The story of the island has been passed down throughout Europe for centuries. It is said that the island is home to saints or a paradise with an advanced civilization.
Hy-Brasil is the mysterious island that appeared on maps from 1325 until the 1800s, a phantom island located somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland.
Folklore from various places around the world speaks of many strange and mystical areas surrounding us. One such place is an island off the west coast of Ireland, shrouded in thick fog and only visible seven years at a time.
Irish oral traditions tell that this island is a foggy land that vanishes when approached by humans. These stories later appeared in printed books on Irish folklore, and you would surely find it hard to decide which one to read first as they are all fascinating. According to DR McAnally’s book “The Wonders of Ireland” published in 1888, the island was sighted by the residents of County Cork on July 7, 1878.
The number seven appears three times, which is very symbolic as the number seven is considered a spiritual number, indicating a strong spiritual presence behind this matter. It may also suggest encoded information, as seen in alchemical texts. In any case, its curious appearance has been described in “The Wonders of Ireland” as follows:
“On Sunday afternoon, July 7, 1878, the residents of Ballycotton in County Cork were incredibly excited by the sudden appearance of a distant island offshore, which was unknown to exist. The men of the town and the island of Ballycotton were fishermen and were well-acquainted with both the sea and the land. The day before, they had sailed towards where the strange island now appeared, and they were certain it was the best fishing ground they had.”
“However, they looked further, and their astonishment grew, for the sky was clear during the day, and the island could be seen clearly like the hills to the north. In some places, it was rugged, while in others, it was densely wooded. At one end, it rose almost steeply from the sea, while at the other, it gently sloped down.”
On most maps, the island is located 321 kilometers (about 200 miles) off the west coast of Ireland in the North Atlantic. One of the island’s unique geographical features on maps is that it often appears as a curve with a channel (or river) running from east to west.
Expeditions in Search of Hy-Brasil
Hy-Brasil has many different names, including Bracile or Illa de Brasil. In 1436, a cartographer named Andrea Bianco depicted it on a map under the name Sola de Brasil.
Hy-Brasil has many different names.
Throughout history, there have been many expeditions in search of this strange island. In 1480, John Jay Jr. from Bristol, England, undertook a two-month journey that yielded no results. In 1481, two more ships, Trinity and George, also set out from Bristol in search of Hy-Brasil, but were unsuccessful as well.
However, in 1497, the Spanish diplomat Pedro de Ayala reported to the King of Spain that someone had indeed found this island. Nearly two centuries later, a Scottish captain named John Nisbet claimed to have discovered Hy-Brasil during a voyage from France to Ireland in 1674. It is said that he sent four crew members ashore, and they spent the entire day on the island.
A 1473 nautical chart depicting the island in a round shape.
According to Captain John Nisbet’s account, his sailors met a wise old man who gifted them gold and silver. Strangely, the island was also home to a large black rabbit and a mysterious wizard who lived alone in a stone castle. Following Nisbet’s story, another captain, Alexander Johnson, also claimed to have found Hy-Brasil, corroborating Nisbet’s discoveries.
Many people imagine Hy-Brasil would look like this.
In the years that followed, attempts to find Hy-Brasil were unsuccessful, and the island gradually disappeared from maps. The last recorded mention of it on a map was in 1865, simply noted as the “Brazilian rock formation.” In 1872, two locals, Robert O’Flaherty and T.J. Westropp, claimed to have seen the island three times and brought their families to witness it. The island vanished into thin air right before their eyes.
The Legend of Hy-Brasil
There are numerous legends and myths surrounding Hy-Brasil. Some say the island is home to gods from Irish mythology. Others recount that it is where monks held ancient knowledge that allowed for the establishment of advanced civilizations. Some even believe that the famous voyage of St. Brendan in search of the “Promised Land” was actually Hy-Brasil.
Binary code table showing the coordinates of Hy-Brasil and other landmarks.
In the famous encounter with a UFO, commonly referred to as the Rendlesham Forest incident, a strange craft was said to have landed outside the American military base, and soldier Jim Penniston claimed to have touched the craft and received 16 pages of binary code telepathically. The next day, he wrote the entire sequence of codes on paper, which was later translated. This sequence listed in detail the coordinates of Hy-Brasil and locations that ancient cartographers had drawn on maps. It also mentioned various structures such as the Pyramids of Giza and the Nazca Lines. At the bottom of the code, the coordinates for Hy-Brasil were listed again with the base year being 8100.
A 1570 map of Europe, depicting Hy-Brasil in a different location (the hoof of the horse that Europa rides).
Although no maps today record Hy-Brasil as a real location, many mysteries still surround it, and perhaps people will continue to debate these for a long time to come.
