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something of a recovery and can be found nesting on cliffs in Wicklow and elsewhere. In 2001, 46 golden eagle chicks from Scotland were released into Glenveagh National Park in Donegal in an effort to reintroduce the species. So far, the project’s success has been down to the efforts of one pair of eagles: after successfully rearing a chick in 2007, they hatched two more in 2009, a welcome contrast to the deliberate poisoning of an eagle earlier that same year. Some of the eagles have expanded their range well beyond the park – frequent sightings have been reported in Counties Mayo and Antrim.

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See the excellent Birds of Ireland News Service website at www.birdsireland.com.

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Plants

Although Ireland is sparsely wooded, the range of surviving plant species is larger here than in many other European countries, thanks in part to the comparatively late arrival of agriculture.

There are remnants of the original oak forest in Killarney National Park and in southern Wicklow near Shillelagh. Far more common are pine plantations, which are growing steadily. Hedgerows, planted to divide fields and delineate land boundaries throughout Ireland, actually host many of the native plant species that once thrived in the oak forests – it’s an intriguing example of nature adapting and reasserting itself. The Burren in County Clare is home to a remarkable mixture of Mediterranean, alpine and arctic species.

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CONNEMARA PONIES

Ireland’s best-known native animal is the Connemara pony – the largest of the pony breeds. The Connemara’s ancestors, possibly introduced to Ireland by the Celts, developed the sturdiness and agility for which they are known while roaming the wilds of Connemara. According to legend, the breed also inherited some Spanish blood from the Spanish Armada’s stallions, who swam ashore from galleons shipwrecked in 1588 and apparently survived to mate with local mares.

The compact and powerful Connemara pony was highly valued by farmers, who tamed wild mares and used them to plough cropland and haul rocks from the fields. Breeding did not become selective until 1923, when the Connemara Pony Breeders’ Society was founded by a group based in Clifden. The Connemara pony, it seems, had been weakened by life in the stables and by indiscriminate breeding. Since then, it has been developed and refined, transforming the old work horse into a show horse. Connemara ponies are known for their gentle disposition and are great riding horses – for both adults and children alike.

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The bogs of Ireland are home to a unique flora adapted to wet, acidic, nutrient-poor conditions and whose survival is threatened by the depletion of bogs for energy use. Sphagnum moss is the key bog plant and is joined by other species such as bog rosemary, bog cotton, black-beaked sedge (whose spindly stem grows up to 30cm high) and various types of heather and lichen. Carnivorous plants also thrive, such as the sundew, whose sticky tentacles trap insects, and bladderwort, whose tiny explosive bladders trap aquatic animals in bog pools.

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Look for Reading the Irish Landscape by Frank Mitchell and Michael Ryan for info on Ireland’s geology, archaeology, urban growth, agriculture and afforestation.

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NATIONAL PARKS

Ireland has six national parks: the Burren, Connemara, Glenveagh, Killarney, Wicklow Mountains and the newest, Ballycroy National Park, which opened in the summer of 2009. These have been developed to protect, preserve and make accessible areas of significant natural heritage. All the parks are open year-round and have information offices.

Forests & Forest Parks

Coillte Teoranta (Irish Forestry Board; 01-661 5666; www.coillte.ie; Leeson La, Dublin) administers about 3500 sq km of forested land, which includes designated picnic areas and 12 forest parks. This constitutes about 70% of the Republic’s forest land. These parks open year-round and have a range of wildlife and habitats. Some also have chalets and/or caravan parks, shops, cafes and play areas