first time. The area has lost and held Blue Flag status in the years since then. Water quality continues to be affected by several issues, including lack of capacity of existing sewage treatment facilities, excess nutrients flowing into Dublin Bay from the River Liffey and other watercourses, and stormwater pollution. Kite-surfing As of the 21st century, Bull Island is popular with kite-surfers, with a declared kite-surfing launch area near the Bull Wall, accessed from the wooden Bull Wall Bridge. The shallow water and long stretch of straight beach allow for safe kite-surfing. This has encouraged many beginners to take up the sport on the island. Golf The island has two golf courses, the more famous belonging to the Royal Dublin Golf Club, and the newer, owned by Dublin City Council, operated by St. Anne's Golf Club. Each has a clubhouse with dining facilities. Demographics Film and television It has been used as a location in many Dublin themed movies such as Neil Jordan's Michael Collins, Stephen Frears's The Van, Brendan O'Carroll's Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie and John Carney's Oscar-winning movie Once. Publications An Irish Sanctuary – Birds of the North Bull, by Fr. Patrick G. Kennedy SJ, Dublin: The Sign of The Three Candles, 1953. 1986, an Foras Forbartha, Dublin for Dublin Corporation, Parks Department: Bull Island (information booklet) May 2014, The Liffey Press, Dublin: The Island Imagined By the Sea: A History of Bull Island by Kieran McNally. May 2015, Orange Crate Press: "Waveforms: Bull Island Haiku" by poet and broadcaster Pat Boran, featuring a rensaku (sequence) of 135 haiku accompanied by monochrome photographs taken by the author over the course of a year of visits to the island. References External links UNESCO Biosphere Directory entry Directory of Wetlands of International Importance: North Bull Island 5th Port Dollymount Sea Scouts Some wild flowers of Bull Island Islands of County Dublin Raheny Clontarf, Dublin Beaches of the Republic of Ireland Parks in Dublin (city) Dublin Bay Nature reserves in the Republic of Ireland Special Areas of Conservation in the Republic of Ireland Special Protection Areas in the Republic of Ireland Wildlife sanctuaries of Ireland Biosphere reserves of the Republic of Ireland Ramsar sites in the Republic of Ireland