Connemara National Park

Situated in the heart of the West of Ireland in County Galway, Connemara National Park covers some 2,957 hectares of scenic mountains, expanses of bogs, heaths, grasslands and woodlands.  Some of the Park's mountains, namely Benbaun, Bencullagh, Benbrack and Muckanaght, are part of the famous Twelve Bens or Beanna Beola range. Connemara National Park was established and opened to the public in 1980.  It is one of six National Parks in Ireland managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

Entrance to the Park is on the Clifden side of Letterfrack Village on the N59.  The Park grounds are open all year round and the Visitor Centre is open from mid-March to mid-October.  Arrangements can be made for visiting groups, in particular schools, at other times of the year by telephoning 095-41054.  In the Park's Visitor Centre there are 3-D exhibitions of the Connemara landscape , with translations (6 languages) available at reception for use during visit, as well as information on land use and flora and fauna of the area. Other facilities available are an audio-visual show,(5 languages), picnic areas, tea-room, nature trails, and an annual summer programme of events.

HISTORY

Much of the present Park lands formed part of the Kylemore Abbey Estate and the Letterfrack Industrial School, the remainder having been owned by private individuals.  The southern part of the Park was at one time owned by Richard (Humanity Dick) Martin who helped to form the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals during the early 19th century.  The Park lands are now wholly owned by the State and managed solely for National Park purposes.

The Visitor Centre buildings were formerly the farm buildings of the Letterfrack Industrial School, and the Park Office was the school infirmary.  These buildings were erected around 1890.  The Park's field laboratory is housed behind the Park Office and is used by research students working on various aspects of wildlife in Connemara.

In the past the Park lands were used for agriculture, mainly as grazing for cattle and sheep.  Vegetables were grown on some of the more fertile lowlands. Today, these areas are easily recognised by the old cultivation ridges and hollows.  Several of the bogs in the Park were used extensively as fuel sources and old turf banks (now disused) are commonly seen.

Many remains of human presence can be seen in the Park.  The oldest are megalithic court tombs some 4,000 years old.  There is also an early 19th century graveyard about which little is known.  Also of that period is Tobar Mweelin, a well which was tapped to supply water to Kylemore Castle around 1870 and is still in use today.  Stretches of the old Galway road, in use over a century ago, may still be seen in the northern sections of the Park, but other stretches are obscured by vegetation.  Ruined houses, a disused lime kiln, old sheep pens, an ice house, drainage systems and old walls in various parts of the Park, are all evidence of a greater population and more extensive use of these lands in the past.

FLORA
Western blanket bog and heathland are the predominant vegetation types to be found in the Park.  The boglands, situated in the lowlying areas, are normally very wet, while higher up the mountains, a drier community of mountain blanket bog develops.  Heathers clothe many of the mountain sides, with ling, cross-leaved heath and bell heather all very common.  Probably the most common and most abundant plant in the Park is purple moorgrass, responsible for the colour of much of the landscape throughout the year.  Insectivorous plants form an integral part of the bog community.  Sundews and butterworts trap and digest insects with their leaves to gain nutrients which are in short supply in the bogs.  Other common plants of the bog are lousewort, bog cotton, milkwort, bog asphodel, orchids and bog myrtle, with a variety of lichens and mosses.

Most of the more common plants of the Park are typical of the temperate climate of Ireland.  However, some rarer species from the colder areas of Europe and the Arctic may be found high up in the mountains, such as roseroot, purple and starry saxifrages, lesser twayblade, and mountain sorrel.  Conversely, plants from Spain and Portugal are also found in the Park, notably pale butterwort, St. Dabeoc's heath which is a member of the heather family, and St. Patrick's Cabbage.

As the bog plants die they only partly decay, due mainly to the prevailing high rainfall of over 1600 mm per year falling over 250 rain days.  Their remains accumulate under anaerobic (airless) conditions and are compacted to form peat (turf).  The deepest peat in the Park is about 5m.  Pollen grains, preserved in these peatlands, reveal the vegetational history of the area over thousands of years.  By identifying the pollen grains, it is possible to know what plants grew here in the past.  Also preserved in the peat are the stumps of pine trees, some 4,000 years old.

FAUNA
The birdlife of the Park is varied.  Meadow pipits, skylarks, stonechats, chaffinches, robins and wrens are just some of the common song-birds within the Park.  Birds of prey are sometimes seen, usually kestrel and sparrowhawk, with merlin and peregrine falcon making occasional visits.  Winter brings an increase in the numbers in the Park of some species native to Ireland such as woodcock, snipe, starling, song thrush and mistle thrush, augmented by visitors from other parts of Ireland and abroad as well as winter migrants from north eastern Europe such as redwing and fieldfare.

