What is "rockall"

Rockall is an uninhabited granite islet within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the United Kingdom. It is situated in the North Atlantic Ocean at the following rough distances from the closest large islands: 430 km (270 miles) north-west of Ireland, 460 km (290 miles) west of Great Britain and 700 km (440 miles) south of Iceland. The nearest permanently inhabited place is North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, 370 km (230 miles) to the east.

The United Kingdom incorporated Rockall in 1955. The UK does not make a claim to extended EEZ based on Rockall and the country has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which states "Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf". However, such features are entitled to a territorial sea extending 12 nautical miles. Historically, Ireland did not recognise Britain's claim to the rock or the territorial sea surrounding it. With effect from 31 March 2014, the UK and Ireland published EEZ limits which resolved any disputes over the extent of their respective EEZs.

In response to a Freedom of Information request the British Government has written, "The islet of Rockall is part of the UK: specifically it forms part of Scotland under the Island of Rockall Act 1972. No other state has disputed our claim to the islet."

Rockall is a band named after the island off the west coast of Scotland, who nevertheless operate chiefly around the south of England, rather the northern homes of many members. The band plays largely instrumental dance music, mostly traditional tunes and original compositions with west-coast Scottish style melodies, with a variety of unlikely and increasingly reckless influences including classical baroque, reggae and 80s rock: Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto (1st movement), Mark Knopfler and Jean-Jacques Goldman are covered regularly in live performances.
Rockall is also the name used in solo performances by one of the band's long-standing members, Ruairidh Howells, who founded the band with piper Robert Maclean in 2006.

Rockall is the name of a small, uninhabited, remote rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It can also refer to:

• Hatton Rockall Basin, sedimentary basin to the west of Ireland and the UK beneath a major deepwater area (Rockall Trough) named after the islet
• Island of Rockall Act 1972, British Act of Parliament formally incorporating the island into the UK to protect it from Irish and Icelandic claims
• Rockall (band), band named after the islet
• The Band from Rockall, another band named for the islet and eponymous album,
• Rockall risk scoring system, attempt to identify patients at risk of adverse outcome following acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding
• Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus (1 November 1927 – 10 July 2010), Irish environmentalist, barrister and politician
• Taryn Rockall (b. 11 November 1977), Australian football (soccer) player