Other writers think that Edrou was actually Lambay Island, from Greek ???? (hedra) "sitting place [for ships]".

The peninsula has been occupied since at least the 3rd millennium BC, with two middens found, and a dolmen dating back to around 2200 BC. It features in several Irish legends. A fishing settlement developed at Howth, and the area developed under the Norman St. Lawrence family, who owned most of Howth Head from the late