The Copeland Islands is a group of three islands in the north

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

, north of

Donaghadee Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It is in the civil parish of Donaghadee and t ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, consisting of Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island), Copeland Island (also known as Big Island), and Mew Island. They lie within the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Bangor. Along with

Lambay Island Lambay Island ( ga, Reachrainn), often simply Lambay, is an island in the Irish Sea off the coast of north County Dublin, Ireland. The largest island off the east coast of Ireland, it is offshore from the headland at Portrane, and is the eas ...

and

Ireland's Eye Ireland's Eye () is a small long-uninhabited island off the coast of County Dublin, Ireland. Situated directly north of Howth village and harbour, the island is easily reached by regular seasonal tourist boats, which both circumnavigate it an ...

off

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, the islands are the only other one of the 258 sometime inhabited islands of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

which lie on the east coast.

Etymology

The Copeland Islands most likely derive their name from the de Coupland family, who settled in the

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...

area, at the northern end of the

Ards Peninsula The Ards Peninsula () is a peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the north-east coast of Ireland. It separates Strangford Lough from the North Channel of the Irish Sea. Towns and villages on the peninsula include Donaghadee, Millisle ...

, along with other

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

in the 12th century. This family also lent their name to other landmarks in the vicinity such as Copeland Water near

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

and the townland of Ballycopeland in the civil parish of Donaghadee. The earliest possible recorded name for the islands, however, may be the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

' (' meaning 'merchant' and ' meaning 'island'), recorded in the Norse ', and dated to 1230. It has been suggested that 'Kaupmann' developed into 'Copman' and then into 'Copeland', with the form 'Copman' recorded several times in the late 16th century in reference to the islands. The original

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

name for the islands is unknown. However, it has been suggested that the 1570s usage of 'Helaine Harr may be an attempt at Anglicising the

name ' (island of the (kidney-shaped) ridge). The modern Irish name, however, is a

Gaelicisation Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread from Irel ...

of Copeland Islands into '.

History

Old graveyard, Copeland Island - geograph

There are three islands included in the Copeland Islands: the Great Copeland Island (also known as Big Island or Copeland Island), the Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island, which does not have a lighthouse now), and Mew Island, which does have a lighthouse. Over a century ago, Lighthouse Island had a population of about 100, including a school master with 28 pupils. In 1671, James Ross obtained a

fee farm grant In English and Irish law, a fee farm grant is a hybrid type of land ownership typical in cities and towns. The word ''fee'' is derived from fief or fiefdom, meaning a feudal landholding, and a fee farm grant is similar to a fee simple in the se ...

of the islands, and in 1770 David Kerr bought them from The 2nd Earl of Clanbrassil (by the second creation). As the islands were a danger to ships, a light beacon was made on Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island or Cross Island) in about 1715; it burned over 400 tons of coal every year. In 1796, the new British and Irish Lighthouse Board announced the erection of oil lamps and, in 1813, the new lighthouse was built. In 1884, a new lighthouse was built on Mew Island. In 1954, the Bird Observatory was established by Arnold Bennington.Deane, C (1983) "Copeland Islands" in "''The Ulster Countryside''" Century Books Until the 20th century, the islands were used by smugglers who brought tobacco and spirits through the islands and into

Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI)

Copeland Islands ASSI is located off the County Down coast of Northern Ireland and comprises The Great Copeland, Lighthouse Island and Mew Island. The islands are important sites for breeding

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s and

wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

s, in addition to their coastal

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

communities and

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

features. Big Copeland supports the most diverse range of

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s of the three islands. Communities influenced by the sea are found around the shore with maritime

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

vegetation and pockets of

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

also present. The centre of the island is occupied by semi-improved wet grassland with frequent areas of

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

Flora

The vegetation on Light House Island consists of short

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

grazed turf with large areas of rank bracken (''

Pteridium aquilinum ''Pteridium aquilinum'' (bracken, brake or common bracken), also known as eagle fern, is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. Originally native to Eurasia and North America, the extreme lightness o ...

'') and Himalayan balsam (''

Impatiens glandulifera ''Impatiens glandulifera'', Himalayan balsam, is a large annual plant native to the Himalayas. Via human introduction it is now present across much of the Northern Hemisphere and is considered an invasive species in many areas. Uprooting or cutt ...

''). Notable species include English stonecrop (''

Sedum anglicum ''Sedum anglicum'', the English stonecrop, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Sedum'' in the Family (biology), family Crassulaceae. Description ''Sedum anglicum'' is a low-growing perennial with stubby, succulent, untoothed, alternat ...

''), rock sea-spurrey (''

Spergularia rupicola ''Spergularia rupicola'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Ca ...

