Hy-Brasil, The Irish Atlantis

By | June 27, 2019

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This is probably what Hy-Brasil looks like with the morning mists rising over small loch, but this is the real-life Trotternish, Island of Skye, Scotland. Source: (Photo by: Photofusion/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Most of you have probably heard of Atlantis, the mysterious island that Plato wrote about with an advanced civilization that supposedly sank into the ocean in a tragic, one-day disaster. Information is sketchy about Atlantis. Plato never saw or visited the island, nor can anyone pinpoint it on a map. But there is another strange disappearing island from antiquity that has more eyewitness sightings, visitations, and that appears in the same location on numerous maps. It was called Hy-Brasil and it is sometimes called Ireland’s Atlantis. 

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The flag of Brazil features the same image as the mythical Hy-Brasil. Source: (flagz.co.nz)

No, Not Brazil…Hy-Brasil

The name of this so-called disappearing island sounds awfully close to South America’s largest country, which is not an island and has not disappeared. Why the confusion? The name “Brazil” seems to be a variation of the old Celtic word, “Breasal” which means the “High King.” No, ancient sailors didn’t stumble upon South America and think it was a small island off the Irish coast. Maps from the time indicated that folks knew they were two different places. Some historians think that the country of Brazil was actually named after the mythical Hy-Brasil and they point to an intriguing coincidence as proof. On old maps, Hy-Brasil was drawn as a circular island with a river or channel going across the center. We see this same image on the flag of Brazil.