Irish Republican News · August 10, 2004

Ireland is Atlantis, says expert

The mythical underwater empire of Atlantis is actually the island of Ireland, according to a new book.

Swedish geologist Ulf Erlingsson, who is due to visit Ireland makes the claim in a book to be published next month.

Greek philosopher Plato claimed Atlantis was an island in the Atlantic Ocean 11,500 years ago but it sank after being hit by a giant flood-wave.

But Prof Erlingsson claims in his book, Atlantis From a Geographer’s Perspective: Map-ping the Fairy Land, that Plato’s description of Atlantis matches Ireland perfectly.

“Just like Atlantis, Ireland is 300 miles long, 200 miles wide, and widest over the middle,” he said.

“They both feature a central plain that is open to the sea, but fringed by mountains. No other island on earth even comes close to this description.

“I am amazed no one has come up with this before.”

The book also claims that the capital of Atlantis is Tara, the legendary seat of the high king of Ireland in Co Meath.

The temples of Atlantis also correspond with the passage tombs of Newgrange and Knowth, the book suggests.

Prof Erlingsson, who has a PhD in Physical Geography from Uppsala University in Sweden, specialises in geological pro-cesses, underwater research and natural disasters.

He claims the island Plato said had sunk was Dogger Bank in the North Sea.

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