''), (HB) Scots lovage (''

Ligusticum scoticum ''Ligusticum scoticum'', known as Scots lovage, or Scottish licorice-root, is a perennial flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae (previously Umbelliferae) found near the coasts of northern Europe and north-eastern North America. It grows u ...

'') and sea purslane (''

Halimione portulacoides ''Halimione portulacoides'' or sea purslane (2n=36) is a shrub found in Eurasia. Description The plant grows to in height. It is evergreen, and in northern temperate climates it flowers from July to September. The flowers are monoecious and a ...

''). Lighthouse Island represents the southern limit for Scots lovage in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the northern limit for sea purslane in

. Other plants on the islands include ''

Hyacinthoides non-scripta ''Hyacinthoides non-scripta'' (formerly ''Endymion non-scriptus'' or ''Scilla non-scripta'') is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a garden plant. It is ...

'', ''

Hyacinthoides hispanica ''Hyacinthoides hispanica'' ( syn. ''Endymion hispanicus'' or ''Scilla hispanica''), the Spanish bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial native to the Iberian Peninsula. It is one of around a dozen species in the genus ''Hyacinthoides'' ...

'', ''

Dactylorhiza purpurella ''Dactylorhiza purpurella'', the northern marsh orchid, is an orchid native to Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland ...

'' and ''

Centaurium erythraea ''Centaurium erythraea'' is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names common centaury and European centaury. Description This is an erect biennial herb which reaches half a meter in height. It grows from a sma ...

''. Mew Island is dominated by rank stands of grass and bracken but, as on all the islands, notable areas of inter-tidal and exposed rock habitat are present.

Algae

The marine algae of the Lighthouse Island and the Mew Islands was studied in 1975 and the 56 species, or genera, identified were listed and published.

Lichens

Nineteen species of lichens were collected in 1984, the identifications were confirmed or corrected by Dr A Fletcher. As far as is known these are the only records of lichens from the Lighthouse Island. *''

Lecanora ''Lecanora'' is a genus of lichen commonly called rim lichens.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, Lichens in the genus ''Squamarina'' are also called rim lichens. Members of the genus have roughly ci ...

atra'' (Huds.) Ach. *''

gangaleoides'' (Nyl.) *''

Ochrolechia ''Ochrolechia'' is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Ochrolechiaceae. Species , Species Fungorum accepts 38 species of ''Ochrolechia'': *'' Ochrolechia aegaea'' *'' Ochrolechia africana'' *'' Ochrolechia alaskana'' *'' Ochrolechia a ...

parella'' (L.) Massel *''

Parmelia caperata ''Flavoparmelia caperata'', the common greenshield lichen, is a foliose lichen that corticolous lichen, grows on the bark of trees, and occasionally saxicolous lichen, on rock. Identification ''Flavoparmelia caperata'' is a medium to large folio ...

'' (L.) Ach. *''

Ramalina siliquosa ''Ramalina siliquosa'', also known as sea ivory, is a tufted and branched lichen which is widely found on siliceous rock (geology), rocks and stone walls on coastlands round the British Isles, occasionally slightly inland. It grows well above th ...

'' (Huds.) A.L.Sm. *''

Xanthoria parietina ''Xanthoria parietina'' is a foliose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It has wide distribution, and many common names such as common orange lichen, yellow scale, maritime sunburst lichen and shore lichen. It can be found near the shore on ro ...

'' (L.) Th. Fr. *''

Anaptychia ''Anaptychia'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Physciaceae. Species , Species Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (scientific names) in the fungus kingdom. the project is based at ...

fusca'' (Huds.) Vainio *''

Diplotomma ''Diplotomma'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Caliciaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 29 species. The genus was circumscribed by Julius von Flotow in 1849. It was later wrapped into ''Buellia'' befo ...

chlorophaeum'' (Hepp ex Mull.Argh.) Szat. *''

ploytropa'' (Hoffm.) Rabenh. *''

rupicola'' (L.) Zahlbr. *''

Lecidella ''Lecidella'' is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Lecanoraceae. Taxonomy ''Lecidella'' was circumscribed by German lichenologist Gustav Wilhelm Körber in 1855. It was not widely used until more than a century later, when Hannes Hertel ...

subincongrua'' (Nyl.) Hertel and Luckert *''

parella'' (L.) Massel *''

Parmelia sulcata ''Parmelia sulcata'' is a foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is very tolerant of pollution and has a cosmopolitan distribution, making it one of the most common lichens. It harbours a unicellular ''Trebouxia'' green algal symbiont. T ...

'' Taylor *''

Polysporina ''Polysporina'' is a genus of lichenized fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organ ...

simplex'' (Davies) Vezda *''Rhizocarpon constrictum'' Malme *''

Rhizocarpon geographicum ''Rhizocarpon geographicum'' (the map lichen) is a species of lichen, which grows on rocks in mountainous areas of low air pollution. Each lichen is a flat patch bordered by a black line of fungal hyphae. These patches grow adjacent to each other ...

