While kangaroos and wallabies are associated with the land down under, over 500 wallabies have made a home for themselves off the coast of Dublin. 

The red-necked wallaby – a cousin of the kangaroo – has lived on Lambay Island, 4km off the coast of Dublin, for over 50 years. 

The marsupials first made north Dublin their home in the 1950s when Rupert Baring, interested in the ecological world, brought a small group to the island. 

In the 1980s, their community grew when Dublin Zoo had a surplus of marsupials. 

Rather than euthanise or cull the wallabies, the Zoo asked Mr Baring if he could take seven of them – creating the colony off the coast of Ireland we see today. 

Lambay tour guide Eamon McGrattan told Newstalk reporter Emma Tyrrell the plan was to simply let the marsupials die out peacefully on the island. 

“But obviously someone was hiding something or there were seven pregnant [wallabies,” he told Moncrieff. 

“Today, they estimate there are over 500 wallabies on the island.” 

Wallabies in Ireland

Mr McGrattan explained the Baring family, who made their fortune in banking, had multiple “exotic animals”. 

“[Mr Baring] introduced several different types of exotic animals, including ostriches, types of goats,” he said.

Red-neck wallabies originate from Tasmania and are named after the red fur on their necks. 

He said their thick fur coats allow them to stay comfortable in the Irish climate – which isn’t to say they don’t feel the chill too. 

Wallabies living on Lambay Island off the coast of Dublin. Image: Emma Tyrrell.

“During the ‘Beast from the East’ [storm], they reckon the wallabies huddled together to keep warm,” he said. 

“But during the summer, when you get good warm weather, you'd actually find it hard to find the Wallaby because they just lie low. 

“They just lie in the gorse, lie in the shade – and they’re nocturnal animals.” 

People can take private tours to Lambay to catch a glimpse of some wallabies. 

Visiting wallabies

One Malahide local who went to the island said she grew up hearing about the exotic animals living on Lambay and she was “really excited” to see them in the flesh. 

Mr McGrattan said puffins also live on the island – although it’s harder to get a glimpse of them from their nests. 

Lambay Island also boasts a “royal tennis court” - a form of the game that pre-dates modern tennis – dating back to the 1920s. 

Visitors should beware, however – the wallabies are reportedly tough opponents on the court. 

Reporting by Emma Tyrrell.