Published on 09/1/2007
The Bogs Croghan Hill Eskers The Grand Canal Lough
Boora Parklands
Silver River
Nature Trail
Slieve Bloom
Mountains The River Shannon
The Shannon Callows
The Bogs
Clara Bog N2530, 460ha, 2kms south of Clara
Clara bog is a natural heritage area of
great importance. It is one of the last remaining relatively intact raised bogs
in Western Europe and provides a unique
feature of landscape and geological interest stretching over an area of 460 ha.
It lies 2km south of the town of Clara and is the
largest raised bog remaining east of the Shannon.
Attempts by Bord na Mona (the Irish Turf Board) to exploit it were halted in
the 1980s and the bog is now to be carefully preserved and a visitor's centre
provided. The formation of the bog began around 8,000 years ago. At this time
the Ice Age was ending and the area was an extensive lake. The lake became
progressively overgrown by reeds and other aquatic vegetation. Eventually so
much debris built up that open water was squeezed out and the reedmarsh became
a fen, in which peat began to accumulate. Gradually the fen peat became thicker
and the roots of the plants growing in the fen were cut off from the mineral
rich groundwater. This allowed a new type of vegetation to invade the surface
dominated by specialised bog mosses. As the bog mosses grow upwards at the bog
surface, their older parts die but do not decay so that a great depth of peat
accumulates with the passage of time giving rise to a raised bog such as in
Clara which is dome shaped and elevated above the surrounding countryside.
Clara bog is unique for its flora and fauna and for its soak system. The soaks
are a series of small lakes which are dotted across the bog. They contain
mineral rich water which comes from beneath and the area around these lakes
supports a different type of vegetation to the rest of the bog. The bog is
interesting in that plants that will not be found elsewhere grow here. They are
specially adapted to living in mineral-poor, waterlogged, acid habitats and
have their own ways of obtaining their nutrients. The sundew, bitterroot and
bladderwort are especially interesting - because they eat insects. The leaves
of the sundew are covered with tiny red tentacles that are topped with drops of
sticky fluids and digest the insect. The bitterroot uses a similar method. The
bladderwort traps insects underneath the surface of the water in ingenious
bladder-shaped traps. There are a host of other rare plants that make the area
a botanist's heaven. David Bellamy of BBC fame, expressed a wish to be buried
here.
A great variety of moths and butterflies can
be seen at the bog. The various species of dragonfly and damselfly hover and
glide over the bog surface. In the pools can be seen several species of water
beetles and other waters bugs. Newts and lizards are also to be seen. Many
different kinds of birds are also attracted to the area. The bog's appeal as a
special tourist attraction has been enhanced by the development of guided walks
which also incorporate the eskers and other places of interest.
Mongan Bog, Co. Offaly N0330 126ha. 2km E
of Clonmacnoise.
Situtated between two esker ridges this bog
has well developed pools and hummocks and is a feeding and /or roosting site
for Greenland white-fronted geese. Owned by An
Taisce, from whom, permission should be sought to visit the site.
Raheenmore bog, Co. Offaly N4432 162ha. 7km
SE of Tyrrellspass.
A classic example of raised bog in a deep
basin. It has a well developed dome with typical raised bog vegetation.
Unfortunately marginal drains are causing the bog to dry out and there are no
pools. There is no public access to this bog.
Slieve Bloom Mountains, Counties Laois/Offaly N2510 2230ha.
The summits of the mountains are covered in
well developed blanket bog with a luxuriant growth of Sphagna, lichens and
heathers. The area contains the headwaters of several major rivers. Access via
several roads and tracks crossing the hills.
CROGHAN HILL (north of Daingean)
This extinct volcano which rises to over
seven hundred feet above sea level commands extensive views of the surrounding
midland counties. The mound at the summit is thought to be a bronze age burial
place. It is believed that a Bishop MacCaille had his church there and lived
around the time of St Patrick in the fifth century. The area also has strong
associations with St. Bridget and modern historians are now of the opinion that
the patroness of Ireland
was born near Croghan hill.
The O'Connors of Offaly, the old Gaelic
rulers before colonisation and plantation in the sixteenth century, had one of
their main residences here, and it was also the place of inauguration of their
chiefs. Just north of the hill is a holy well dedicated to St. Patrick (sign
posted). The late Frank Mitchell, the celebrated geologist, preferred to give
the distinction of the "navel of Ireland" not to the hill of
Uisneach (26 km north-east of Athlone) but to the isolated hill, Croghan, which
he described as a mass of volcanic rock. While accepting that Croghan Hill was
not at the geographical centre of Ireland, Mitchell chose Croghan
Hill because it lies in the heartland of the great raised bogs of the midlands.
The cooling towers of at least four peat-fired generating stations can be seen
from the summit.
