For centuries, maps featured a circular island west of Ireland called Hy-Brasil—visible only one day every seven years, yet never reached. From medieval charts to 19th-century maps, its elusive presence taunted explorers.
First documented in 1325 by Angelino Dulcert, the island appeared under names like “Bracile” and “Insula de Brasil.” Maps placed it variously near Ireland, the Azores, or even the Arctic. A 1526 account described it as round, with a central river, 70 leagues from Ireland.
Bristol sailors searched for it in the 1480s, and John Cabot’s 1497 voyage reignited claims of its discovery. In 1674, Captain John Nisbet spun a tale of black rabbits and a solitary magician—later revealed as fiction. Others, like Murrough Ó Laoí, swore they’d stood on its shores.
By 1865, modern navigation erased Hy-Brasil from maps, though some linked it to the Porcupine Bank shoal. No trace was ever found. Yet its legend endures—a ghost island, born from myth and ink, swallowed by the sea.
For centuries, maps featured a circular island west of Ireland called Hy-Brasil—visible only one day every seven years, yet never reached.
From medieval charts to 19th-century maps, its elusive presence taunted explorers…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/Br8j0GNva8
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) June 10, 2025