OVER the last year, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Coillte have been carrying out work to reinstate some of the paths at Knockomagh Wood Nature Reserve near Lough Hyne. However, the Northern Loop has unfortunately suffered so much storm damage that it may not be possible to reinstate it.
Severe storms in recent years led to a significant number of trees falling and blocking the paths to the summit.
The worst of the damage was caused in October 2017 during Storm Ophelia, which is considered to be the worst storm to affect Ireland in 50 years.
Ophelia battered the side of the hill, and photographs of the damage done showed how both the southern and northern walking trails looked as if they were strewn with giant matchsticks, such was the number of trees that were felled by the winds.
Coillte removed the trees from the paths while contractors for the NPWS then felled a number of tall, vulnerable conifer trees.
Since then, NPWS staff have been working to reopen the first section of path at the 31-acre woodland that leads back up to the McCarthy’s cottage ruins on the Knockomagh trail, removing trees and laying a gravel path.
When this section is opened, it will provide a route for people to walk up Knockomagh hill without having to walk along the busy road to the current start of the Knockomagh path.
The NPWS confirmed that once a suitable entrance gate had been installed, that this first section of the path would be opened to the public.
Further works later in the year are planned to open up other sections of path, but the NPWS warned that the Northern Loop has been so severely damaged that it may be too unsafe to reinstate.
‘An alternative path running through to the well, Tobairín na Súl, will be looked at to see if this can be opened instead,’ said a spokesperson.
The NPWS will be looking at replanting areas where trees were felled with native tree species such as Oak and Holly, and are also planning to plant a native hedgerow alongside the lower section of the path to provide additional habitat for wildlife and to screen the path from the road.
The NPWS say they are grateful to Coillte for their contribution towards re-opening the paths and also to Eugene Curran of the Forest Service for his advice on the project.
Lough Hyne is Ireland’s first Marine Nature Reserve and one of the most ecologically significant sites in the country.
The surrounding Knockomagh Wood is equally special, offering a rich tapestry of native oak and mixed broadleaf woodland. Knockomagh, at 197m, means ‘crooked hill’.
