Bannow Island hasn't been a true island for several centuries: it was still an island c1660 but since then the channel to the east of the island has silted up and it is now firmly attached to the mainland. There is one farm on the island and some ruined buildings. You can walk along the beach but you can only walk up the road as far as the entrance gates of the farm
On 1st May 1169 an army of c400 Norman archers, knights and men-at-arms landed on Irish soil for the first time, at Bannow Island. They had been invited to Ireland by the Diarmuid McMurrough, the deposed King of Leinster, who wanted them to help him regain his kingdom. From Bannow, Irish warriors loyal to Diarmuid McMurrough and the Norman army marched to Wexford. After a short siege they defeated the descendants of Vikings, who had settled there. Over the following century a Norman town grew up at Bannow. It declined in the mid-14th century, due to the Black Death and then its harbour silted up. The only visible remains of this town today are the ruins of St Mary's Church.
Bannow Bay is a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area for birds. Around 20,000 wildfowl, including light-bellied brent geese, shelduck, widgeon and teal overwinter on the extensive sandflats, sand dunes and saltmarshes.
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