Biodiverse esker gets SAC status
An esker outside Tyrrellspass has officially been designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
The SAC status of the Split Hills and Long Hill Esker was rubber-stamped by Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan last month. The area’s new protected status under EU law is official recognition of its ecological importance on both international and national levels. The Split Hills and Long Hill Esker, which is part of the Esker Riada system of eskers that stretch across the midlands, is one of the best preserved and largest wooded eskers in the country. It is also home to a number of rare flowers and grasses. An Esker is a long ridge of gravel and other sediment deposited by meltwater from a retreating glacier.
Community group
Everything Tyrrellspass Has On Show (ETHOS) has organised walks to the esker for a number of years, which has helped raise awareness among locals.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner this week, ETHOS member Eugene Dunbar said that the SAC designation will help protect the biodiverse area for future generations.
“The whole landscape around us in Westmeath is a relic of the last ice age but eskers are the most dramatic. What makes this esker unique is that its woodland area has remained intact. Lots of other eskers have been cleared of their natural vegetation for things like cattle grazing.
“It has lots of native woodland species including the whitebeam, which is not found in many places. It is also home to the red squirrel and a rich variety of moths and butterflies.”
The area is particularly popular with walkers during the spring when it is carpeted by bluebells.
“In mid April and early May there is a fantastic display of bluebells it is just incredible,” Mr Dunbar says. He added that while it is good to see people visiting the site it is important that the stay on the walkways maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
“When people visit it’s terribly important that they respect the area and leave no trace behind,” he said.