Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 19, 2026

Helvick

Helvick or Helvick Head is a headland on the southern end of Dungarvan Harbour, Ireland; it is the eastern tip of the Ring Peninsula.

Last revised
Jun 19, 2026
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Helvick
Headland
View from Ballyvoile out to Helvick Head
View from Ballyvoile out to Helvick Head
Helvick
Coordinates: 52°03′13″N 7°32′12″W / 52.053615°N 7.536734°W / 52.053615; -7.536734
Age380 million years
GeologyOld Red Sandstone

Helvick or Helvick Head (Irish: Heilbhic, Ceann Heilbhic, Old Norse: Hellavík) is a headland on the southern end of Dungarvan Harbour, Ireland; it is the eastern tip of the Ring Peninsula.123

Formed of Old Red Sandstone, it is the easternmost protrusion of a ridge that begins near Cork City.4

Royal National Lifeboat Institution station source ↗

Name

Helvick is one of a very few Irish place names derived from Old Norse. The second part, -vík, means "bay" (cf. Smerwick). The meaning of the first part is unclear, but it may mean "healthy", "white", "holy", or "safe"; compare with Hellvik, Norway.5

Wildlife

Helvick Head is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).6 The cliffs are a nesting site for seabirds including choughs and shag. Other bird species include razorbill, Northern fulmar, peregrine falcon, black-legged kittiwake, black guillemot, and common murre (guillemot).7

Plants include gorse, bell heather, ling, devil's-bit scabious, heath bedstraw, bog violet, burnet rose, thrift, kidney vetch, sea mayweed and wild carrot.89

Lifeboat station

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution opened a lifeboat station at Dungarvan in 1859. It was moved to Crow's Point at Helvick in 1899. The station was closed in 1969 but a new inshore lifeboat station was established in 1997. The lifeboat was housed in temporary accommodation until the permanent facilities were ready in 1999.1011

References

References

  1. "Through the Gaeltacht and to the sea". The Irish Times. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  2. "Helvick Head - Ireland Highlights".
  3. "eOceanic". eoceanic.com.
  4. "Old Red Sandstone". University College Cork.
  5. "Heilbhic/Helvick". Logainm.ie.
  6. Helvick Head SAC | National Parks & Wildlife Service
  7. "Helvick Head SAC" (PDF). National Parks & Wildlife Service. January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  8. "Helvick Head". www.askaboutireland.ie.
  9. "The Irish Naturalists' Journal". I.N.J. Committee. 8 February 1968 – via Google Books.
  10. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 111.
  11. "Helvick Head's station history". RNLI. Retrieved 8 December 2024.