On Earth Day, Ireland Announces its First Marine National Park in County Kerry

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Conor Pass, County Kerry

 

(April 22, 2024) Ireland announced today that it is creating Ireland’s first Marine National Park - Páírc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí -  in County Kerry, as part of the country's 2024 Earth Day celebrations.

The Pairc includes the Conor Pass, as well as new sites at Inch Peninsula, Mount Brandon and the Owenmore River in Co. Kerry, and is enriched by the inclusion of nature and heritage places managed by OPW, Commissioner for Irish Lights and BirdWatch Ireland. It will be dedicated to the protection and restoration of its internationally significant biodiversity and archaeological heritage.  See the video here.


 

According to a press release issued today:

The new Páirc, which is centred around Corca Dhuibhne in Co. Kerry, will unite some of Europe’s most ecologically valuable places in celebration of nature across 70,000 acres of lands and seas.

It 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.

The announcement was made by Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD  and Minister of State for the Office of Public Works, Kieran O’Donnell TD.


Here is a list of sites in the new park:


• Conor Pass (Newly acquired lands) 

• Owenmore River Catchment (Newly acquired lands)

• Mount Brandon (Newly acquired lands)

• Inch Peninsula (Newly acquired lands)

• Derrynane House, Historic Park and Beach (Managed by OPW)

Islands:

• Sceilig Michíl (Managed by OPW)

• Little Skellig (Managed by BirdWatch Ireland)

• Puffin Island (Managed by BirdWatch Ireland)

• Land on Great Blasket Island (Managed by the OPW)

• An Tiaracht Nature Reserve (Managed by the Commissioners of Irish Lights)

• Valentia Tetrapod Trackway

Seas:

• Waters around the Blasket Islands

• Kerry Head Shoals

Status of Lands

The Páirc brings together a suite of sites that have long been recognised and designated individually for their biodiversity and heritage value, and recognises their collective value for the first time. All lands within the National Park are in State ownership and all are already designated in their own right under European Law, or as statutory Nature Reserves. This means that there will be no additional regulatory burden or restriction on activities resulting from the creation of the Páirc.


For full details about visiting Ireland, go to ireland.com/en-us/.

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