Lady's Island Lake () is a

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...

lake in the south of County Wexford,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. The lake is technically a back-barrier seepage

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons ...

, one of only two in Ireland. The other is nearby

Tacumshin Lake Tacumshin Lake () is a lake in Tacumshane, in the southeast of County Wexford, Ireland. It is designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU Bird Directive (EC/79/409) and a Special Area of Conservation by the National Parks and Wil ...

. The lake has no natural outlet, but is separated from 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 ...

at the southern end by a sand and gravel

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

200 m wide.

Salt water Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish w ...

seeps through the barrier, while

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does incl ...

flows into the lake from run-off from the land around the lake. This means that the lake is neither fresh nor salt water but somewhere in between. The bar is breached or "cut" mechanically for drainage in an annual event locally known as the "''Cutting of the Lake''". This is done by the Lady’s Island Lake Drainage Committee in association with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, but historical records mention the cut in the seventeenth century. The sandbar is also breached by occasional storms when salt water flows in from the sea, increasing the salt levels considerably. Wildlife in the lake must therefore be able to cope with variable levels of

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

. The lake is an important breeding ground for terns. It is estimated that the lake is home to over 1,200 breeding pairs of

Sandwich tern The Sandwich tern (''Thalasseus sandvicensis'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern (''T. bengalensis''), Chinese crested tern (''T. bernsteini''), Cabot's tern (''T. acuflavidus''), and ele ...

s and, more importantly, to 150 breeding pairs of the rare roseate tern; this is the second largest colony in Europe. At the north end of the lake is the village of Lady's Island or Our Lady's Island. The 'island' itself has been joined to the mainland by a causeway, so it is actually a peninsula sticking out into the lake from the village. On the peninsula are a castle, a leaning tower, church ruins and a graveyard. The leaning tower is a small stone tower which was built on unstable ground and now leans at an angle. The space in front of the castle is a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

site associated with the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

: the pilgrimage takes place in August each year, when believers come from all over Ireland to gather and pray.

Public transport access

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidi ...

route 378 provides a link between Wexford railway station and Our Lady's Island on Fridays.

References

{{Authority control Lakes of County Wexford Protected areas of County Wexford Roman Catholic pilgrimage sites in Ireland

Public transport access

See also

References