A 70,000-acre celebration of nature unveiled

Education Minister Norma Foley with Minister Darragh O'Brien and Cllr Breandan Fitzgerald

Ministers Malcolm Noonan and Darragh O'Brien at the site for Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí. Ireland’s first Marine National Park

At the Conor Pass were William Hunt, District Conservation Ranger, NPWS, Sarah Uí Bhroin, Assistant Principal, Nature. Conservation Directorate, Philip Buckley, Project Officer and Divisional Manager NPWS, Minister Malcolm Noonan, Minister Darragh O'Brien, Jean Hamilton, District Conservation Ranger, NPWS, Daniel Buckley, District Conservation Ranger NPWS

At the Conor Pass, were Sarah Uí Bhroin, Assistant Principal, Nature Conservation Directorate, William Hunt, District Conservation Ranger, NPWS, Minister Malcolm Noonan and Minister Darragh O'Brien

Ireland’s first marine national park, located around Corca Dhuibhne, will unite some of Europe’s most ecologically valuable places in celebration of nature across 70,000 acres of lands and seas.

Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí brings together new acquisitions by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, such as the Conor Pass, the Owenmore River catchment, lands at Mount Brandon and the sand dune system at Inch Peninsula, along with sites already under State ownership, such as the limestone reefs of Kerry Head Shoals and the waters around the Blasket Islands.

Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform and Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage on Inch Peninsula with William Hunt, District Conservation Ranger, NPWS, Jean Hamilton, District Conservation Ranger, NPWS, Daniel Buckley, District Conservation Ranger NPWS, and Philip Buckley, Project Officer and Divisional Manager NPWS.
Pictures: Valerie O’Sullivan

Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien along with Minister of State for the Office of Public Works, Kieran O’Donnell and Education Minister Norma Foley, today confirmed the establishment of the country’s largest national Park, with more than 70,000 acres of lands and seas in public ownership.

The Páirc will be dedicated to the protection and restoration of its internationally-significant biodiversity and archaeological heritage.

The Páirc’s heritage legacy would be further enhanced by the inclusion of lands on the Great Blasket Island, the globally significant UNESCO World Heritage property of Sceilg Mhichíl, and Derrynane House historic Park and beach, which are managed by the OPW.

Further collaborations with BirdWatch Ireland, who manage Little Skellig and Puffin Island, and with the Commissioners of Irish Lights, who manage An Tiaracht Nature Reserve, ensure that these internationally important sites for seabirds are also an integral part of the Páirc.

Speaking at the launch in An Daingean, Minister Noonan said: “With the iconic Conor Pass as the gateway, Ireland’s first marine national park brings mountains, blanket bog, heaths, rivers, coastal dunes, limestone reefs, sea cliffs and some of the wildest land and seascapes in the country together in celebration of nature”.

He added: “Alongside its seven sister parks, Páírc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí will be a flagship for the protection and restoration of these incredible places and the globally important array of wildlife that they are home to”.

The Páirc will also honour the island and coastal communities who live alongside it by ensuring that their unique tapestry of cultural and natural heritage is central to the future story of the special place.

Niall Ó Donnchú, Director General of the National Parks and Wildlife Service said the new park is a celebration of heritage in all its forms.

“Our biodiversity and natural heritage sit layered in harmony alongside monuments and historic wrecks from many periods. This is a place of iconic significance and majestic beauty,” he remarked.