Rams Island Volunteer Team would like to
apologise for the inconvenience caused to visitors while the
construction of the new jetty takes place. We are working as quickly
as possible in our spare time and hope to have the jetty completed
over the winter months.
Update 18 March 2007 72 metres (240feet) of new
jetty in place
Boat Trips now finished for season to
facilitate construction of new jetty
Details
click here
Operation Overlord
Over the winter months Volunteers
have been working long hours mainly at weekends to deliver materials
and equipment to the Island for the upgraded paths, fencing and for
the new jetty before the start of the nesting season. All are
in place and work will start on the new jetty in the near future,
with the work on the Island restarting after the nesting season.
pictures click here
2nd February World Wetlands Day
Sunday
6th August 2006 Wedding on Rams Island
On Sunday the sixth of August a
bride and groom fulfilled their dreams by getting married on Rams
Island.
Island Warrior is a licensed passenger
boat for ferrying volunteers and the public to Rams Island.
Island Warrior is
also available for charter anywhere on Lough Neagh.
Saturday 22nd October
Bluebell
Planting
In a event organised by RBLNAC in conjunction with Antrim
Community Forum 38 children and adults from Antrim planted five
hundred native bluebell bulbs (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) on Rams
Island.
Saturday 6th
August Rams Island Rally
25 Boats arrived from Sandy Bay,
Morrows Point, Battery Harbour,
Antrim and
Kilrea
Saturday 25th June
Himalayan Balsam Bash on Rams Island
RBLNA have become an Associate Group of the Conservation
Volunteers. This will help to progress the Rams Island Heritage
Project.
click on CVNI logo to visit website.
RBLNA has
made an application for funding to restore the jetty at Rams Islandand
to undertake restoration work on the Island. Any members wishing to
become involved in this project or anyone wanting further
information contact Michael Savage on 07715368050 or to email
Michael
click here
Click on Paradise Lost to download an Article by
Michael Savage published in Inland Waterways News
Ram's Island is located
approximately one mile offshore from Lennymore Bay and Sandy Bay on the
Eastern Shore of Lough Neagh. Rams is the largest island on Lough Neagh.
Lough Neagh was designated as an Area of Special Scientific Interest
(ASSI), a Special Protection Area and a Ramsar site in 1992, 1996 and
1976 respectively. It has been suggested that Rams was formed as a
Glacial Esker. It is nearly one mile long by a quarter of a mile wide at
the widest southern end. Notable features of the Island are a round
tower (a scheduled ancient monument 58:16, the remains of a Celtic
Monastic Settlement about a thousand years old) and the ruins of the
O’Neill’s’ nineteenth century summer house. The Island was last
permanently inhabited in the 1920s by the Cardwell family who were
caretakers for the O’Neill’s. The remains of Cardwell’s harbour, left
dry by the lowering of Lough Neagh, can be seen near the ruins of
Cardwell’s little house. The Island has quite a number of mature
deciduous trees including Oak, Ash, Alder, Willow, Birch, Beech,
Sycamore, Lime, Horse Chestnut, and unusually Walnut. There are Yew,
Snowdrops, Bluebells, Primrose, Lords and Ladies (Jack in the Pulpit),
Wild Mint, Wild Garlic, Lesser Celandine, Ferns and a carpet of
Daffodils, depending on the season. Fungi such as Scarlet Elf’s Cap and
Jelly Ear can also be found. There are also various Mosses and Lichens.
Although overgrown, there are remains of a carriageway along the
elevated central spine of the island. There are overgrown paths along
the entire length of the Island. Its remote, wilderness and ‘lost in
time’ qualities make Ram’s a pleasant and attractive place to visit.
Sunday
6th August 2006 Wedding on Rams Island
