Haulbowline is an island of about 84 acres in Cork Harbour. Linked by bridge to Ringaskiddy, Haulbowline is State property and is most well known as being the headquarters of the Irish Navy.

Haulbowline was not always as large as it is now. When the first fortifications were built on the island in 1603, it was only about 30 acres in size. That first fort was a square building, in the middle of which stood a castle. At the time, the castle was about 18 metres high. Now, what remains of it is about 4 metres high.

In the early 1600s, the concept of sailing for pleasure began to gain popularity. In 1720, the 9th Lord Inchiquin, William O’Brien, and five of his friends joined forces to formalise their sailing activities and established “The Water Club of the Harbour of Cork”. The castle on Haulbowline Island, the lease of which was held by Lord Inchiquin at the time, was used as the clubhouse. The Water Club was the first of its kind in the world. In 1806, the sailing club moved to new headquarters on the mainland at Cobh.

In 1806, when the British Army moved to Spike Island, Haulbowline was handed over for use by the Royal Navy. In 1869, a major industrial dockyard for the repair and maintenance of naval ships was established on the island. When the dockyard was being built, a further 30 acres of ground was reclaimed, bringing the total area of the island to aboutt 60 acres. The dockyard grew in size and expertise until it employed 3,000 at its peak during World War I. The dockyard was handed over to the Irish government in 1923.

Irish Steel was set up on Haulbowline in 1938. Established by a private consortium, it was taken over by the government after World War II and was the only steel processing plant in Ireland. However, the fortunes of the steel plant took a turn for the worse and, in 1995/96, it was purchased by Ispat International from the Irish government for the sum of IR£1. Despite Ispat International’s worldwide success, the plant failed to thrive and closed in 2002. Today, Ispat International trades under the name of Arcelor Mittal, a company formed in 2006 when Ispat International purchased LNM Holdings and Arcelor. The combined entity stands today as the largest steel company in the world with annual steel production of 50 million tones.

The constant dumping of process slag from the steel works at Haulbowline has increased the area of the island to over 80 acres and has left major contamination in its wake. Clean-up of the site has been left to the Irish government. Demolition of the steel factory buildings has been ongoing for the past year. An interdepartmental government team led by the Department of Enterprise has been formed to evaluate the best possible use for this landmark site at the centre of Cork Harbour.

Image of Irish Navy taken from www.cmrc.ucc.ie