Duvillaun (English: Black Island; Irish: Dubhoileán) is the name of a cluster of islands lying south to the

Inishkea Islands The Inishkea Islands (Irish: ''Inis Cé'') are situated off the coast of the Belmullet peninsula in Ireland. The islands are believed to be named after a saint that lived on the island called Saint Kea. There are two main islands - Inishkea Nor ...

and Inishglora in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

off the coast of North Mayo. The main island is known as Duvillaun More (Big Black Island). The other islands are known as Duvillaun Beg (Little Black Island), Turduvillaun, Shiraghy, Keely, Gaghta, and Leamareha. The islands lie close to the coast of the

Mullet Peninsula The Mullet Peninsula ( ga, Leithinis an Mhuirthead)—also known as the Mullet (''an Mhuirthead'') and sometimes as the Erris Peninsula—is a peninsula in the barony of Erris in County Mayo, Ireland. As of 2016 it has a population of 3963. I ...

but in their geological type, they are composed of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

rock like that found on

Achill Island Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Br ...

and not like that of the Mullet off which it lies, which is composed largely of

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

s, slate,

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...

and white

psammite Psammite ( Greek: ''psammitēs'' "(made) from sand", from ''psammos'' "sand") is a general term for sandstone. It is equivalent to the Latin-derived term areniteU.S. Bureau of Mines Staff (1996) ''Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, & Related Terms.'' ...

with a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

deposit at Termon Hill near its southern end. Unlike its neighbouring islands of the Inishkeas and Inishglora, which are largely white sand and

machair A machair (; sometimes machar in English) is a fertile low-lying grassy plain found on part of the northwest coastlines of Ireland and Scotland, in particular the Outer Hebrides. The best examples are found on North and South Uist, Harri ...

blanket bog Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses o ...

formed on Duvillaun. There is approx of grassland on Duvillaun Mor and about of grassland on Duvillaun Beg. The islands were inhabited until the end of the 19th century when the inhabitants left to live on the mainland. They are now a

bird sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...

where many coastal birds can nest without human disturbance.

Fulmars The fulmars are tubenosed seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene. Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on ...

and

kittiwake The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red-l ...

s nest on the cliffs, peregrine falcons hover, keeping a keen eye out for prey.

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

and

Leach's petrel Leach's storm petrel or Leach's petrel (''Hydrobates leucorhous'') is a small seabird of the tubenose order. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek. ''Hydrobates'' is from ...

s shelter amongst the abandoned buildings. Shags,

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...

chough There are two species of passerine birds commonly called chough ( ) that constitute the genus ''Pyrrhocorax'' of the Corvidae (crow) family of birds. These are the red-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), and the Alpine chough (or yellow- ...

s and

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...

s are also present. Duvillaun Mor, which lies only a kilometer or so off Falmore at the southern tip of the Mullet Peninsula, has monastic remains which most likely date from the Early Christian period - i.e. 6th to 8th century AD, similar to the archaeological remains on Inishkea South and on Inishglora. There is a Gallerus-type oratory similar to that on Inishglora, a tomb with large stone slabs, one of which is inscribed with a depiction of the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

. There are also some beehive huts of a similar type to those on Inishglora. Unlike those on Inishglora, there is no 'saint' or religious house affiliated with the islands. The tomb is known as "Uaimh na Naoimh" ("The Saint's Tomb").Profile: Duvillaun
Irishislands.info. Accessed 29 September 2022.

References

{{coord missing, County Mayo Erris Islands of County Mayo Gaeltacht places in County Mayo