This is a list of national parks of Ireland.
The chart below shows the national parks in Ireland. The first park established in Ireland was Killarney National Park located in County Kerry in 1932. Since then a further six national parks have been opened; the most recent being Boyne Valley (Brú na Bóinne) National Park in County Meath. They cover 652 km2 (161,000 acres) in total, 0.9% of the land area of the country.
National Park | Photo | Region | Land Area | Established |
---|---|---|---|---|
Boyne Valley (Brú na Bóinne) National Park Brú na Bóinne | County Meath | 2.2 km2 (0.85 sq mi) | 2023 | |
Connemara Conamara | County Galway | 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) | 1980 | |
Glenveagh Gleann Bheatha | County Donegal | 170 km2 (66 sq mi) | 1984 | |
Killarney Cill Airne | County Kerry | 105 km2 (41 sq mi) | 1932 | |
The Burren Boireann | County Clare | 15 km2 (5.8 sq mi) | 1991 [1] | |
Wicklow Mountains Sléibhte Chill Mhantáin | County Wicklow | 205 km2 (79 sq mi) [2] | 1991 | |
Wild Nephin Néifinne Fiáine | County Mayo | 150 km2 (58 sq mi) | 1998 [3] |
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the east and the counties of Wexford to the south, Carlow to the southwest, Kildare to the west, and South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown to the north.
Glenveagh is the second-largest national park in Ireland. Located in County Donegal, it includes Glenveagh Castle grounds, Lough Veagh, and much of the Derryveagh Mountains. National parks in Ireland conform to IUCN standards.
These are lists of long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland, and include recognised and maintained walking trails, pilgrim trails, cycling greenways, boardwalk-mountain trails, and interconnected national and international trail systems.
The Wicklow Mountains form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountains extend into County Dublin, they are known locally as the Dublin Mountains. The highest peak is Lugnaquilla at 925 metres.
The Wicklow Way is a 131-kilometre (81-mile) long-distance trail that crosses the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It runs from Marlay Park in the southern suburbs of Dublin through County Wicklow and ends in the village of Clonegal in County Carlow. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the Irish Sports Council and is waymarked by posts with a yellow "walking man" symbol and a directional arrow. Typically completed in 5–7 days, it is one of the busiest of Ireland's National Waymarked Trails, with up to 24,000 people a year walking the most popular sections. The Way is also used regularly by a number of mountain running competitions.
Killarney National Park, near the town of Killarney, County Kerry, was the first national park in Ireland, created when the Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish Free State in 1932. The park has since been substantially expanded and encompasses over 102.89 km2 of diverse ecology, including the Lakes of Killarney, oak and yew woodlands of international importance, and mountain peaks. It has the only red deer herd on mainland Ireland and the most extensive covering of native forest remaining in Ireland. The park is of high ecological value because of the quality, diversity, and extensiveness of many of its habitats and the wide variety of species that they accommodate, some of which are rare. The park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1981. The park forms part of a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area.
Tinahely is a village in County Wicklow in Ireland. It is a market town in the valley of the River Derry, a tributary of the River Slaney.
Brú na Bóinne, also called the Boyne Valley tombs, is an ancient monument complex and ritual landscape in County Meath, Ireland, located in a bend of the River Boyne. It is one of the world's most important Neolithic landscapes, comprising at least ninety monuments including passage tombs, burial mounds, standing stones and enclosures. The site is dominated by the passage tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, built during the 32nd century BC. Together these have the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Europe. The associated archaeological culture is called the "Boyne culture".
The Kerry Way is a long-distance trail in County Kerry, Ireland. It is a 214-kilometre (133-mile) long circular trail that begins and ends in Killarney and is typically broken into nine stages. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is managed by Kerry County Council, South Kerry Development Partnership and the Kerry Way Committee. The Way circles the Iveragh Peninsula and forms a walkers' version of the Ring of Kerry road tour. It is the longest of Ireland's National Waymarked Trails.
Wild Nephin is a national park in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It includes much of the Nephin Beg Mountains and one of the largest expanses of peatland in Europe, consisting of 150 square kilometres of Atlantic blanket bog. It is a unique habitat with a diverse flora and fauna. It was established as Ballycroy National Park in 1998, then expanded and re-named in 2018, with plans to re-wild the additional lands acquired at Nephin Forest to the east of the Nephin Beg Mountains. Wild Nephin includes the most remote point of land on the Irish mainland. The park is a candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) as part of a site known as the Owenduff/Nephin Complex. It is also a Special Protection Area and part of the Natura 2000 network.
Connemara National Park is one of six national parks in Ireland, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. It is located in the northwest of Connemara in County Galway, on the west coast.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Ireland:
Cullahill Mountain is listed as a marilyn hill and a Special Area of Conservation in County Laois, Ireland. Cullahill with an elevation of 313 m (1,027 ft) gives its name to the local townland. It is also called Knockmannon Hill.
Wicklow Mountains National Park is a 205-square-kilometre (51,000-acre) protected area in Ireland, one of six national parks in the country. The park stretches through County Wicklow as well as small areas of South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in County Dublin. The park is located in the Wicklow Mountains a short distance south of Dublin. It contains a variety of attractions that are popular with city dwellers seeking recreation, and areas visited by tourists and history enthusiasts.
The Blackwater Way is a long-distance trail that follows the valley of the River Blackwater in Ireland. It is 168 kilometres long and begins in Clogheen, County Tipperary and ends in Shrone, County Kerry. It is typically completed in ten days. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is managed by Avondhu Tourism and IRD Duhallow. It consists of two trails – the Avondhu Way between Clogheen and Bweeng, County Cork and the Duhallow Way between Bweeng and Shrone – which have been combined to form the Blackwater Way.
Burren National Park is one of six national parks in Ireland, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. It covers a small part of the Burren, a karst landscape in County Clare on the west coast.
The Glencullen River, often the Cookstown River below Enniskerry, is a watercourse of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown and northern County Wicklow. About 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) long; it passes the nature reserve of Knocksink Wood and the village of Enniskerry, and joins the River Dargle near Bray. The river is in the jurisdictions of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown and Wicklow County Councils, as well as within the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency.