placenamesHorse Island
Oileán na gCapall
A 2012 marine study distinguishes the island’s rocky northern shore from reefs beneath the surrounding water.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Oileán na gCapall · Irish · main form
- Horse Island · English · main form
Place & story
Above and below low tide
The National Parks and Wildlife Service’s 2012 account of Valencia Harbour and Portmagee Channel identifies vertical or nearly vertical bedrock on Horse Island’s northern shore within a seaweed-dominated intertidal reef habitat. Offshore from Horse and Long islands, it records another reef community dominated by echinoderms, including sea urchins and starfish. This underwater habitat combines exposed rock and boulders with pockets of gravel, sand and cobbles. The report places these island shores within a varied mosaic of marine habitats. [2]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Townland
- County
- Kerry
- Barony
- Iveragh
- Civil parish
- Killemlagh
- Within
- Portmagee
- Coordinates
- 51.88338, -10.39913 (approximate)
- Mapped area
- 0.02 km²
- Logainm ID
- 22381 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Horse Island. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Valencia Harbour/Portmagee Channel SAC: Conservation objectives supporting document—marine habitats, Version1, August2012, pp12–15 · National Parks and Wildlife Service
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2016-12-19. How this page was prepared.