Ireland Island is the northwesternmost island in the chain which comprises Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

. It forms a long finger of land pointing northeastwards from the main island, the last link in a chain which also includes Boaz Island

Boaz Island, Bermuda

Boaz Island, formerly known as Gate's Island or Yates Island, is one of the six main islands of Bermuda. It is part of a chain of islands in the west of the country that make up Sandys Parish, lying between the larger Ireland Island and Somerset Island, and is connected to both by bridges. Its east...

 and Somerset Island

Somerset Island, Bermuda

Somerset Island is one of the main islands of the chain that makes up Bermuda. It lies in the far west of the territory, and covers 2.84 square kilometres. It comprises about half of the parish of Sandys, and is the largest of a chain of islands which extend along the northwestern coast of the...

. It lies within Sandys Parish

Sandys Parish, Bermuda

Sandys Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named for English aristocrat Sir Edwin Sandys , and hence there is no apostrophe in the name, which is pronounced "Sands"....

, and forms the northwestern coast of the Great Sound

Great Sound, Bermuda

The Great Sound is a body of water shaped by the islands of Bermuda. It dominates the southwest of the island chain, and forms a natural harbour. It is surrounded on all sides by the islands, except for the northeast, where it is open to the Atlantic Ocean....

. it is regarded as one of the six principal islands of Bermuda.
The island's history is different from that of the rest of Bermuda. In 1618, a privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

ing vessel under the command of a notorious pirate by the name of Powell ran aground on the main island, and Powell was banished to the island (which at that time was uninhabited) by the colonial governor. During the 18th century the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 bought part of the island to use for a lighthouse and dockyard. The lighthouse was never built, but the dockyard

Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda

HMD Bermuda was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War. Bermuda had occupied a useful position astride the homeward leg taken by many European vessels from the New World since before its settlement by England in 1609...

 became a strategically important one for the navy during the wars of 1812-15, and was occupied until 1952 (with a token force remaining until 1995).

The North island was home to a Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 Wireless Station from 1939-49, later to become the transmitter location for CFS Bermuda

CFS Bermuda

Canadian Forces Station Bermuda, commonly shortened to CFS Bermuda, was a Canadian Forces Station in Bermuda that was operational from 1944 until 1992.-NRS Bermuda:...

.