Helvick or Helvick Head (Irish: Heilbhic, Ceann Heilbhic, Old Norse: Hellavík) is a headland on the southern end of Dungarvan Harbour, Ireland; it is the eastern tip of the Ring Peninsula.[1][2][3]
Helvick | |
|---|---|
.jpg) View from Ballyvoile out to Helvick Head | |
  Helvick | |
| Coordinates: 52°03′13″N 7°32′12″W / 52.053615°N 7.536734°W | |
| Age | 380 million years |
| Geology | Old Red Sandstone |
Formed of Old Red Sandstone, it is the easternmost protrusion of a ridge that begins near Cork City.[4]
Name
editHelvick is one of a very few Irish place names derived from Old Norse. The second part, -vík, means "bay" (cf. Smerwick); and -hel in Icelandic means death or danger. (See the Icelandic adjective helvískur which means dangerous). Helvik would be recognised by an Icelander as suggesting a dangerous harbour entrance, especially in view of the presence of the very dangerous Blackrock right in the entrance to Dungarvan Harbour and just over a mile from the headland of Helvick.
The meaning of the first part is unclear, but it may mean "healthy", "white", "holy", or "safe"; compare with Hellvik, Norway.[5]
Wildlife
edit
Helvick Head is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).[6] The cliffs are a nesting site for seabirds including choughs and shag. Other bird species include razorbill, Northern fulmar, peregrine falcon, black-legged kittiwake, black guillemot, and common murre (guillemot).[7]
Plants include gorse, bell heather, ling, devil's-bit scabious, heath bedstraw, bog violet, burnet rose, thrift, kidney vetch, sea mayweed and wild carrot.[8][9]
Lifeboat station
editThe Royal National Lifeboat Institution opened a lifeboat station at Dungarvan in 1859. It was moved to Crow's Point at Helvick in 1899. The station was closed in 1969 but a new inshore lifeboat station was established in 1997. The lifeboat was housed in temporary accommodation until the permanent facilities were ready in 1999.[10][11]
References
edit- ^ "Through the Gaeltacht and to the sea". The Irish Times. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ "Helvick Head - Ireland Highlights".
- ^ "eOceanic". eoceanic.com.
- ^ "Old Red Sandstone". University College Cork.
- ^ "Heilbhic/Helvick". Logainm.ie.
- ^ Helvick Head SAC | National Parks & Wildlife Service
- ^ "Helvick Head SAC" (PDF). National Parks & Wildlife Service. January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ "Helvick Head". www.askaboutireland.ie.
- ^ "The Irish Naturalists' Journal". I.N.J. Committee. 8 February 1968 – via Google Books.
- ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 111.
- ^ "Helvick Head's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 8 December 2024.