Ireland has made another claim on the Island of Rockall – claimed by Britain, Denmark and Iceland.

The Atlantic Ocean rock is located 230 nautical miles to the northwest of Bloody Foreland in County Donegal.

It has long been claimed by the Irish with the government sending in the Irish Navy to restate its claims.

Naval vessel the LE Roisin exercised Ireland’s sovereign rights over the craggy outcrop in a ‘showing the flag’ patrol according to the Irish Independent.

The paper reports that ownership of the tiny island, which rises 70ft out of the ocean and is a mere 83ft across, is hotly contested given its location.

Rockall sits on what is believed to be vast oil and gas fields worth billions of euro.

The Defence Forces confirmed to the paper that the Irish Naval Service routinely conducts maritime security patrols to exercise Ireland’s sovereign rights.

The report says that in 1955, Britain announced it had landed a party on Rockall and taken possession of it in the name of Queen Elizabeth.

A flagpole was erected, the Union Jack hoisted and a commemorative plaque bolted to the granite.