A wide variety of moths, butterflies, dragonflies and insects have been recorded throughout the Park.

The elusive nature and nocturnal habits of most mammals make them more difficult to find, but their traces and signs often indicate their presence.  The regular use of certain runs by badgers can lead you to their setts (lairs) especially in woodlands.  Piles of gnawed nutshells and seeds indicate fieldmice which are abundant in the Park woodlands.  While walking over the bogland it is not unusual to disturb a hare or at least see the signs of one.  Rabbits, foxes, stoats, shrews, and bats at night, are often observed.  In recent years both pine marten and non-native mink have been seen, the latter being a threat to native wildlife species.  With patience most of the Park's mammals can be seen.

Native red deer once roamed the hills of Connemara but, due to human pressures, they became extinct some 150 years ago.  An attempt is being made to reintroduce red deer to Connemara and already a herd has been established within the Park.  The main aim of this project is to help in conserving Irish red deer.  The largest mammal in the Park is the Connemara Pony.  Although a domestic animal this pony is very much part of the Connemara countryside.  A herd of pure-bred Connemara Ponies was presented to the State by the late President Childers and the herd is currently managed under agreement with the Connemara Pony Breeders' Society.

GEOLOGY
The rocks underlying the National Park are typical of the Twelve Bens area and are termed metamorphic rocks.  These rocks derive from sediments deposited in a warm shelf sea between 700 and 550 million years ago.  Upheavals in the earth's crust formed the sediments into crystalline schists within the roots of an elongated mountain belt.  Regional uplift and erosion have since brought the rocks to the surface.  The mountain tops are mostly of more resistant quartzite, while the flanks consist of less resistant schists and grey marbles. 

The last ice-age, which ended about 10,000 years ago, imposed a final shaping to the landscape and left behind localised deposits of sand and gravel, widespread boulder clay and erratic boulders.  These features largely determine the pattern of plant communities within the Park.

 
PROJECT TO ARREST EROSION ON DIAMOND HILL, CONNEMARA NATIONAL PARK

Diamond Hill rises to just under 500 metres and is situated close to the Visitor Centre within Connemara National Park, which is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Almost 80,000 persons visit the Park annually and it is estimated that about 10% of visitors climb the Diamond Hill. Continual visitor usage has caused severe erosion to the site and NPWS intends carrying out a scheme of works to protect this important site which is a candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC). NPWS of this Department has commissioned an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a proposed walking route up Diamond Hill.

The proposed works at the Diamond Hill are necessary to conserve and protect the site for future generations. Appropriate signage has been erected at strategic points on the site requesting people to refrain from walking on the Diamond Hill and to confine their walking activities to the existing Nature Trails within the Park. NPWS wishes to minimise any inconvenience to visitors to Connemara National Park and seeks the full co-operation of the public in this matter.

PLEASE
o Help us to conserve the wildlife and landscape of Connemara National Park, for you and others to enjoy.

o Take litter away with you, instead of leaving it in the Park.

o Leave wild flowers for others to enjoy.  Photograph or sketch plants instead of picking them.

o All dogs in the Park to be kept on a lead

o Ask Park staff for any further information you may require.

FOR HILL WALKERS
o Do not venture into the hills alone.
o Do not go walking without proper clothing (including walking boots), proper maps and compass (and the ability to use them) and sufficient food and spare warm clothes.
o It is important that intending hill walkers should call into the Visitor Centre and leave details of their planned route and expected time of return.
o If lost, follow the deer fence.

VISITOR INFORMATION
Connemara National Park, Letterfrack, Co. Galway
Telephone No. +353 95 41054/41006
Fax. No. +353 95 41005
Location: Situated in Letterfrack Village.

Opening Arrangements: Date      Time
    March, April, May, September, October 10.00 - 17.30
    June      10.00 - 18.30
    July, August       9.30 - 18.30
Grounds open all year round   
Last admission to Visitor Centre 45 minutes before closing

Average length of Visit: 2-3 hours

Admission Charges:  Adult:      €2.75
    Group & Senior Citizen:   €2.00
    Child / Student:    €1.25
    Family Rate:     €7.00

Guided Tours: Guided nature walks during July and August   (2-3 Hours). Self-guiding trails.

Audio Visual Presentation:  "Man and the Landscape"
 Seating:   50
 Duration:   15 mins
Languages:  English, Irish, French,           
  German, Italian

Leaflet / Guide Booklet: English, Irish, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch

Facilities: Exhibition - Irish, French, German, Spanish, Italian & Dutch translation available for use during visit, toilets, car/coach park. Indoor and outdoor picnic areas, self-guiding trails.

Restaurant / Tearooms:  Coffee shop and light lunches.
     Seating Capacity:   60