Hy-Brasil: the Irish phantom island

There are many places in the world with which mysterious stories and legends are connected. Even scientists are still not able to find them, although they are trying very hard. The island of Hy-Brasil, which first emerged on ancient maps in 1325 near the Irish coast has not been found so far, though researchers are very close to uncovering this secret.

Throughout the centuries, legends about Hy-Brasil have spread in Europe. It was called a place where a developed civilization existed, or a home of magicians and Irish gods. According to ancient sagas, it was always hidden in clouds of fog and becomes visible once in seven years. According to some other legends, monks with ancient knowledge inhabited this island.

Having numerous other titles, the name of the island derives from the Celtic word Breasal, which means "the highest king of the world". At that time, it was marked on the maps as Bracile. A couple of years later it appeared in the documents as two different islands situated really close to each other.

It was marked as Sola De Brasil in 1436, and then re-appeared again in 1595 on the map of Europe, but as two island placed closely and in a slightly different place.

 John Jay, Jr. organized an expedition from Bristol to find the legendary island, but returned empty-handed, spending two months at sea. More ships were sent to find Hy-Brasil but they returned without success. Interestingly, it was rumored that some man from Bristol, who discovered Brasil, was found. But beyond rumors, the discovery has not progressed.

In the 15th century diagram of the sea routes of Western Europe, Hy-Brasil has a round shape. Around the 17th century, there were claims of discovery of the island again, though without solid proof provided.

However, the next expeditions in subsequent years remained unsuccessful. Attempts to find the phantom-island again failed, and cartographers removed it from most sea maps. In the 19th century, it could have been observed on the maps marked as a rock.

The last documented records about the island were made in 1872. An antiquary named T.J. Westropp stated that he and his family watched the island appear out of nowhere and then vanish out of their sight.

Recently, researchers have looked in detail at Google Earth to find out the most possible location of Hy-Brasil. The main contender for the location is the so-called Porcupine Bank, an area of the Irish shelf.

Scientists are sure that the island disappeared, though they are dwelling on when exactly this happened. They name sea level changes and complex geology as the reasons. An area 190 miles west of mainland with the highest point on the shelf south of the main Porcupine Bank looks exactly like a fabled lost island if compared with the data on ancient maps.

Due to a limited geological and archaeological exploration to date, there is not enough information to write Hy-Brasil into the history books just yet, but hopefully, this discovery will make historians think again.

“You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, and always challenge yourself to try new things.” Nate Berkus