'' (L.) DC *''

Verrucaria ''Verrucaria'' is a genus of lichenized (lichen-forming) fungi in the family Verrucariaceae. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by German botanist Heinrich Adolph Schrader in 1794, with '' Verrucaria rupestris'' assigned as the type species. I ...

ditmarsica'' Erichen *'' Verrucaria maura'' Wahlenb.

Fauna

The islands are internationally important sites for breeding populations of

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an ...

and

Arctic tern The Arctic tern (''Sterna paradisaea'') is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south a ...

and nationally important sites for breeding

Mediterranean gull The Mediterranean gull (''Ichthyaetus melanocephalus'') is a small gull. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus ''Ichthyaetus'' is from ''ikhthus'', "fish", and ''aetos'', "eagle", and the specific ''melanocephalus'' is from ''mel ...

common gull The common gull or sea mew (''Larus canus'') is a medium-sized gull that breeds in the Palearctic, northern Europe. The closely related short-billed gull is sometimes included in this species, which may be known collectively as "mew gull". Many ...

and

common eider The common eider (pronounced ) (''Somateria mollissima''), also called St. Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large ( in body length) sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It bree ...

. The Manx shearwater colony on Copeland Islands holds more than 1.7% of the world population. The colony is in excess of four thousand pairs. The

populations on the islands play an important role in the breeding success of the Manx shearwater as the latter mainly nest in the rabbit burrows that honeycomb the islands. Grazing by rabbits maintains a short sward, which is desirable for the fledglings. Great Copeland has an internationally important

colony, with some 550 pairs. The site now represents the largest colony for this species in Ireland. Mew Island has been an important tern colony in the past and it is hoped that positive management will encourage terns to become re-established. The islands are the most important breeding sites in Northern Ireland for common gull with over 250 pairs present. Big Copeland has recently held Northern Ireland's first successful breeding pair of Mediterranean gull. The islands are home to a nationally important population of breeding eider duck. In total the three islands account for 14% of the Irish population. Non-breeding eider form part of the nationally important population that occurs along the Outer Ards coast and

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to th ...

areas. Other breeding colonies of note include

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

water rail The water rail (''Rallus aquaticus'') is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the war ...

and

stock dove The stock dove (''Columba oenas'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It is widely distributed in the western Palearctic. Taxonomy The stock dove was first formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Li ...

. The latter species has suffered a dramatic decline in

, but numbers have increased on Copeland with some 100 pairs now breeding. Breeding waders such as

lapwing Lapwings (subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. A gro ...

and

snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a near ...

may be found further inland. Here the taller vegetation, interspersed with open areas, provides an ideal breeding habitat. Birds of prey favour the islands when the breeding season is over.

Hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the genus ''Accipiter''. "Sparrow-hawk" or sparhawk originally referred to ''Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus'', now called "Eurasian" or "northern" sparrowha ...

buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

kestrel The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour ...

merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

and

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

are all seen regularly.

Mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

, such as the

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

common seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinnipeds, pinniped (walruses ...

harbour porpoise The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar ...

bottlenose dolphin Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...

common minke whale The common minke whale or northern minke whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata'') is a species of minke whale within the suborder of baleen whales. It is the smallest species of the rorquals and the second smallest species of baleen whale. Alth ...

common dolphin The common dolphin (''Delphinus delphis'') is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with ...

and

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

have been reported from the Copeland Islands. Lepidoptera have also been recorded. 19 species of butterflies, 31 species of macro-Lepidoptera and three species of micro-Lepidoptera. A beetle new to Northern Ireland was recorded in 2013: ''Diplapion confluens'' (Kirby).

Lighthouses

A light station was established on Lighthouse Island in the early 18th century and a lighthouse built in 1815. It has been inactive since 1884, when the lighthouse was abandoned in favour of the

Mew Island Lighthouse Mew Island Lighthouse is an active lighthouse within the Copeland Islands of County Down in Northern Ireland. The current 19th-century tower is the most recent in a series of lighthouses that have been built in the islands, which have helped to ...

, but the ruined stump of the 16 m (52 ft) stone tower remains. The ruins of the keeper's house have been rebuilt to house a bird observatory. The island is now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and operated by the volunteer members of the Copeland Bird Observatory. The Mew Island Lighthouse is currently active, and was converted to automatic operation with the lighthouse keepers permanently withdrawn in 1996.

''Princess Victoria'' ferry disaster

On 31 January 1953, , a

British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the se ...

ferry sailing from

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight Roll-on/ro ...

, sank off the Copeland Islands in a heavy storm with the loss of 135 lives.