The Eskers
Offaly offers some of the most spectacular
eskers in Europe. Eskers are high ridges made
up of ancient river sediments. Sand and gravel are their main constituents,
though boulders and thin layers of silt also occur. These sands and gravels
were laid down in rivers of meltwater that covered much of Ireland at the
end of the Ice Age. They are one of the most distinctive features of the
midlands. The esker system on which Clara was built extends from Galway to Dublin. In ancient times
the Sli Mhor (Great Way)
ran right across the midlands. It was used as a pilgrim route connecting the
monasteries of Durrow in the east of Offaly and Clonmacnois in the west. The
Esker Riada (chariot way) was also a political division separating the north of
Ireland
from the south as it was understood in pre- Christian Ireland. Other examples
of eskers include the ridge between Birr and Banagher running at right angles
to the road.
Grand Canal
The Grand Canal
is perhaps one of the most valuable and attractive amenities in Offaly. There
are signs now that this is at last being realised and a great deal of money has
been spent beautifying the canal banks in the urban areas to very good effect.
The history of the canal has a certain magic about it rather like no previous
invention of distilling. You have to travel the canal, enjoy its calmness and
serenity, observe the wizened face of a lock-keeper whose family may have been
in residence for generations, and ultimately reflect in disbelief that all this
is man-made, and only two hundred years old.
A canal link between Dublin
and the Shannon had been mooted as early as
1715 but no work on the project was carried out until the 1750s. The
construction of the Grand Canal commenced in
1756, it reached Tullamore in 1798 and the Shannon in 1804. Tullamore was the
terminus for the intervening six years. The delay in proceeding to the Shannon
was caused principally by the canal company's indecision as to the route the
canal should take to the Shannon. In 1797 two
schemes were suggested, first, that the canal should go via Kilcormac to Banagher
and the Shannon, with perhaps an extension to Birr and Roscrea. The other
course suggested was by way of the Brosna
Valley. In 1801 it was
this latter course which was adopted.
The canal was of enormous benefit in that it
provided a direct link with Dublin
and facilitated the transportation of goods and people at a time when roads
were bad and railways were still fifty years off. Among the first passengers to
travel to Offaly by boat were English soldiers on the way to Connacht
to meet a French force which had landed at Killala. Travelling on the canal was
expensive. When the canal reached Tullamore in 1798 a new scale of charges was
put into operation. On the Dublin-Tullamore run (56 miles), a state cabin cost
10s. 10d. and a common cabin 5s. 11d. Progress on the canal was slow, the
Tullamore-Dublin trip took about 14 hours in 1798. When the fly-boats were
introduced in 1834 the Tullamore-Dublin run was made in nine hours. Slow
perhaps but preferable to walking.
The Grand Canal, ideal for pleasure craft
and fishing, makes for an attractive stroll along its scenic route through the County of Offaly. The Offaly section of the Grand
Canal comprises some 64 kilometres from Edenderry to Shannon Harbour,
passing through the quiet boglands and towns such as Daingan and Tullamore. The
Edenderry branch of the canal is some 1.5 kilometres long while near
Ballycommon is the disused Kilbeggan branch line; an attractive eight mile
walking route. Hedges were planted along the canal boundaries some 200 years
ago and now provide a valuable habitat for plant and wildlife.
The most common hedgerows are Hawthorn and
Bramble, Elder and Dog-rose. There are some sixteen locks in the stretch of
canal from Daingan to Shannon
Harbour. In the latter
village, can be seen the ruins of an old Canal Council Hotel. It is at Shannon Harbour,
a great mooring place, that the River Brosna enters the Shannon.
This stretch of the canal covers locks 23 to 36 and involves a fall of some 50
metres confirming the saucer type shape of the centre of Ireland
Tullamore harbour serves as the maintenance
yard for the entire canal system in the Republic of Ireland
and now operated by the waterways section of Duchas. Near Tullamore at the 24th
lock is Celtic Canal Cruisers (0506 - 21861) that provide canal cruisers for
hire and have done so for over twenty years. At Killina, Rahan a hire service
is provided for pedal or row boats (0506 - 55868).
Lough Boora Parklands
Lough Boora Parklands centrally located in
County Offaly and 5 km north of Kilcormac is the exciting story of an emerging
landscape involving the development of some 2000 ha (5,500 acres) of cutaway
bogland into a vast open parkland. The entire parklands area covers some 80,000
hectares of cutaway bog. The Parkland includes
lakes, historic sites and interpretation; walkways and nature trails, grassland
and mixed woodland.
The Turraun nature reserve near Pollagh
village consists of 130 acres of flooded cutaway bog and 250 acres of birchwood
and is now a major sanctuary for wildlife with over 80 different species of
birds recorded. It is especially important for winter migrating birds. Upwards
of five lakes are now in course of development here. The area itself is the
site of the former Lough Boora - now established as an early mesolithic site of
some 8,500 years ago.
