

District
  
Coleraine Borough Council

UK parliament constituency
  
East Londonderry

Irish grid reference
  
C855409

Country
  
Northern Ireland

Post town
  
PORTRUSH

Dialling code
  
28

The Skerries, Northern Ireland httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

The Skerries are a small group of rocky islands (skerries) just off Portrush, County Antrim, on the north coast of Northern Ireland. Winkle Isle is the local name for the large Skerry island, the small Skerry being known as Castle Isle. The islands are part of an Area of Special Scientific Interest.

Contents

Local boat trips from Portrush pass the Skerries en route to the Giant's Causeway.

Area of Special Scientific Interest

In 1996 the islands were designated as part of the Ramore Head and The Skerries Area of Special Scientific Interest. The islands are a habitat for breeding by a range of seabirds including kittiwake, black guillemot and eider duck. The temperature of the Skerries during the summer months is warmer than other parts of Northern Ireland, and so the rocks are home to particularly interesting fauna; it is the only place many southern species such as the cotton spinner sea cucumber Holothuria forskali are found in Northern Ireland. There are several protected habitats located around the Skerries, notably for seagrass (Zostera marina) and horse mussel (Modiolus modiolus). In addition, recent surveys have found numbers of the spiny spider crab (Maja brachydactyla), which is new to Northern Ireland.

Shipwrecks

On 28 December 1879 the sailing vessel, Thomas Graham, owned by John and Thomas Candlish of Palnackie in Scotland, and captained by John Candlish, was stranded at the Skerries and lost.

References

The Skerries, Northern Ireland Wikipedia