Ireland’s first marine national park has been officially announced in West Kerry, after a state investment of €12 million.
Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí, will unite some of Europe’s most ecologically valuable places in celebration of nature across 70,000 acres of lands and seas.
It combines newly-purchased lands including the Conor Pass, the Owenmore River Catchment and Inch Peninsula, with lands already managed by the OPW and seas off the Kerry coast.
The park was launched by government ministers in Dingle this afternoon, and has been welcomed by Education Minister and Kerry Fianna Fáil TD Norma Foley.
On the mainland, the park will include the Conor Pass, the Owenmore River Catchment, Mount Brandon, and the Inch peninsula, all of which have been recently bought by the state.
Derrynane House, park and beach, which are already managed by the Office of Public Works, have also been included in the new park.
A number of islands have also been included; namely Skellig Michael, Little Skellig, and Puffin Island.
Land on the Great Blasket and An Tiaracht Nature Reserve will also be part of the new park, as well as the Valentia tetrapod trackway.
In a first for Ireland, the new national park will include the waters around the Blasket Islands, and the Kerry Head Shoal Special Area of Conservation.
The Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, says there will be no additional regulatory burden or restriction on activities resulting from the creation of the new park.
The areas included in Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara are full of unique biodiversity, from blanket bogs home to otters and falcons, to freshwater pearl mussels in the Owenmore River, as well as natterjack toads along the coast and rays, sharks, and a limestone reef system in the surrounding waters.
The islands are also home to entire populations of rare and endangered seabirds and unique communities of flora.
The new national park contains sites of unrivalled historical significance such as Sceilig Mhichíl and the ancient standing stone at Araghglen on Mount Brandon with Ogham script etched into it.
Minister Darragh O’Brien says this was, in total, a €12 million investment by the state.
A video from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, about the new park, is available here.