Slieve Bloom Mountains
Ideal for those who seek the tranquillity of
an unspoiled landscape, the Slieve
Bloom Mountains
provide the perfect setting for a cycle, a drive or a walk. For the most
adventurous, the 77 km Slieve
Bloom Way passes remarkably deep glens and
beautiful waterfalls. A well sign-posted network of minor roads provide access
to a whole of forested and wooded glens. A new information centre has been
opened in Kinnitty village. Walking information is also available from the Tea
Shop at Cadamstown (0509 - 37247).
One vast environment park is how best to
describe the Slieve Bloom Mountains, with seventeen major valleys, numerous
amenity areas and hundreds of kilometres of accessible forest tracks.
These gentle rolling hills now form the
biggest forestry cover in Ireland.
And hills they really are rather than mountains as the highest point, Ard
Eirinn, rises just a little over 529 metres, some 1700 feet above sea level.
However, their importance lies not in their height but in their story, full of
tradition and life, and in their accessibility as a place of retreat from the
maddening world.
Today's rounded hills of Slieve Bloom, are a
legacy of the Connacht glaciers some 15,000
years ago as they moved southwards over the mountains, smoothing off the peaks.
Later ice movements from Connemara created
many of the other features which survive today: the moraines, eskers and the
big erratics of granite.
The Cut, above Clonaslee, is an impressive mountain-top
pass with a car park and viewing point at Glen Bordowin. In Glen Letter the
motorist has the choice of many attractive viewing points along Hogans Road. Deep
in the heart of the beautiful valley
of Glen Delour one may
park at the Cottage of Baunreagh. Glendine East and West have roads meeting at
the Gap, from where its a short walk up to Ard Eirinn. Glendineoregan, the deep
glen of the O'Regan's chieftains of these parts, has an excellent viewing
point. All of these glen walks and viewing points are easy to discover from the
large scale Slieve Bloom maps, available at a reasonable cost in most of the
mountain villages and at the Kinnity centre.
Most of the coniferous woodlands of Slieve
Bloom are dominated by Sitka Spruce and Lodgepole Pine. However, broadleaf
cover of birch and willow grows profusely along the valley floors and Oak,
Alder, Rowan and Holly are also quite common. As you drive through the glens
you may glimpse fallow deer, and there's no shortage of foxes, squirrels,
hares, stoats and even wild goats - not to mention the 65 species of birds that
have been counted here. The blanket bog on the rounded tops is an important
sanctuary and was declared a National Nature Reserve in 1985. Here, heather and
bog mosses dominate. The waving fields of bog cotton - may be as impressive in
many places as Wordsworth's sight of golden daffodils?
Silver River Nature Trail
Starting in Cadamstown, (near Kinnity) the
Nature Trail is a geological reserve and an area of great beauty and of
geological and botanical interest. Facilities include a car park with an
extensive picnic site. Cadamstown is also a starting point for the Offaly Way.
A visit to the Silver River Nature Trail
takes you on a journey into the remote past and provides an insight into a landscape
formed by seas and rivers over 400 million years ago. There has been little
disturbance to the river valley over the many intervening years and the Silver
River gorge retains much of its ancient character. It is a special place and
one of considerable beauty and interest.
The river takes its name (in Gaelic, Abha
Airgid - the Money River) from the particles of silver occurring naturally in
the limestone rock upstream and washed down in the river.
Slieve Bloom is a place of rest where one
may mend the troubled spirit agitated by the bustling modern world. A few
hours, or better still a few days, walking or exploring the healthy moors or
shadowy glens will refresh any visitor. For the less energetic there are many
viewing points along the high roads. A nature trail for Monicknew Woods is
available as are maps and guides to the Slieve Bloom.
The River Shannon
The great River Shannon borders western side
of County Offaly
dividing it from the province of Connacht and taking in its course the major centre
for visitors at Clonmacnoise together with Shannonbridge, Shannon Harbour
and Banagher.
Behind Athlone and Portumna the Shannon is wide and sluggish and floods severely in
autumn and winter. The familiar eskers dominate the landscape especially at Clonmacnoise
while the extensive bogs can be seen at Clonmacnoise and Shannonbridge.
The Shannon Callows
Because the meadows of the middle Shannon turn into a vast flood plain in autumn and winter
they can support a huge number of waders, swans and wildfowl and other bird
life.
The most obvious of all Shannon
birds are the mute swans. Also to be seen are the coot and more hen and little
grebe or dabchick. The kingfisher is widespread as is the meadow pipit and pied
wagtail. Much energy has been spent on saving the corncrake and it can be seen
at the bridge of Banagher near the summer. In winter the
normal resident population is increased by such residence from north-east
Europe, particular the widgeon and Greenland
white-fronted goose.