John Lennon Island: A Mythic Retreat in the Atlantic

Tucked away in the gentle waters off the coast of Ireland lies an island steeped in music lore and whispered legends, John Lennon Island, officially known as Dorinish Island. Purchased by the Beatle himself in 1967 for a modest £1,700, this remote speck of land near Clew Bay in County Mayo became a quiet symbol of Lennon’s yearning for peace, privacy, and perhaps a touch of utopia.

Unlike the bustling fame of Abbey Road or the psychedelic swirl of Sgt. Pepper, Dorinish was a place of solitude. Lennon never built on it, but he did visit, reportedly with his young son Julian, and imagined it as a retreat from the chaos of celebrity. In the early 1970s, he allowed a group of hippies to set up a commune there, which lasted until a fire destroyed their supplies. The island remained untouched, a poetic echo of Lennon’s idealism.

One of the more curious tales surrounding Dorinish involves Yoko Ono, Lennon’s avant-garde partner and muse. According to local lore, Yoko once visited the island and was promptly greeted by a seabird that swooped down and tangled itself in her famously voluminous hair. Whether it was a territorial gull or a curious cormorant, the story has taken flight in the local imagination.

There’s no written evidence to confirm the incident, but like many Lennon legends, it persists because it feels true to the spirit of the place: wild, unpredictable, and tinged with surrealism.

Today, Dorinish remains uninhabited, privately owned, and largely untouched. It’s not a tourist hotspot, but for Beatles fans and seekers of quiet magic, it holds a special place. In 2011, a local arts group held a commemorative event there, celebrating Lennon’s life and his connection to the island.

John Lennon Island isn’t just a footnote in rock history, it’s a symbol of escape, imagination, and the strange beauty of mythology in Ireland. Whether or not a seabird ever tangled with Yoko Ono’s hair, the story lives on, fluttering like wings over the Atlantic breeze.