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Portumna Forest Park ~
Portumna |
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Portumna Forest Park is
adjacent to Portumna on the northern shore of Lough Derg. At
Portumna Forest Park there are forest and lakeside walks,
car park, toilet facilities and observation points. There is
a viewing tower along the nature trail where one can get a
bird's eye view of the forest, lake and lakeshore. Adjacent
to the Park is a marina giving access to the Shannon
waterway system. |
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Portumna Forest Park consists
of a forest road, a long walk and a Nature Trail.
The name Portumna derives from the Irish Port Omna,
meaning the landing place of the oak tree. Portumna Forest
Park was acquired in 1948 and covers almost 600 hectares
(1,500 acres). It was formerly owned by the Clanrickarde
family. There is an old abbey, now under the care of Duchas
(Heritage Council), within the Park that dates back to the
15th century. The castle nearby on which considerable
restoration work has been carried out dates back to the 17th
century and was the seat of the Earl of Clanrickarde. An
earlier castle was located on the lakeshore, east of the
harbour, while yet another was constructed in the late 18th
century where the main car park is now located.
The park is easily accessible by water and road. The forest
is mainly coniferous but also contains a wide variety of
broadleaved trees, both native and exotic. In addition to
woodlands there are wide open spaces, green fields, scrub,
marsh, water and numerous off-shore islands. This inter mix
of forest, open area, water and islands gives a wide choice
of habitat to support a great variety of flora and fauna.
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Tree Species: The main
conifer species are Scots pine, larch and Norway spruce.
There are knarred old oaks which have been here for
centuries, majestic beeches which dominate the skyline,
giant evergreens from Western North America, colourful
larches from Europe and Japan, blue Atlas cedar from Africa,
maples from Canada and Europe and practically all of the
native tree species, including our two native conifers yew
and juniper. The latter is widespread throughout the area,
but only in the prostrate and shrub form.
Fauna - Sixteen species of wild mammals reside within the
Forest Park, of which the smallest is the pigmy shrew. The
largest and most conspicuous is the fallow deer of which
there is a large herd within the forest. Less conspicuous is
the otter and probably the most elusive mammal of all is the
pine marten (known locally as 'the cat'), a native
tree-dweller which, until recently, was on the verge of
extinction. The red squirrel, stoat, badger and fox may also
be encountered. Bird life abounds in and around the Forest
Park and 85 different types breed here, while many others
pass through. The mute swan may be seen on the lake while
the tiny goldcrest is a permanent resident of the forest.
The lake and the shore are official sanctuaries and here
wildfowl in the thousands can be viewed from some of the
observation points within the forest. |
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