Howth Head

Howth Head (Ceann Bhinn Éadair in Irish) is a peninsula northeast of Dublin city in Ireland. Howth falls under the local governance of Fingal County Council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while the village of Howth and the harbour are on the northern shore. Baily Lighthouse is on the southeastern part of Howth Head. Nearby are the districts of Baldoyle and Portmarnock.

The earliest mention of the peninsula was on a map attributed to Claudius Ptolemy, where it was called Edri Deserta or in Greek Edrou Heremos. Here it was portrayed as an island, but it is not clear if this was due to actual separation from the headland or inaccurate information available to the cartographer.

Originally an island, Howth Head is connected to the mainland via a narrow strip of land, or tombolo, and forms the northerly bound of the great crescent of Dublin Bay, roughly corresponding to Killiney Hill in the south.

There are two railway stations on or near the head. Sutton station is on the mainland not far away and Howth station is on the head in the village of Howth. Both are served by Dublin Area Rapid Transit trains and have regular services to and from Dublin city centre. Historically the Hill of Howth Tramway ran between the stations around the head between 1901 and 1959. Additionally Dublin Bus routes serve the head.

Most of the headland is hilly, with peaks such as the 171 m Black Linn, by the Ben of Howth, on a side road beyond the Green Hill Quarries at the Loughereen Hills, Shielmartin Hill (163 m) overlooking Carrickbrack Road and Carrickbrack and Dun Hill. There are also craggy areas such as and Muck Rock (Carrickmore), and Kilrock, and there are steep sea cliffs around parts, especially on the north coast. Gorse grows in many places on the headland. Fires are frequent during dry summers.

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